For all those who think oil companies secretly run the world . . .

One of the great dividing lines in politics is between those who fear the power of government, and think it needs to be restrained, and those who fear the power of business. The latter group seems willing to cede unlimited powers to government to 'protect' them from business. The former group thinks that governments - with their monopoly on the legitimate use of coercion - is the real threat.

At last, we have a metric. The Managing Director of one of the world's largest companies was in court seeking to assert a right to privacy and was asked questions about his sex life. It seems that he lied. As a result he had to resign from his job and may face criminal prosecution.

Do I have to remind anyone what happened when the leader of the world's most powerful country was in a similar situation? As far as I know his only 'punishment' was to agree not to practise at the bar of Arkansas. Not a significant restriction on his lifestyle, given that he has never practised at the bar and doesn't live in Arkansas.

Click here for more details on Lord Browne.

View article with menu

All information © copyright Quentin Langley 2024
Contact editor@quentinlangley.net