So in Bloomberg's latest - Gates is worth of being idolized, while Jobs is not? While the author's approach is clear, I believe Mr. Wessell would be well-served to learn the difference between "simple", and "simplistic". His pedestrian approach of "Gates is about charity, while Jobs was about business" has got to be one of the most shallow, short-sighted "analysis" (and it is certainly a stretch to give this article that much credence) I've read to date.
While he, and other simple minds who live by the "what have you done for me lately" creed, point to Gates as an icon of the "right kind" of rich person, one need only look at history and view the situation from a slightly broader perspective than these folks seem capable of to see the parallels between Gates vs. Jobs and Liberal vs. Conservative. I know, given Jobs views, that seems like a stretch, but stick with me for a moment on this one. I believe too many people focus too much on "the gadgets" and on Jobs singular focus on building a successful business. While he was certainly a genius in that space, gadgets were not his legacy, and he DID change the world for the better, and possibly more than Gates ever will. Gates approach from a philanthropy standpoint is admirable, and I'm taking nothing from that. But his business approach was to wipe out competition at every turn. That fact simply can't be dismissed.
I'm a devout capitalist, and I don't have a problem aggressive business practices, but I do find it ironic that the liberal left appears to put Gates on a pedestal. His philosophy was to destroy other business for decades, amass one of the greatest stores of wealth on the planet, and then decide how HE felt HE should change the world through HIS charity. Jobs, on the other hand, revolutionized the way people do business. He developed Apple, and specifically those "gadgets", which so many seem to point to in an effort to trivialize his legacy, as a platform for innovation upon which millions of other ambitious minds built their businesses. For as many business as Gates destroyed, Jobs likely created 1000x the number of wealthy people throughout the world. To truly understand the impact of Steve Jobs and his philosophy, you'd have to measure both the philanthropy and the economic impact stemming from the success of thousands of people who changed their station in life and built businesses that will take care of them, their families, the families of their employees, and so on. How much charitable work has been done by the thousands of people who now have the means to contribute, who would never have been in that position without Steve Jobs.
As I said, it's a matter of perspective. IMO, although Jobs was clearly a liberal, I consider his impact, if not his philosophy, to be the core of conservatism. He wasn't one that looked to the government for solutions. He may never be known as the philanthropist that Bill Gates was known to be, but there are millions of people who have been positively impacted by the tsunami of innovation that he created. Bill Gates gave away some of his money, and should be applauded for doing so. But Steve Jobs gave people the tools to create their own wealth, and forgive me for saying it... but I will idolize him for that.
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