Facebook leans out

From today's NY Times:

To the Editor:

Re “Delay, Deny, Deflect: How Facebook Leaders Leaned Out in Crisis” (front page, Nov. 15):

Perhaps we should add “Destroy” to the alliteration. Did we expect a generation of younger corporate owners and investors, having made their money so large and fast, to somehow live up to the values expressed in their TED Talking enthusiasms?

For all their world-changing identification, they are reproducing the social destruction so perfected by their corporate elders — that is, to brand themselves as do-gooders while working feverishly to prevent policy changes that would restrict, in any way, their ability to mine profits from ventures that are in direct conflict with their acclaimed values.

As long as corporate culture embraces growth through profit as the ultimate criterion for success, and our politicians take a share of the winnings as the price of their support, we will continue down this slide. 

Facebook, Google, Amazon — they are merely the most recent players in the big Monopoly game that is our financial culture, and I thank the journalists who have been tracking their double-dealing. At least we know who the players are in the game of destruction.

Liane Collins

San Francisco

See also 6 QUESTIONS FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES' FACEBOOK BOMBSHELL