The Dangers Of Belief: Enron

[Meta Blog]

The Enron case is fraught with belief (in the sense of faith) from one end to another. Alex Epstein noted a few months ago in Capitalism Magazine:

Most of its executives believed that Enron was a basically productive company that could be righted. This is why Chairman Ken Lay did not flee to the Caymans with riches, but stayed through the end....

...Observe that Enron's problem was not that it was "too concerned" about profit, but that it believed money does not have to be made: it can be had simply by following one's whims. The solution to prevent future Enrons, then, is not to teach (or force) CEOs to curb their profit-seeking; the desire to produce and trade valuable products is the essence of business--and of successful life.

Kenneth Lay's defense team seem to be heading down the same dangerous path. They believe, or at least want the jury to believe that Lay is a good guy. Why believe that? Well, just believe:

May 8 (Bloomberg) -- Defense lawyers at the fraud trial of former Enron Corp. executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling rested their case in Houston federal court after a Baptist preacher testified in support of Lay's character.

The Reverend Edwin Young, pastor of Houston's Second Baptist Church, said today that he believed Lay's civic generosity stemmed from the poverty of his youth.

I'll leave it up to the jury to make the final decision. I haven't heard the evidence. I just hope that they look at the evidence, and don't allow any part of their decision to be based upon believing what a Baptist preacher has to say about a defendent. Lay is either guilty or not guilty. Whatever "civic generosity" in which he may have indulged is irrelevant.

By Andy, cross-posted from The Charlotte Capitalist

http://ObjectivismOnline.com/blog/archives/000849.html

[softwareNerd]

From what I can tell, Key Lay is pretty close to the fictional James Taggart; an extremely evil man, pouting at the world and saying: "Why can't I be a tycoon, if that's what I wish?" This is a person who tried to defy reality time and time again, each time thinking: we'll find a way to wiggle out of this short-sightedness... ... somehow.

Perhaps it's apt that a priest would vouch for him. What matters it where the money was stolen from, as long as it went to "good".