If you stare into the abyss it stares into you. Here, Epstein didn’t just make anonymous donations. He bought access and legitimacy with his donations. Institutions taking his money gave him reputation credits in return. That, in turn, not only reduced his disincentive to engage in such behavior, but undoubtedly enabled him to abuse more woman than if he had been a social outcast.

Beyond that, at the end of the day, a non-exclusionary ecosystem is good for science in the long run. Science runs on human capital. If people like Epstein are treated as respected donors, instead of pariahs, that definitely created an exclusionary culture.