upsides to a public figure passing away—it inoculates them from
foolish acts that destroy their reputation and, worse, aging. We know
that the Founding Fathers of this country were quietly relieved when
George Washington shuffled off this mortal coil—because he was then
past the risk of tarnishing his sterling reputation.
It doesn’t matter if the iconic founder was a jerk in real life. Apple
proves this. The world has created a Jesus-like hero worship of Steve
Jobs. In reality it appears that Steve Jobs was not a good person, and a
flawed father. He sat in court and denied his own blood, refusing to
pay child support to a daughter he knew was biologically his, even
though by then he was worth several hundred million dollars. And, as
already noted, he also appears to have perjured himself to government
investigators regarding the stock option program at Apple.
Yet when Jobs died, in 2011, the world mourned, with thousands
posting shrines on the internet, at Apple headquarters, and company
stores around the world—and even in front of his old high school. This
marked the deification of the iconic founder, moving from stardom to
sainthood—a shift made even easier by Jobs’s increasingly ascetic look
in his final years.
Since then, Apple’s brand has burned brighter. There are few
better examples of what Pope Francis refers to as an unhealthy
“idolatry of money” than our obsession with Steve Jobs. It is
conventional wisdom that Steve Jobs put “a dent in the universe.” No,
he didn’t. Steve Jobs, in my view, spat on the universe. People who get
up every morning, get their kids dressed, get them to school, and have
an irrational passion for their kids’ well-being, dent the universe. The
world needs more homes with engaged parents, not a better fucking
phone.
- Artisanship
Success in luxury comes from minute attention to detail and expert,
almost superhuman, craftsmanship. When it works, it seems as if an
alien has arrived from a distant planet to make better sunglasses or
silk scarves. Bargain shoppers may wonder why anyone would take so
much trouble to design hinges that fold inward, or to knot every tiny
thread on the part of a hat that you can’t even see. But for people who
have discretionary income and aren’t worried about survival, the