Monday, April 07, 2008
The Higher Good is Bunk [Peter Robinson]
This week on Uncommon Knowledge: the Silicon Valley entrepreneur T. J. Rodgers, one of the most colorful and controversial figures in American business. T. J. is the founder and CEO of Cypress Semiconductor, which in turn owns a majority interest in SunPower, a leading manufacturer of solar cells — and a company that has profited wildly from the green revolution. (And I do mean “wildly.” Rodgers acquired SunPower for less than $1 million. The company’s value today? Billions.)
T. J. Rodgers, ardent libertarian…preaching green? On today’s segment of our interview, I ask the capitalist’s capitalist if he has finally chosen to devote himself to the higher good.
“The higher good?” T. J. replies. “That’s bunk.”
The [real] higher good is serving our customers....That kind of service is a higher service than the way our government looks at it, which is, ‘You elect me, I take over, I go to the big house, I get the driver and the big airplane, and then I tell you what's good and if you don't like it then I force it on you.’
To everyone who worries that executives have all become bland bureaucrats, Watch—and set your mind at ease.
04/07 12:30 PM
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