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The Guilt of Madoff

It appears that Madoff is going to jail, and we can practically hear the shouts of joy from the rooftops of Manhattan. Madoff, with his silvery coiffure and elegant suits, looks like a man who has enjoyed exquisite pleasures and lived a life of unimaginable indulgence. He is the poster child of greed, the very portrait of the monster who smiles suavely while wreaking havoc.

The country may experience catharsis while witnessing his demise and ultimate incarceration, and that is an important thing. We may need a symbol on which to focus our profound disgust at the excesses that have been so ruinous to our economy. We may also need to see someone pay for heinous criminal acts so that we can renew our faith in justice. Many investors crave assurance that the world of trading and securities will not be a place where swindlers lurk at every turn.

When Madoff uttered the word “guilty” no less than eleven times this morning, in many corners there was a collective feeling of justified satisfaction. But Madoff’s guilt will be meaningless unless we continue to focus on moving beyond a culture of easy money that his activities reflected. A protracted trial would focus our attention on Madoff himself, and, as desirable as it might be to see the swindler squirm, we might be better off concentrating on preventing conmen from plying their trade right under our noses. Capitalist systems function only if we have trust in each other, and in the legal and governmental institutions that are supposed to protect us from fraud. The victims of Madoff’s scam probably feel the least amount of comfort today: many have lost their life savings, and a few, their very lives. We all have a part to play in defining a new version of capitalism where ethics and responsibility are the watchwords.

Tags: capitalism, ethics, guilt, Madoff, swindler