Dear all,
David Koch passed away recently. You may know him as one of the two Koch brothers—that ominous duo of wealthy donors who have been such a mighty force in US conservative politics. They bankrolled the Tea Party and helped fund the effort that led to the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court, one that effectively removed any practical limit to what wealthy donors and corporations can spend to try and influence electoral outcomes. They then used this unprecedented room to maneuver against the Obama administration, preventing Obama from delivering most of what he had promised.
Yet recently I’ve been struck by how incomplete this picture was. It happened in two steps. The first was my listening to a podcast featuring Marc Andreessen and Charles Koch (David's big brother) on The Business of Continual Change. It’s VERY interesting—and it barely covers politics! Instead, it’s all about Koch Industries, the company run by the brothers (mostly Charles, actually), how this organi…