In its essence, capitalism entails the use of all means at one’s disposal to enrich oneself. Since in its naked manifestation capitalism is brutal, it has been mellowed over the years, not only by socialists and social democrats, but also, in the Britain of former times say, by radical Tories.

Not all capitalists are Pink-Floydian ‘dogs’, though. Many have a social conscience and create structures with which to channel some of their earnings to charity and philanthropy. Probably the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the most well-known on a global scale; it aims to ‘enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty’ around the world, and ‘in America, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology’ (at least, according to Wikipedia).

Locally, too, we have similar private-sector not-for-profit structures. Successful businessmen and businesses have created permanent structures (such as foundations) to share their success with society. There can be no doubt that their efforts are highly appreciated by those involved in the arts, culture, philanthropy, education, and so on, not least because publicly-visible structures involve different psychological dynamics than charity privately done.

In the middle of the massive Panamagate blizzard that has engulfed Malta, one starts comparing those businessmen who funnel a portion of their profits into public-spirited projects via foundations and other such structures with other businessmen who set up secret companies in secretive jurisdictions to divert their profits out of the country.

In other words, the pattern one can trace when analysing the behaviour of the “Panama category” of businessmen is that on the one hand, they try to minimise their contribution to the state (which directs most of its funds toward the less privileged classes) and on the other hand, they do not even attempt to help others by creating own-initiative charitable or public-spirited structures.

Put another way, such businessmen conform to neither left-wing ideals of the assistentialist state which helps the needy, nor to right-wing ideals of successful businessmen doing their bit for the common good. Perhaps they conform to the idea that in this so-called post-ideology society they have no social obligations: who knows?

I am not saying that this mentality is unique to Malta, or that it is some recent fad. Further up, I quoted Pink Floyd’s ‘Dogs’ from their album Animals, which happens to turn 40 years this year. One stanza reads: ‘Deaf, dumb and blind, you just keep on pretending / That everyone’s expendable and no-one has a real friend... And you believe at heart, everyone’s a killer’. It must be sad to lead such a life and embrace such a view of the world.

It is also a morally corrupt attitude. In a world in which it is becoming increasingly more difficult for the state to help the poor and the middle class (for instance, we might even no longer have pensions a few years down the line, even though there is money to save the band of brigand banks, nonetheless), a few successful businessmen think about their own very private pension plan: how to cheat the state while not even donating anything to charity or public-spirited projects.

It is clear to many people that this is truly despicable.

But not all the people seem to understand. In Animals, the Pink Floyd album I quoted above, there’s another song called Sheep. It refers to the people:

What do you get for pretending the danger’s not real?

Meek and obedient you follow the leader

Down well-trodden corridors into the valley of steel

What a surprise!

A look of terminal shock in your eyes

Now things are really what they seem

No, this is no bad dream.

Dr Sammut is the author of the best-selling L-Aqwa fl-Ewropa. Il-Panama Papers u l-Poter.