They have robber barons, we have Surma Bhopalis.

Why did they do it? Why did a prestigious car company, with a reputation for reliability, such as Volkswagen cheat on emissions of its diesel cars? It is not just Volkswagen, but the reputation for reliability, honesty and technical superiority of entire German engineering that has been tarnished. The town of Wolfsburg is entirely dependent on the company and workers are angry at the loss of goodwill through no fault of theirs. They are also scared about their jobs if sales of VW cars plummet. The mystery is why do highly intelligent people resort to skulduggery when surely they must know that they will be caught one day. Studies suggest that psychotic traits, such as ego, extreme confidence, charm and lack of conscience, can lead to high success in today's companies, where rewards are enormous. These people have the ability to convince others who are tempted by their success. All cars are run by software programs. Pollution laws are stricter in the US than in Europe, maybe because Europe has to import almost all its oil while the US has become self-sufficient through hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Volkswagen programmed their cars so that emission controls kicked in when they were being tested but stopped when they were being driven on roads. This meant that they could deliver higher performance, demanded by owners, while satisfying regulators. Fiendishly clever. Trouble is that there are equally clever people elsewhere and independent testers caught on to the scam. Now Switzerland has banned some models of VW, millions of cars will have to be recalled, the company will be fined in billions of dollars and some may face long prison terms. Not just VW, but diesel cars produced by all companies will be checked for cheating. But VW is not alone. Almost every company is at it. JP Morgan Chase lost $6.2 billion in 2012 from futures trading at its London branch due one trader, named the London Whale. Also in 2012 Glaxo Smith Kline was fined $3 billion for doctoring clinical tests on its drugs while bribing doctors with lavish holidays. Tobacco companies hid the harmful effects of smoking for decades and have fought fiercely against claims for damages. Recently Coca Cola has been found to be financing research into obesity, which claimed that obesity was not due to diet but due to lack of exercise. It may have something to do with time horizons. Ordinary people plan for long term, such as college fees for children, medical emergencies or retirement. Politicians have to face elections every 5 years so they choose not to see scams because they need donors to fund their campaigns while businessmen need to generate higher dividends for shareholders every year so that they are paid millions in bonuses. In India our business fellows are all Surma Bhopalis, oily, lying con men who loot their companies with the help of slimy socialists. At least in the west the crooks are punished but here they get away.