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White Collar Criminality and Upper Class Rationality

By Randy Gonzalez

The pervasive existence of upscale criminal behavior throughout U.S. society reaches
from the boardroom to the courtroom. Such perversity does not stop at the steps to state
capital just because a hallowed quotation hangs over the portico. In addition, regardless
of an “infotainment” culture’s fixation on street crimes, the devastating impact of “white
collar” corruption deteriorates the very core of the American political and economic
system. While violent crimes are serious, the institutional destructiveness in corruptive
collusions remains callously counterproductive in extraordinary ways. It threatens the
demise of the republic and hastens human regression toward eventual extinction.
With an amative sense of entitlement for what they “deserve”, the criminality is one of
easy rationalization, for the sake of self-gratification. For the public, as in mainstream
media, the fascination with news reports of horrific crimes, such as murder, rape and
robbery, distracts from the necessity of attentive mindfulness for the serious nature of
corporate and political criminality. Arrogance in selfishness for personal pleasure in the
satiation of advantage over others is not a new phenomenon. American history is filled
with myriad examples of the salaciousness by which some people use their socio-
economic position to exploit, oppress and manipulate others.
Upper class, upper world or upscale criminal behaviors, whatever descriptor you
choose, reflect premeditated intentional purposes to perpetrate “antisocial” unlawful
behaviors on the majority. As in all criminal behavior, the criminal thinking processes
are the result of freely chosen actions that bring harm to others for personal gain. By
private desire, individual proclivity, targets of opportunity and skilled ability, higher
social realms of criminality inflict grievous harms upon society.
Where a small disproportionate number of powerful, socially well-established and
influential people control a majority of earthly resources, there are plenty of opportunities
for illegality. Such is an age-old saga of humankind upon the planet. As one percent
controls over half the earth’s resources, with access to trillions of dollars of wealth, one
might quickly query the nature of economic disparity. For all the religious ideologies
proselytizing sharing, caring, giving and receiving, you might ponder the debauchery of
the dogmatic hypocrisy. For the scales of justice, where is the slant?
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In terms of societal costs, data is frequently difficult to summarize relative to non-

street level criminality. For the corporate and political criminal, the amount of social
damage they inflict is a cultural cost figure that is not an exact measurement. Some thirty
years ago, one calculation by a national business organization put the cost factors in the
range of $40 to $50 billion annually. Dollar losses to the American taxpayer by
comparison to street crimes, today “white collar” crime is likely a 100 times greater.
Major offences include crimes such as bribery, fraud, kickbacks, and securities violations
and assorted other related criminalities, with the costs that are much higher.
Currently some research sources suggest the estimated costs to be in excess of $400
billion to nearly $1.5 to $2 trillion. Those are probabilities based a range of criminal
incidents. These include techno crimes, corporate spying, employee theft, counterfeiting
of all kinds, telecom fraud, credit card fraud, money laundering, insurance swindles, and
various illicit marketing schemes. However, that information may not account for the
total damage and losses instigated via the internet, identity theft, computer hacking, etc.
Fraudulent consumer schemes are the tip of the proverbial human “iceberg” of criminal
perpetration. In endless ways, people exploit each other by horrific means.
By similar frame of reference, the aforementioned crimes illustrate some of examples
of the corporate and institutional aspects of non-traditional criminalities. Such are by no
means the limits to which greedy, arrogant and self-righteous criminals go to ensure their
own personal gains. Of course, there are further incident types that can be more invasive
and deadly. Unsafe products for instance, recalls, injuries and deaths, could potentially
add several billions in costs to the losses inflicted upon others. In addition, there is still
more in terms of organized crime, terroristic and cultic collusions, human trafficking,
religious frauds and schemes. Do not forget environmental crimes as well.
By ruthless and predatory practices, purposeful and deceptively premeditated, con
artists inflict their illicit schemes across a diverse opportunistic spectrum. From the
misfortunes of climatic catastrophe, to war profiteering, criminals exploit every
opportunity throughout the social culture. Herein, let us use “white collar” crime as a
catchall term for the illicit activities of individuals and organizations. Some might
suggest a distinction between what constitutes “corporate crime” versus “white collar”
criminality, but for purposes here, we will blur any such variations.
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Illegalities directed against others, whether by one or more persons, in or by a

