Bending history
I pity history. It’s the most abused and mistreated subject matter there is. It doesn’t help that history is a soft science that can’t rely on axioms, mathematical proofs and systems of equations to convey anything close to what we like to call truth. And it certainly doesn’t help that the general knowledge of history is so cursory that one has become accustomed to the steady flow of flawed historical comparisons, one more outrageous than the next. In fact, many comparisons are so flawed, that the adjective “historical” is actually a misnomer – rather, they are a symptom of the rampant ahistoricism that is haunting the news, commentary pages, blogs and other forums of opinion.
A recent (and baffling) example of ahistorical thinking can be found in Friday’s Wall Street Journal. In a short letter to the editor, Tom Perkins, co-founder of the world’s most revered venture capital firm, treated readers to this piece of wisdom: “I would call attention to the parallels of fascist Nazi Germany to its war on its ‘one percent’, namely its Jews, to the progressive war on the American one percent, namely the ‘rich'”.
The statement is disturbing for many reasons, so let’s start with why it’s not disturbing: the fact that Mr. Perkins is worth $8 billion. He is a hugely successful and talented investor who deserves respect for his work. He backed some of the most iconic technology firms and has thereby created enormous (self-made) wealth not only for himself but for millions of investors around the world. In times of heated debates about inequality and record envy towards the well-off that’s worth noting. There’s nothing inherently controversial about Mr. Perkins’ fortune given the way he acquired it.
Unfortunately, that’s where the non-disturbing reasons end and things get ugly. First of all, Mr. Perkins’ wealth becomes highly relevant the very minute he decides to go public with his letter. It adds a layer of meaning that otherwise wouldn’t be there. If it weren’t, one would simply be incredulous at how a highly intelligent and educated man comes up with such an outlandish statement. His net worth, however, debunks it all as a selfish and self-serving act of bending historical facts as he sees fit. Equating rhetorical class warfare with the persecution of Jews is not only abusive, its ahistoricism at its worst. It belittles one thing for the sake of blowing another, completely unrelated thing out of proportion to make a relatively insignificant point. It draws parallels that are so absurd that they barely merit debate. And it relies on a set of clichés that might as well be used in an anti-Semitic slur.
What’s more, Mr. Perkins’ ludicrous gaffe doesn’t serve anyone. Will the one percent cheer? I doubt it. Will the ninety nine percent appreciate being compared to the Nazis? Certainly not. Will the Jewish community be thrilled to learn that the Reichskristallnacht is no worse than the criticism directed at tech entrepreneurs for driving up property prices? Very unlikely. All in all, Mr. Perkins has not only shot himself in the foot big time but undermined his cause (if you can call it so) as a whole. It’s a trade that has no upside but unlimited downside. That’s a very bad outcome for a person who should be a master of rational decision-making and maximizes value for a living. Pareto efficiency looks different. And so does common sense.
Talk is cheap, ahistorical talk is cheaper. It’s disingenuous and intellectually lazy. And it’s an insult to any reasonably informed person, such as the readers of the WSJ. What on earth was Mr. Perkins thinking? And where were his spin doctors? There are only two explanations: either he had a mental blackout or Silicon Valley has indeed turned into a hermetic bubble that follows a different standard than what is commonly accepted as rational and ethical behavior. Either way, the outcome is unequivocally bad. Whatever good intentions there might have been to highlight perceived socio-demographic tensions in America, Mr. Perkins just managed to make them worse.