Lenin, Mao -- and Steve Jobs?

Excerpted from Rich Karlgaard, “Vladimir Ilyich Jobs?” in today’s Wall Street Journal ($):

The genius, idealism, charisma, salesmanship, obsession, paranoia and cruelty that come together in Steve Jobs and other great American icons such as Henry Ford and Howard Hughes also combine in history's worst tyrants. The cult of personality built around Lenin and Mao is not unlike the cult Macolytes have built around Mr. Jobs.

One can only speculate what the two-sided genius potential of a baby Steve Jobs, dropped by a stork into Russia or China a hundred years ago, might have become. Deprived of a capitalistic playing field, where would his energies have gone? Toward the dark side is one guess.  Dropped by a stork into California in 1955, the boy Jobs grew up among fruit orchards and found himself in Silicon Valley, the heart of entrepreneurialism in democratic America. What amazing providence for him and for us!

That is the true genius of America: It takes would-be Lenins, redeems them in the crucible of capitalism, and turns out Steve Jobs.

(Paragraphing edited.)

Philosophically I’m pretty much a capitalist, but I’m not sure whether “capitalism” was the crucible to which Karlgaard refers.  Unless, that is, we define capitalism broadly as liberty for all — not just for geniuses like Jobs -– supported by a rule of law that helps weak and strong to co-exist.   This needs more pondering ….

Comments

[bls]

This is an interesting thesis. Capitalism is definitely the worst form of economic system - except for all the others.

But it does perhaps give some people a positive outlet for their dark energies, as suggested here. It gives others an outlet for their creative energies, and it seems to bring about many benefits; we are much better off today than we were even 100 years ago in many ways. Certainly in terms of advances in medicine, many of which have come about because of capitalism.

The wild horse needs a strong rider, though, and capitalism needs controls. I think the thing is to find the right balance.