Sometimes realty outperforms fiction. This is the case with an invented tale and subsequent events playing out in real time on the island of Borneo. In the early 90s, T.C. Boyle published a provocative short story titled Top of the Food Chain. It can be understood as a sharp warning to humans who tamper with ecosystems. It had a far-sighted quality, but what actually happened on Borneo during the three decades that followed was much more disturbing. Deforestation initiated campaigns against environmental damages.
One of the major culprits was Procter & Gamble. This giant American company purchased large quantities of palm oil produced on Borneo and was seen as a contributor to the island’s massive ecological decay and related human rights abuses. But then, after long struggles, came what the Financial Times called the investor rebellion of 2020, when P&G shareholders voted against the company and for serious planet-friendly changes.
To put things into perspective, it will be worthwhile to summarize the ironic logic of T.C. Boyle’s story.Today, all humans who work for a living are in business in one way or another. They are the participants, cheerleaders, anti-heroes, first responders, or economically injured people in a national and global game. The media tend to divide the public into consumers and investors. This is no longer clever or useful. Humans are far more than that. Most of them do the essential work that keep things going during turbulent times.
They show up despite extreme weather events and deal with dysfunctional incidents, daily challenges, and multiplying uncertainties. They are also involved in the Great Resignation and seek relief from stressful living. Of course once in a while it is necessary—even for the most enduring creatures—to stand back and take a deep breath. That’s where the collection of Business Fables come in. They tell concise stories that can make one’s day and bring on a smile. They are satirical, sarcastic, wise and funny.
We really don’t know if the renowned physicist said this, but according to Folklife Today, a newsletter from the Library of Congress, the earliest version of this story can be found in the New Mexico Library Bulletin of January 1958. That’s where Elizabeth Margulis wrote about a Denver woman who knew Einstein, wanted her son to become a top scientist too, and asked her eminent acquaintance what kind of reading the child should do during his school years to prepare him for such a career.
Let the boy read “fairy tales” recommended Einstein. “And more fairy tales.”