particular organization, or institution, by malevolent means of position, power and
influence, etc., gain is maximized regardless of harm, constitutes so-called “white collar”
crimes. These cunningly premeditated malicious actions are not within the usual
conception of traditional crimes, like murder, rape and robbery. Regardless though, the
effects on other people are just as dangerous and socially regressive.
Whether upscale or lower scale, the criminal’s purposes remain the same. Criminal
causality surfaces from the deepest realms of selfishness within the individual. On a
prurient level of self-gratification, it is about them, getting what they want, and taking
shortcuts to get it. Crimes perpetrated are for the material and mental benefit of the
lawless person or persons. Collectively, his or her conspiratorial aims may involve
collaborators in a larger scheme to defraud community processes.
There are no excuses, fabricated alibis or scapegoating mitigations, for the illicit
degradations committed that harm other people. As mentioned at the outset, “upscale”
means political, social and economic placement at a higher level than the “average”
person in society has access. It is used here to refer to those who have an unequal
advantage over others by political “inheritance”, patronage, economic ascendency, or
social class status. Some use descriptive terms as an “oligarchy of the wealthy”, the
American “political nobility”, or the “new elites”, which encourages a sense of
entitlement. Of which, some will use to their greater enrichment.
With an accepted sense of socio-political “inheritance”, or favored economic
advantage, the divide between rich and poor devolves into greater divisiveness. Within
the particular position of advantage, the criminal makes his or her choices as to the
malevolent proclivities he or she will inflict. Suffice it to say, non-traditional criminality
has enormous costs associated with the commission of each violation. In similar ways to
traditional street crimes, white-collar crime can be viewed as potentially violent. Some
have characterized this to “delayed violence” in varying degrees.
Postponed inflictions of deadly results upon others might come in the form of
environmental pollution, or contaminated food products, as well as unsafe consumer
products. Hazardous materials dumped in waterways, or drugs with dangerous side
effects are but a few of the possible consequences inflected for personal gain.
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Bogus, counterfeit and deceptive practices, prognoses and predictions quicken the
pace by which a culture eventually destroys itself. Yet, one might ask or perhaps
investigate the query, as to the nature of widespread ignorance in the acceptance of
anything less than honorably good intentioned interactions. Nonetheless, vast arrays of
excuses conspire continuously to foolishly explain away the destructiveness of pernicious
self-indulgence, corruption and sordid exploitations.
Again, and exceptionally pervasive, according to one source at the federal level, white
criminals cost us losses in the trillion dollar range. At yet, our fixation focuses primarily
on street, as opposed to the executive suite. From mass media deceptions and outright
fraudulent reporting, to congregational manipulation of “faith healing” swindlers, the
diversity of corruption wears many faces. While backgrounds may differ among “white
collar” criminals and their street level counterpart, they are thugs applying purposeful
skills in different settings. They share a “seduction” in the excitement of violating
something that belongs to someone for selfish satiation.
In amative self-indulgence for the excitation for the primal thrill, the criminal, at any
level of social strata, relishes in the whole experience of his or her chosen criminality.
They know exactly what they are doing, what they want, whom they are going to do it to,
and how they are going to get it. Education, background, experience and selection of
criminality interact within the particularity of the individual’s skillset. Feeling entitled,
unique, special and above the law, they freely choose their courses of action. Arrogant
and self-assured, one criminal uses a gun, the other a computer.
For the enrichment of their position, power, control and gross sense of materialism,
the criminal overcomes any concern about the consequences the harm they cause. He or
she is all about self-interests, immediate gratifications and the foolishness of simplistic
thinking. With that though, it should be pointed out that anyone is capable of the most
heinous kinds of behaviors. Horrible degradations and murderous oppression have and
continue to be carried out against other human beings.
From cultic exclusivity and corporate complicity, to organized crime tyranny and
terroristic religiosity, beliefs systems are rationalized to excuse horrible debaucheries of
human civilization. Deceptions abound in myriad fallacies of inferential perpetration for
hasty generalizations that scheme an illicit gambit of social deterioration.
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Nevertheless, for the heroic few, those who endeavor to change themselves over time,
without fixation on the materiality of primal satiation, are those who more clearly see the
illusions of the malevolence. By the virtue of wise ethical precepts in liberated
individuality, with insistence upon enlightened transformation, purposeful from inner
depths of maturation and willful selfless perseverance, become more evolved than the
rest. Some see the folly of the gluttonous self-indulgence in selfish gratification.
Regardless, along the vast reaches of the social spectrum, among various levels of
elitism, there are the devolving perpetrators of societal degradation. Competition colludes
in varying degrees, whereby the accumulation of fame, fortune and fiction, transgresses
against the good intentions of others. Within those regressive ranks of exploitation of
deceitful opportunists, the oligarchs of wealth will use any means to tyrannize others for
continued enrichment. In the upper tiers, who is punished for their crimes?
So-called “white collar” criminality spans many areas of communal interactions, as
well as societal institutions, and encompasses a range of unethical and unlawful
behaviors. The looting of the taxpayer at all levels of government, to ensure non-failure
of corporate criminals, absent sure and swift prosecution, aids and abets the devolution of
the human species. Never mind what some politicians pontificate about “work harder”,
