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Honestly not a very surprising story. Maybe it wasn't even worth skipping the $16k. Looking at the endless list of boondoggles undertaken by some of the middle

Honestly not a very surprising story. Maybe it wasn't even worth skipping the $16k. Looking at the endless list of boondoggles undertaken by some of the middle eastern countries awash with oil, one can only surmise that there is a well staffed consultant class there who are very talented at never saying no, I can say I'm completely unsurprised about that. If you believe that as an employee of BCG, you're offering next to no value (as a yes man who makes snappy powerpoints to help squash the fleeting doubts of some architecturally aspirational minor royal), and that the actions of your clients are broadly unethical (destroying the planet, facilitating other people destroying the planet, cutting up diplomats, etc.), arguably, is it not ethically appropriate to act as a parasite for such clients to increase inertia in their operations and drain their ill-gotten gains?

sudobash1 4y ago
No, it's not a surprising story, but I don't think that is why he passed on the $16k. Rather I think that he was done being payed to suppress his conscience. And $16k to give up the freedom to discuss your life doesn't sound like a good deal to me (especially if you are not hurting for cash).
ElijahLynn 4y ago
It was surprising to me.
tmpz22 4y ago
> is it not ethically appropriate to act as a parasite If you're surrounded by a transparently evil organization AND you profit from it, even if you think you are doing good, you will likely be corrupted and trapped in a web of your own justifications that just happen to support the continuation of a fat pay check.
resoluteteeth 4y ago
It may have been a bit more surprising in 2010 when this was written, before there were a lot more stories like this one being published.
- superchroma 4y ago
  For me the shoe dropped after Palm Island #2 in Dubai, when they announced The World. It looked silly, didn't sell well and it didn't succeed cleanly and was immediately followed by the announcement of The Universe, where even the renders looked sloppy.
lozenge 4y ago
If you want to undertake a boondoggle, why not skip the consulting and get right into it?
- umeshunni 4y ago
  The consulting provides it with a veneer of legitimacy.

sudobash1 4y ago

No, it's not a surprising story, but I don't think that is why he passed on the $16k. Rather I think that he was done being payed to suppress his conscience. And $16k to give up the freedom to discuss your life doesn't sound like a good deal to me (especially if you are not hurting for cash).

ElijahLynn 4y ago

It was surprising to me.

tmpz22 4y ago

> is it not ethically appropriate to act as a parasite If you're surrounded by a transparently evil organization AND you profit from it, even if you think you are doing good, you will likely be corrupted and trapped in a web of your own justifications that just happen to support the continuation of a fat pay check.

resoluteteeth 4y ago

It may have been a bit more surprising in 2010 when this was written, before there were a lot more stories like this one being published.

superchroma 4y ago
For me the shoe dropped after Palm Island #2 in Dubai, when they announced The World. It looked silly, didn't sell well and it didn't succeed cleanly and was immediately followed by the announcement of The Universe, where even the renders looked sloppy.

lozenge 4y ago

If you want to undertake a boondoggle, why not skip the consulting and get right into it?

umeshunni 4y ago
The consulting provides it with a veneer of legitimacy.