Carnegie wrote essays proclaiming the right of workers to unionize and negotiate for fair wages. Yet, he cracked down on the unions in his steel plants and broke the back of labor. In Homestead, Carnegie Steel brought in private guns and when that didn't work, the National Guard. When his long-time business partner and mentor, Scott, got into a financial mess, Carnegie refused to bail him out. Years later, when Scott could no longer ask him for a shine, Carnegie wrote him a letter of apology. I've been known to do such things.
And, I'm sure, so have you. We, who couldn't put out millions to bail out a friend, will gladly refuse to put out thousands. We have no means to squash thousands of men and relocate them. We will, however, support a trade embargo with a poor country because we don't like the junta that runs it. We can be as mean and self-righteous as Carnegie was, but our acts are played out on a smaller stage.
