The Vice Issue
“Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues,” Napoleon Bonaparte said. But for all his world-conquering ambition, the French ruler never envisioned an empire like this. Where once the commerce in humanity’s baser instincts was confined to the shadows, today the business of vice — both legitimate and altogether illegal — ...
"Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues," Napoleon Bonaparte said. But for all his world-conquering ambition, the French ruler never envisioned an empire like this. Where once the commerce in humanity's baser instincts was confined to the shadows, today the business of vice -- both legitimate and altogether illegal -- is a global enterprise, corporatized and commoditized by private firms, governments, and nonstate actors alike. From drugs to gambling to booze, FP's first vice issue takes a hard look at the business of sin. Whether anyone can stop the marketing of decadence and debauchery isn’t really the question. It's whether anyone still wants to.
“Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues,” Napoleon Bonaparte said. But for all his world-conquering ambition, the French ruler never envisioned an empire like this. Where once the commerce in humanity’s baser instincts was confined to the shadows, today the business of vice — both legitimate and altogether illegal — is a global enterprise, corporatized and commoditized by private firms, governments, and nonstate actors alike. From drugs to gambling to booze, FP‘s first vice issue takes a hard look at the business of sin. Whether anyone can stop the marketing of decadence and debauchery isn’t really the question. It’s whether anyone still wants to.
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