Just one thing:
> "I had to bite. I wouldn't have been human if I didn't."
Such are the self-serving justifications of con-men, swindlers and criminals everywhere. "I'm only human", "I was just following orders", "I was weak", "other people would have done the same". Nah, I wouldn't rip off people and lead them to ruin even if I had the chance. Nice try, Mr. Ponzi.
The problem was that this racket sucked, and instead of giving up on it he decided to turn it into a proper scam.
> Of course, there was no network of agents. Nor, for that matter, did Ponzi expend any effort to corner the market on postal reply coupons. A final audit of his company's assets after the whole business was over turned up $61 worth of the coupons, according to Dunn.
Like, when the rest of us say 'voice in our head', we mean it figuratively, not literally.
Mr. Ponzi is no exception.
I seriously doubt I'm a saint; I think most people don't want to hurt other people.
(If anyone is interested in the conclusion of that story, I was able to eventually find a job and after a million calls to the landlord I got him to let me pay a bit later and keep my apartment).
It starts off with a small lie to yourself - I’ll just use this money to pay him and when the investment pays off it’ll all work out... and then it grows from there.
Cognitive dissonance is an amazing quality of the human brain. I recommend reading Mistakes Were Made But Not By Me - fascinating stories of how and why it happens.
I've known people with "get rich schemes" who ended up lying and stealing from their loved ones.
But the self-serving excuse of "I'm only human" is always a lie. That's not being human; that's being a particular, untrustworthy kind of human. Not all of us, or even the majority, are like that. "But it's just my nature" is such a cowardly excuse for lying and cheating.
I'd like to think I haven't really done anything like that since I was a teenager, but as you said, cognitive dissonance is amazing. It's entirely possible that I do things all the time that are horrible.
This is completely different to stealing because you or your kids are hungry, let's not delude ourselves.
It reminds me of the lyrics of Pink Floyd's "Dogs":
You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking
And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in
> The "racket" of international reply coupons actually fell in my lap like a ripe apple. I did not have to shake the tree to get it. I just reached over, where it had fallen, and took it. It looked good. Luscious. I examined it for flaws. Found none. I had to bite. I wouldn't have been human if I didn't.
And a printed version with lots of supplemental material included is available as well: https://despair.com/collections/books/products/the-rise-of-m...