It does no good to mischaraterize and disparage other humans when you're not aware of their motivations. Understand that I dislike what the Kochs stand for as well, but I can understand how their viewpoint evolved.
Firstly, they're two MIT-educated engineers, and secondly they did not inherit all their wealth. In fact the business was worth in the tens of millions when their father turned control over to them and died a year later. After many decades, the company is now worth multi-billions. That's no small feat.
And finally you must understand that their father (who founded the company) was a simple chemical engineer that came up with a brilliant new refining process. However he was blocked, by litigative competitors, from implementing that process in the U.S. So, their father turned to Soviet Russia at the time to build these new improved refineries for a government that was all to happy to accept them. However, in the process, many of their fathers collaborators were killed off by Stalin in a brutal purge.
Ever since his experience in Soviet Russia, Koch believed that communism was one of the greatest political enemies and socialism was one slippery step from falling into communism. He didn't want to see anymore colleagues die, and so his political views became polarized.
He passed those polarized views onto his children -- not all of them accepted them -- specifically the two Koch brothers leading the firm now.
In their minds they believe they're fighting the good fight. No matter how much you and I may disagree: we can understand how they may have arrived there.
Thanks for the insightful comment. I agree my views are somewhat colored by anti-Koch rhetoric. My paradigm was that their father unscrupulously collaborated with the Soviets and Germans just for money, while ignoring the sanctions imposed by the US Government. Most of my info on Koch brothers came from reading the book Dark Money.
I will certainly remedy that deficiency with more research into this. (BTW comments like this is why I love the HN community so much).
That's a fair point -- about Germany. I'm curious whether their father began building refineries there before or after the sanctions?
I never really looked into the geopolitical context around the time of his expansion.
I'm relatively sure he didn't do anything to the extent of what IBM and Bayer did for the Third Reich: my understanding is that their father was mostly just a geek trying to build his refineries and the big U.S. companies at the time weren't playing fair.
Now you've got me even more curious though. Going to dig in more.
EDIT: So it looks like only one refinery was designed and built by Koch for Germany in 1934. This is many years before U.S. involvement. And the closest thing to sanctions I can find is the economic war/blockade the UK and France placed on Germany in 1939. Let me know if you find any other sources of information though.
Firstly, they're two MIT-educated engineers, and secondly they did not inherit all their wealth. In fact the business was worth in the tens of millions when their father turned control over to them and died a year later. After many decades, the company is now worth multi-billions. That's no small feat.
And finally you must understand that their father (who founded the company) was a simple chemical engineer that came up with a brilliant new refining process. However he was blocked, by litigative competitors, from implementing that process in the U.S. So, their father turned to Soviet Russia at the time to build these new improved refineries for a government that was all to happy to accept them. However, in the process, many of their fathers collaborators were killed off by Stalin in a brutal purge.
Ever since his experience in Soviet Russia, Koch believed that communism was one of the greatest political enemies and socialism was one slippery step from falling into communism. He didn't want to see anymore colleagues die, and so his political views became polarized.
He passed those polarized views onto his children -- not all of them accepted them -- specifically the two Koch brothers leading the firm now.
In their minds they believe they're fighting the good fight. No matter how much you and I may disagree: we can understand how they may have arrived there.