This quote, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s
1925 novel The Great Gatsby, inspired the title, Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, a memoir by New Zealander Sarah Wynn-Williams that chronicles her time working as director of public policy at Facebook, now Meta. In it, the author makes claims about the social media company’s behaviour and culture, particularly its treatment of teenagers, its dealings with China, alleged election interference and censorship. Meta won an injunction preventing sales of the book in the US. Both books, despite the 101-year age gap, share themes of hedonism, recklessness, power, greed and manipulation.