There's not much I can add to the enormous volume of well-deserved derision aimed at former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain, who destroyed one of America's legendary companies while "earning" one of the highest salaries in the country.

And yet, I have to add one thing: his abuses did not occur in a vacuum. When Thain lobbied for - and won - early executive bonuses ahead of the company's takeover by Bank of America, or when Thain spent over $1 million to redecorate his office - all the while planning to cut thousands of jobs - many people knew what was going on. Subordinates, peers, regulators and even shareholders chose to look the other way.

These enablers share responsibility for Thain's offenses. I would say they share his shame, but I suspect that someone who can spend $87,000 of other people's money for an area rug has no concept of shame.

Subordinates will claim, as did Lt. William Calley, that they had to follow orders. But we know this is not true for moral people. The brave helicopter pilots who ultimately ended the My Lai massacre, by landing their ships between Calley's troops and his civilian targets, suffered indignities galore for their heroism, but they knew what was right and they acted on their knowledge. Have we really created a Wall Street and banking culture where no one in the boardroom or the lunchroom has the moral sensibility or courage to stand up for fiduciary responsibility?

Capitalism is an economic model, not a moral code. In fact, people who adopt economic systems as moral codes inevitably commit heinous crimes - ask anyone who lived behind the Iron Curtain. As my colleague Dean Zatkowsky has written, "We easily believe that someone might kill for a Walkman or a pair of sneakers, because we've read about it in the papers. But have we really considered what someone might do for a hundred million dollars? Would you kill a bunch of anonymous strangers in a far away country? No? For fifty million, would you look the other way while someone else does the killing?"

How many people suspected that Bernie Madoff's investment returns smelled fishy, but kept taking their piece of the action? How many people knew that Enron was gaming the market, but didn't want to upset the apple cart? (Sherron Watkins took a stand!) How many people knew that sub-prime mortgages were a bad investment, but sold them anyway and laughed, as the toxic assets became "someone else's problem"?

Edmund Burke observed that, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." As we learn more about the men who destroyed our economy, from Robert Rubin (who convinced Congress and the Clinton Administration to repeal the Glass-Steagel Act) to new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (who skipped his own taxes, but used yours and mine to bail out AIG) to John Thain (ugh!), we see the eternal truth of Burke's words. Men like Rubin, Geithner and Thain are certainly villains of the economic meltdown, but they had many accomplices, some of whom may be seen in the nearest mirror.