The deathbed conversion of Bill Gates

"The "recantation" of old men, if it occurs, is easily understood. Having been brought up in a particular religion, their earliest and tenderest memories may be connected with it; and when they lie down to die they may mechanically recur to it, just as they may forget whole years of their maturity, and vividly remember the scenes of their childhood."

--G.W. Foote, Infidel Death-Beds

"Bill Gates Issues Call for Kinder Capitalism."

That's the front page headline of today's Wall Street Journal, and I guess if I were a good little trooper I'd join in the celebration of his Damascene conversion to the cause.

But that's not how most people in business will see it, and it's important we recognize why Gates' sermonizing is likely to fall on deaf ears.

First, there's the natural reaction that Gates is merely giving voice to a guilty conscience.  Sin in business, repent in retirement is one cliche that has indeed become an archetype.  One by-product of this: reinforcement of the image of charity as a luxury good.

In addition, there's the suspicion that Gates is cynically trying to shore up Microsoft's market position.  How?  Well, now that he's not in active control and competitors are chipping away at Microsoft's market share, he's trying to shame competitors into pulling back--and, more directly, to get consumers to see its competitors as selfish and exploitive.  If government responds by requiring businesses to be more socially conscience, that's all the better, because it has the potential to freeze the market in its current state.

It's the kind of virtue-jitsu we see in the Clinton campaign, which is a master at using appeals to decency to shut down political opponents.  Except Microsoft is not a politician campaigning on a platform of universal health care and aid to the poor; it's still first and foremost a multi-billion dollar quasi-monopoly with an established reputation for ruthless profit-seeking in pursuit of market share.

For Gates' appeal to have had substantial ripple effects, it really had to have been issued while he was in charge.  It would also require visible changes in Microsoft's own business practices.  Last but not least, Gates would have to provide a compelling rationale beyond a guilty conscience, an argument easily parried by anyone who has a superficial acquaintance with Adam Smith.  

In this regard, the ultimate failure is not Gates', but our own.  The self-identified do-gooding community has not given him or any other aspiring philanthropic capitalists the conceptual tools to move beyond prevailing corporate norms.

RESPONSE TIME EXTRA:

The Slashdot thread on the story provides an interesting set of reactions.