First-generation money
Sir: I found Taki's column 'Big men' (High life, 29 November) offensive and provin- cial. It is offensive because every one of the individuals he belittles in his article is Jewish. He thus overlooks two of the most prominent raiders, namely T. Boone Pick- ens and Sir James Goldsmith. Is it that the latter somehow perhaps exhibit more so- cial class than Perelman, Posner and Stein- berg? Or is it perhaps that they are not from New York? It is provincial because Taki lacks any historical perspective: first- generation money in America always be- haves boorishly. I might add that robber barons like John Rockefeller and Jay Gould were also condemned for 'paper shuffling' instead of 'producing goods'. However, the historical verdict on their efforts to restructure American industry is now rather favourable. Unfortunately you cannot have capitalism without capitalists.
David Vogel
Professor, School of Business Administration, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
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