MarketWorld

What is MarketWorld? It’s the new cage we’ve become beholden to these days, where the rich become richer, the poor become more disenfranchised, and globalization fueled by free-market capitalism turns into a tyrannical system that widens the gap. Blame is laid everywhere, proposed solutions are myriad, but an underlying problem is that the fox is now in charge of the hen-house.

 

This is the story painted by Anand Giridharadas in his book Winners Take All, subtitled “The Elite Charade of Changing the World”. Anecdotal stories teased from interviews describe (mostly) young enthusiastic do-gooders born into, or who find their way, into the intoxicating world of riches and power, who don’t see themselves as perpetuating the system. Rather, they use the language of doing good (while doing well for themselves), standing up for social justice, helping the poor and less privileged. But this “elite” problem-solving lens is heavily blinkered by being ensconced in the high echelons of the system.

 

What is the Matrix? In the words of the legendary Morpheus: “The Matrix is a system… The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it.” But in our real-world, it’s the 1% who are fighting to protect the system; the 99% haven’t had much success because… well, they’d like to be like the 1%. I mean, who wouldn’t? Giridharadas has lived in that 1% and he’s trying to give you the red pill.

 

Should we trust him? It’s hard to say. While he lifts the veil on trends such as being on the elite speaking circuit, getting book deals, and having a mass following of wannabes, it’s not clear Giridharadas has left that world. True, he may no longer be employed by one of the big-name consulting companies promising world-class expertise to solve your problems for a hefty fee. The few times I’ve experienced being in a “workshop” or a “listening in” or a “presentation” organized by such entities brought in to institutions I’ve worked for, it honestly feels like amateur hour. Giridharadas description of the so-called secret sauce confirms my suspicions. I’ll simply say: atomic reductionism, missing the forest for the trees, with an aim at so-called Taylorist optimizing efficiencies. Enough said.

 

Several parts of the book resonate with me. I see my students, young and enthusiastic, looking to change the world, but also getting overwhelmed by the ratrace and the tyranny of merit. No one’s trying to opt out. We all want to live comfortable lives. I’m not sure I can credibly advise students to forgo their pursuits, when I’m personally not willing to give up my present lifestyle. At my age, I also no longer have anything to prove. Not that I’m terribly successful, but I’m comfortable in my own little world, which may be a self-damning statement. It’s hard to leave the system for a colder, bleaker, world. Although then you might truly be free, or so says Morpheus.

 

The most interesting part of the book is Chapter 6, “Generosity and Justice”. One thing I don’t know much about is elite philanthropy. Given two recent high-profile divorces in elite-world (Gates and Bezos) that involve different ways of giving money to good causes, I found Giridharadas’ tracing of philanthropic history enlightening. The star of this story is Carnegie, as in robber-baron Andrew Carnegie. Using well-chosen quotes from Carnegie, I’ll now quote Giridharadas as he summarizes the “… principles that one day would govern MarketWorld giving: the idea that after-the-fact benevolence justifies anything-goes capitalism; that callousness and injustice in the cutthroat souk are excused by later philanthropy; that giving should not only help the underdogs but also, and more important, serve to keep them out of the top dogs’ hair – and, above all, that generosity is a substitute for and a means of avoiding the necessity of a more just and equitable system and a fairer distribution.”

 

Why this generosity? At heart, it’s not so much about justice as preventing terrorism to bring down the system. Bread and circuses. MarketWorld has been with us for a long time. I don’t know how we’ll get out of it.