One year ago, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder and CEO of the crypto-currency exchange, FTX, was viewed by many pundits as the "international statesman of crypto" who could be the "world’s first trillionaire."
He was also fawned over by leftists for being the biggest donor to the Democratic Party in the history of electoral politics.
In the 2022 mid-term elections, Bankman-Fried contributed over $100 million.
But then, in December of 2022, his financial house of cards collapsed when he was charged by the Feds with various crimes including fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In 2023, the indictment was amended, alleging he stole from client asset accounts to make 2022 political contributions.
Testimony about Bankman-Fried’s character and ethics, in the trial that began in October, is not only revealing but scary.
Caroline Ellison, a one-time Bankman-Fried girlfriend and former CEO of FTX’s hedge fund, Alameda Research, testified in Federal court that her boss boasted he was above moral codes that included "don’t steal" and "don’t lie" because he was a "utilitarian" pursuing a greater good to save society.
"The only moral rules that matter," Bankman-Fried told Ellison, "was what maximized utility . . . whatever generates the greatest good for the greatest number of people."
Bankman-Fried, a narcissist who believes he is entitled to political power and privilege, has a broader warped view of an inherently-flawed utilitarian ideology that was conceived in the 1700s. Here’s some background:
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) developed utilitarianism; a so-called moral system based on the "Pleasure Principle."
For Bentham there are no universal moral laws defining right or wrong. He famously referred to the Natural Law (God’s law) as "nonsense on stilts."
The "common good" is rejected in favor of the "individual good."
Central to utilitarianism is the belief that the purpose of life, the highest good, is pleasure. The good is that which increases pleasure the bad is that which decreases it.
When Bentham took this concept and applied it to society, he came up with what he called the "Greatest Happiness Principle," which states that the good society is the one providing the greatest happiness to the greatest number.
He wrote that "pleasure is in itself good, nay, even setting aside immunity from pain, the only good: pain is in itself evil; and indeed, without exception the only evil; or else the words good and evil have no meeting."
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), a student of Bentham, agreed that the foundation of morality is utility and that "pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable as ends."
But Mill improved the theory by arguing that the “greatest happiness for the greatest number” principle must be understood not merely by the quantity of pleasure but by its quality as well.”
In our times, Bentham-Mill utilitarianism has morphed into two unsavory canons.
The first is the economic doctrine that holds any moral concern that cannot be given a dollar value must be excluded from any consideration.
And the second, hedonism — making pleasure a deliberate and even serious pursuit — is a respectable form of altruism.
Which brings me back to Sam Bankman-Fried.
If the allegations concerning his behavior are true, it is obvious he was driven not by any universal moral truths of right or wrong but by hedonism and greed.
It appears he had no qualms about abandoning his fiduciary responsibilities in order to accumulate wealth by any means — including stealing from clients.
And he rationalized using his ill-gotten means to finance a lavish lifestyle he thought he deserved (i.e., spending $250 million to purchase 35 properties in the Bahamas), and to promote his image as a great humanitarian.
Believing that money could cure all of mankind’s ills, he felt free to confiscate other people’s assets to fund scores of left-wing causes and candidates for elective office.
Yes, it appears Bankman-Fried believed his warped utilitarian ideology freed him of all moral constraints and sanctioned him to do what most everyone knows is wrong.
However, what Bankman-Freid did not know or failed to grasp was the utilitarian dictum spelled out in Mill’s essay "On Liberty," which is the sine qua non of modern Liberalism: "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." (Emphasis added.)
Bankman-Fried harmed thousands of people who entrusted him with their hard-earned dollars.
The feds had no choice but to step in to prevent further harm and to indict him on charges of financial fraud and campaign finance violations.
What irony! Bankman-Fried may be found guilty by a jury of his peers of violating the basic tenet of the utilitarian ideology he happily embraced.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
George J. Marlin, a former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is the author of "The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years of Political Impact," and "Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy." Read George J. Marlin's Reports — More Here.
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