Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect

The great Eric Hoffer, the “longshoreman/philosopher,” said once, Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.

I find that people often grasp at any straw to prove the gravity and seriousness of their (legitimate) cause. A traffic jam is blamed on climate change. Poor water quality is blamed on immigration policy.

A former client of mine who is an environmentalist and hugely successful businessman in London, told me this: “Beware of activists, Alan, they are never satisfied no matter how much they achieve.”