The Lessons of Madoff
Actually, as Megan explains, the lesson of Bernie Madoff’s scam is that there really aren’t any lessons that can be drawn. As she puts it, “Everyone just screwed up”. That leaves us in the unsatisfying position of having no-one, apart from the remarkable Mr Madoff, of course, to blame. Sometimes stuff really does just happen and there aren’t any deep and meaningful lessons to learn or “underlying” or “contributory” villains to blame. As Megan says, this disconcerts, since it deprives us of the endlessly satisfying consolations of sweet vindictiveness and righteous indignation. A con-man is a con-man is a con-man. His status as such does nothing to advance the case