RICH GUYS, ETHICS, AND THE LAW

ANATOLE FRANCE, 1921 NOBELIST, wrote in 1894, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal loaves of bread.”

Paul Krugman writes of Henry Ford in “The Rich are Crazier Than You and Me,” The New York Times, July 6, 2023, “who remains in many ways the ultimate example of a famous, influential entrepreneur, and who also became a rabid, conspiracy-theorizing anti-Semite. He even paid for a reprinting of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forgery that was probably promoted by the Russian secret police. (Time is a flat circle.)”

The Scotsman, July 17, 2005, wrote of Andrew Carnegie “whose motto was ‘the man who dies rich dies disgraced’ had a dark side and was capable of ruthlessness and cruelty, according to a new book. [Author] Les Standiford claims the Scot was a ‘brutal’ employer, a ‘Machiavellian’ who exploited his workforce and then gave away his money to salve his troubled conscience.”

And two of today’s megabillionaires, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckenberg, have the puerile attitude of proposing a cage fight, ostensibly over social media dominance.

What’s with these rich guys? Does hyperwealth instill hyperbatshit?

Here are collected tidbits gleaned from one place and another. 

Ford’s Wisdom and Crazies. Ford said about his Model T, “I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise.”

“But, it will be so low in price,” he continued, “that any man making a good salary will be able to own and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.”

A noble aim. And, indeed, as John Steinbeck wrote in Cannery Row, “Two generations of Americans knew more about the Ford coil than the clitoris, about the planetary system of gears than the solar system of stars.”

However, Ford also instituted a sector of the company called the Ford Sociological Program, “dedicated solely to ensuring their employees’ moral and social righteousness.” 

Not that Henry’s life was precisely simon-pure: See the tale of cutting Ford’s grass.

Carnegie’s Dictum. Wikipedia writes, “The ‘Andrew Carnegie Dictum’ was: To spend the first third of one’s life getting all the education one can. To spend the next third making all the money one can. To spend the last third giving it all away for worthwhile causes.”

Again, a noble life’s mission. Until comments about that middle third surfaced: Carnegie worked his men 12 hours a day six days a week and then gave them libraries to enjoy in their free time.

Twitter Law Suit. NPR reports in July 7, 2023, “Twitter has threatened to take legal action against Threads, a new rival app from Meta that has gained tens of millions of users since its release on Wednesday. On the same day, an attorney representing Twitter, Alex Spiro, sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg accusing Threads of engaging in “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”

NPR continues, “The letter, which was first reported by Semafor, accuses Meta of hiring dozens of former Twitter employees with the intention of creating a ‘copycat’ platform.”

Business Today reported April 12, 2023, “Elon Musk confirms he has fired over 80% of Twitter employees so far.” 

You go, rich guys. See you in court, if not in the cage. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023