When we work for institutions and organisations, or, as socialists would say, when we sell our labour to capitalists, we must behave according to the buyer’s rules and regulations. If we do not know exactly what that entails, we must learn, and that is a shared responsibility of both the buyer and seller of labour, expertise and competence, with the buyer holding the upper hand. This applies to people in high and low positions, whether inherited, elected or obtained through ordinary employment. Even royals, ministers and others in top roles must work and live by the rules, whether written or grounded in convention and tradition. In democracies, the authority to set the rules ultimately lies with the people through elections; in our time, public opinion is also gauged through opinion polls, social media and television debates. The courts are equally important, implementing laws passed by elected parliamentarians, who also have the power to amend them.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed the release of the so-called Epstein files, a media frenzy in which high-level figures have been named for having had, or allegedly having had, improper contact with Jeffrey Epstein. He was a very wealthy American businessman who maintained extensive connections with prominent individuals in many countries, reportedly offering gifts and other advantages, possibly in exchange for favours. Epstein died in custody in 2019 at the age of 66 while facing further investigations into wrongdoing, including child abuse and human trafficking, for which his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell........

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