I cannot but read your review of William Cohan’s Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World (New York: Doubleday, 2011) like a Martian (“Long on Chutzpah, Short on Friends,” April 16, 2011). Some centuries ago, social pariahs turned bankers sold money at a profit against moral standards of the time. Sometimes they were persecuted for their nasty trade, but never for very long. The trade was vital to the wealthy, and social pariahs who started it survived. By and by, they started thriving. Some years ago, they sold their customers iffy mortgage securities long after making a lucrative bet against housing, which eventually netted them a huge profit. The bankers are there to do capitalism’s dirty business, after all. Thus it is not surprising that one of the most successful investment banks ever is forever mired in moral conundrums. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs went public in 1999. It does everything in accordance with the law, but the law itself is often rather shady. Criticizing them for their crooked dealings sounds quite strange, though. Capitalism needs them. More, it cannot get far without them. For half a millennium or so, they have been vital to the entire social order, which thrives on tricky investment banking. Or this is how a Martian would surely read your touchy review.