Poetry, and the value system of Jamie Dimon

Whence the Masters of the Universe, men such as Jamie Dimon or Lloyd Blankfein, whose names and visages are perfectly matched to the position of their value system? Whence the glorification of business and businessmen, as broadcast in the puffed-up expansion of 'business' sections in publications like The New York Times, to the degree that businessmen on the order of Dimon and Blankfein are now regarded by the media as rock stars, 'testifying' before Congress in Brioni or Brooks Brothers suits and highly polished Church shoes, and another very ordinary man, Warren Buffet, is considered, if not a saint, at least worth listening to? 

What happened?

I vaguely remember when Solzhenitsyn came to America in the 80's and was asked what he thought was the central moral problem of the West. "Materialism," he said, settling comfortably on a farm in Vermont paid for largely by western capitalists. 

As to business, I'm a businessman. I get it. It's not at all complicated. I know how to make money and how to keep enough of it to take care of my responsibilities while having something left over for the things that feed the spirit, such as one's children, good gin, and supporting the local library. It's important that enough people have theses skills and instincts, even in a faux capitalistic system, and are willing to help those who don't. But it's not extraordinary. No veneration is expected or required.

Then there's little old poetry, one of the true glories of the world, in which there's almost no money and whose books are sometimes offered in the outdoor bin at Green Apple Books for as little as $1. Books and books and books of poems, some by writers that I know personally and whose work I value.