May 2002 Enron And The Human Heart By Rabbi Alvin Kass The collapse of Enron, the nation's seventh largest company, is far more than an economic disaster. More importantly, it sounds a moral and spiritual alarm that has highlighted the supremely significant role of trust as an indispensable underpinning of our society. If Americans come to the conclusion that Enron is not an isolated phenomenon, that most American companies are out to deceive them by rigging their facts and figures, then the whole stock market, indeed, American capitalism, will come tumbling down. Furthermore, if it is shown that the financial malfeasance at Enron was carried out with the complicity of major political personalities, there is a danger that people will come to the cynical and despairing conclusion that they have no leaders or institutions upon whom they can rely for honesty and who will defend their interests. The eminent historian, Richard Hofstadter, has written extensively about the consensus that characterizes the thinking of most of the American people. Despite inequities in wealth and status, most of our countrymen share the same values and ideals. This phenomenon stands out in stark contrast to the deep-rooted class conflict that has permeated Europe for most of its history. The reason for our consensus is that until now most Americans felt that they too could someday become an Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, or Bill Gates. All that was necessary was to work hard, make the most of our talents and play by the rules. To be sure, capitalism is risky and a market-based economy is inherently volatile. However, if the contest for success was fair and everyone was equally subject to the perils, then people felt comfortable about striving to get ahead. What Enron showed was that the people on the top got their wealth, not because of creative innovation or risk-taking, but because they cheated. Rich guys suckered poor guys into buying and holding stock. When the boom fell, multitudes of average people like ourselves - employees, investors, consumers, voters - suddenly woke up to discover that their jobs and retirement savings had disappeared. All of us can identify with the victims of Enron. Many of us are saying: "This could have happened to me. There but for the grace of God go I." If those who hang out in the executive suite always make out just fine while everyone else is left holding the bag, those at the bottom will become increasingly disaffected and alienated from the American way of life. Intense class conflict beyond anything we've ever known before is a very likely result. The late Dr. Louis Finkelstein writes in his book, The Pharisees, that cities, in ancient times like today, always attracted the richest people and the poorest people, "the haves" and "the have-nots." As a result, there were always and necessarily conflicts between these two groups. The only city thousands of years ago without such class antagonism was Jerusalem. Why was Jerusalem different? The reason is they had the Prophets and their disciples who taught the Ten Commandments. Trust was the key! The haves and have-nots shared the view that it's great to have a nice house, but what good is a nice house if one doesn't believe in God? If one worships idols of what use is wealth? If one does not even know what the Sabbath is, all one's goods are worthless. If one isn't honest in business, everything else is a mockery. With such values even the have-nots feel that they are the haves, and the haves wouldn't be able to sleep at night if they deprived the have-nots of what is coming to them. The worst casualty of the Enron tragedy is not the company, but the trust of Americans for their government and each other. Trust is a fragile commodity. It's hard to build up but easy to destroy. The prerequisite to a more stable future is the recovery of trust. To some extent, government regulation will be necessary to enforce integrity. The ultimate solution, however, is nothing less than a revolution of the human heart.