I was at a talk at 3Com by an MIT professor that Metcalfe knew. He made the old joke that "academic politics are so vicious because nothing's at stake." The pr

I was at a talk at 3Com by an MIT professor that Metcalfe knew. He made the old joke that "academic politics are so vicious because nothing's at stake." The prof said, "that depends on whether you consider reputation 'nothing'. " So there you have your reason: anyone whose livelihood depends solely on the good opinion of others is likely to have low moral standards.