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To quote Nassim Taleb, “Virtue is what you do when nobody is watching. The rest is marketing”. Nothing underscores that truth more brutally than the secret lives of the wealthy and influential exposed by Jeffrey Epstein files. The private conduct of some of the once-admired personalities stands in stark contrast to their public image as champions of social good. While the lack of integrity among these elites is disappointing, the criminal exploitation of young girls is deeply revolting.
The new information coming out of Epstein files reveals not just the dark lives of the elite but the evil side of human nature itself. The ability of humans to indulge in depravity and perversion is nothing new. However the sheer scale of manipulation perpetrated with impunity and with the collaboration of the world’s most powerful people is something that was not feasible in earlier times.
If #MeToo movement tore the veil of elite morality, Jeffrey Epstein story completely buried it. The crude, the gross and the perversions were after all not supposed to be a thing of the elite. While the refinement that comes with status separates the rich from the rest, the propensity to exploit others unites them. Sadly stories like these act as great equalisers in social context. While the poor may settle for cheap thrills, the rich and the powerful, given their status in society aim to indulge in far more sinister things. The collapse of high moral ground claimed by some was long overdue. Without the internet and public institutions pushing for transparency, many of these episodes would have stayed concealed forever. These stories highlight the fact that social class is a poor indicator of moral taste or depth of character.
These episodes have shattered lazy cultural stereotypes too. For years in India, it was fashionable to blame parenting styles or societal norms for crimes against women. It was common to see self-appointed liberals on television pointing fingers at conservative households – implying an inherent cultural defect unique to India. That narrative quietly faded away after #MeToo became a truly global phenomenon. Abuse is not the monopoly of one culture or nation.
It will be equally wrong to frame Epstein’s crimes as a symptom of cultural problem in rich countries or in the US in particular. If anything, the fact that millions of tainted files referencing the rich and the powerful have been made public, reflects the character of US polity to pursue justice. Inspite of the delay in prosecution of the accused and alleged cover ups, the trajectory of the case shows America’s resolve to punish the guilty irrespective of their place in society. Making Jeffrey Epstein files public followed the near unanimous approval of Epstein Files Transparency Act by both chambers of Congress, a commendable feat given its potential to a trigger political firestorm. In many parts of the world these files would have never seen light of the day because politicians, in such a high profile case, will invariably have vested interests in keeping them a secret.
There may be a cultural element here but it’s not to do with race or nationality. While nurturing in females is largely biological rooted in reproductive investment, it’s largely a learned behaviour among males (as Francis Fukuyama argues in The Great Disruption). Among Mammals, it is only humans that have a prolonged childhood that necessitates extensive investment from both the parents for many years. While Fukuyama explains its implications for family and societal structure, the broader point is that the ability of males to regulate impulses and to assess long term consequences of their actions is largely learned through family & society, it’s not automatic. This highlights the traditional role of family and society in setting right role models for children.
The ancients understood the human proclivity to exploit others, as did the architects of modern institutions. If exploitation is not visible in some parts of the world, it’s not because of higher morals of its inhabitants but its largely because of the institutions that mitigate it. Conversely, exploitation visible in other parts of the world is not because of anything inferior in its inhabitants culturally but because of lack of effective mechanisms to keep the exploitation in check.
Human nature will not change but it is the state of our institutions, both traditional and modern, that will determine how effectively its excesses are restrained.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.