Political Comment

One of the most obnoxious defenses offered when a wealthy bigwig or rich corporation is caught in some misdeed is to belittle the accuser for engaging in class warfare. It's incredibly convenient, as it tries to turn the tables to make it seem like the guilty are beyond the reproach of their social and economic inferiors, whose motives are reduced to jealousy or some vaguely implied notion of political and even cultural subversion. You only ever see this charge leveled downward-- exploitation of the poor by the rich, that's just good business. But in this blog post, Matt Taibbi does a good job of dismantling that particular defense, specifically in response to a recent New York Times column by uber-elitist David Brooks. I think Taibbi's right on in this case: criminal activity is criminal activity, and a company like Goldman Sachs should be prosecuted for its underhanded deals that brought so much suffering to so many people. You don't have to be a so-called populist to see that, not if you're honest about supporting what this country is supposed to stand for.