Essays Coincidental

“Romney is going to have to define a vision of modern capitalism. He’s going to have to separate his vision from the scandals and excesses we’ve seen over the last few years. He needs to define the kind of capitalist he is and why the country needs his virtues. Let’s face it, he’s not a heroic entrepreneur. He’s an efficiency expert. It has been the business of his life to take companies that were mediocre and sclerotic and try to make them efficient and dynamic. It has been his job to be the corporate version of a personal trainer: take people who are puffy and self-indulgent and whip them into shape.”
 — That’s David Brooks. Hmm. A personal trainer like Tim Ferriss? (I swear it often seems like the accidental pairings of the

Times op-ed page conspire to set David Brooks up for ridicule, right?) Defending modern capitalism on a philosophical level to the American public seems like a very tough task at the moment. (I swear sometimes it seems that managers of the Obama campaign are intentionally setting Mitt Romney up for ridicule, right?) Here’s what Romney should do: Just explain to everyone how capitalism is epitomized by the hero of The Fountainhead, Howard Roark — the egomaniacal rapist you just can’t help but fall in love with.