Power is a Principle

Somewhere along the way, the kid with vision became another man with power.

Mark Zuckerberg built a company on values and vision. He was the kid who said no to $1,000,000,000 —not for lack of ambition, but on principle. What was often dismissed as naive or insincere was, in my experience, deeply earnest.

I watched Mark return to values and vision in our best and worst times, grounding the company in something bigger than a bottom line, more profound than profit. The Facebook I joined was led by someone I would’ve followed through fire. Fifteen years later, I was shown the door when I refused to stand in the flames and call it comfortable.

Somewhere along the way, the kid with vision became another man with power.

Today’s announcement is a relinquishing of responsibility dressed up as empowerment. It’s gaslighting, it’s fools gold; this isn’t a return to principle or vision. It’s a calculated abdication of accountability.

Men with power don’t cry uncle—not when there’s a safety net of high-net-worth uncles at the ready.

The kid who said no to Microsoft and Yahoo said yes to Uncle Sam. When the boat became too powerful to steer, Mark threw his hands in the air, reassuring us from the shores of Mar-a-Lago, “the stormy sea has always taken care of us!”

Check the facts — you can’t absolve yourself of the responsibility to manage a $1,500,000,000,000 machine of your own creation without help. And you don’t do it because you care about people, or democracy.

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Edited to add a recent essay by my friend and former colleague, earl(ier) early Facebooker,

Natalie Ponte

, that gives this perspective so much depth, texture, and richness. Must read!