“get better educated”, to encourage success and consume more.
Consider that living among us, the best educated, most successful, richest, powerful
and very influential, perpetrate the most heinous financial crimes imaginable. Not unlike
the affinity for illicit hedonistic proclivities of their street level counterparts, the upper
class criminal remains just as arrogant, self-indulgent and ruthlessly selfish. Egoistic in
every calculating and deceptive way, the “chair-borne” criminal sees easy rationalization
in over-simplifying his or her crimes. Abuse of others is amatively exciting.
At the same time, they enjoy the enrichment, the psychological gain, and naturally the
profit from the suffering others. However, for the vast majority of people, wishful
thinking pursues the illusion that everyone is “basically good”, and there’s always an
“excuse” for the intentional victimization of others. Regardless, debasing poverty
pervades a world civilization that should have ascended ages ago. Factions, states and
religions war as they always have centuries long past. Exploitation and waste of the
earth’s natural resources continues as though it’s business as usual.
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At the expense of the majority of planetary inhabitants, the elite few are facilitate a
“culture” of entitled exceptionality. By corporate and government collusions, maintained
by collaborative socio-political and economic connections, a handful of the most affluent
people control a majority of the planet’s wealth. In so doing, some of them contrive
adversely to render others exploitable, consumable and expendable. Over time, as though
a kind of “wealthy aristocracy”, they ensure their insulation, aloof status and protected
elite status. Such corrupt potentialities exist in every aspect of society.
Large or small, climbing or already at the top of their particular sphere, the criminal
will persist in debasing the infrastructure of society to every extent possible. They will
use every ruse anyone chooses to believe, with ready accomplices everywhere. One such
successful mega sphere of adverse influence, and accessory to untenable excuses, to aid
and abet the criminal, is the vast interwoven collaborations of the “psycho-medical-
pharmaceutical industrial complex”. From psychologist to psychiatrist, to medical
“treatment” and psychotropic cure-all medication, any excuse for a price can be easily
conjured. Alibis for criminality come in all kinds of prevarications.
With little or no regard for others, the cultic conspirator, the gangland mobster, the
terroristic ideologue, the self-help guru, as well as the upper class monopolist, all fit
within the willful deviance of hedonistic gain. They share kinship with their street level
criminal counterparts. Controlling and otherwise diminishing any semblance of empathy
for others, for the satiation of egoistic centeredness, and to facilitate primal urges, the con
artist smugly revels in his or her “dog eat dog” purposefulness.
Make no mistake contrary to popular depiction the so-called “psychopath” is not that
different from the neighbor next door. Deception is the game and personal gain is their
fame. Everyone develops some capacity for deceiving another person. We all do it in
different ways given particular circumstances, based on personal belief systems, and
contingent on goal orientation. For one who chooses to cross the line of civility, he or she
is selfish and expects to get his or her way no matter what it takes.
The criminal will endeavor find a shortcut around responsibility and subsequent
accountability. To think otherwise, not only deceives oneself in willful naiveté, but also
gives the criminal an escape mechanism to avoid sanctions. Typically, excuses usually
come in the form of explaining away criminality by blaming others or the environment.
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Criminality is at the very core of selfish thinking on the part of everyone. Each person
is a variation on theme of deception, dishonesty and devolution, as all perpetrate their
biases and prejudicial behaviors in one fashion or another. In cross-cultural mix of
conflict and consensus, gain seeks the advantage over another. While various actions of
one sort or another may not be explicitly illegal, ethical issues arise to the morality of an
array of interactions. Small-scale deceit on the part of some may by contrast become a
large-scale economic meltdown on the part of others.
A particular statute, or set of rule requirements, guidelines etc., might not detail
specific violations. Nevertheless, at the end of day what are the behavioral indications
where one chooses to do certain acts that could bring harm to others? As suggested
earlier, the permeation infiltrates every aspect of society. Yet, certain schools of thought
have become so easily believed in American society, that we explain away everything. In
the “psycho-medical-pharmaceutical industrial complex”, (aka “P+M+P = pimp”), we
can quickly render a “diagnosis”, come up with an excuse, and rationalize simplistic
justification. The infotainment industry is good at finding “alibis”.
Meanwhile, the cost of so-called “white collar” criminality is astronomical in
comparison to “street crimes”. Where does communal consensus focus the most? Or,
where do the halls of academia assert the outcry of a “redress of grievances”? Typically,
we move along the linear superficiality of easy conjecture. What is trending? What are
politicians regurgitating? What is the latest poll say about what people generally know
little about in the first place? We fixate on misperceptions about the greater evil.
Corruption at all levels, including grotesquely incessant advertising for exploitive
consumption and specious unscientific speculations about nearly everything reflect a
devolving society. Stupidity ponders its ignorance and scoffs at disbelief in the smug
arrogance of disingenuous over-simplifications and erroneous rationalizations.
On the campaign trail, political candidates, backed by an array of corporate sponsors
and special interests, assert meaningless slogans, feel good hollowness and empty
platitudes. Frequently, their unsubstantiated claims and shallow actions pass without
retribution. In the resonance of power, status and collusive influence, legality tends to
favor the few. Absent the clamor of demand for forthright accountability, we excuse
white-collar criminality in the subterfuge of upper class rationality.
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A Novel by Randy Gonzalez

http://www.whimsicalpublications.com/Randy_Gonzalez/Black_Widows_Bondage.html