So the Greeks pointed to the hubris required for a man to act as though he were a god as the ultimate sin. How is this different from Hayek's "The Fatal Conceit"?
This author has plenty of both. First, he understands the "real" causes of the economic crisis. How? He possesses the special knowledge of which authorities to which he can appeal for a complete explanation.
The report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission detailed the recklessness of the financial industry and the abject failures of policymakers and regulators that brought our economy to its knees in 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-real-causes-of-the-economic-crisis-theyre-history/2011/06/27/AG2nK4pH_story.html
He can see inequality, and knows it for a sure sign of bad things to come. He can tell that anyone wins, somebody had to be losing; and the winners surely played unfairly to win. He trusts himself (and politicians he approves of) to carefully, and justly, untainted by human failings, balance out the inequality.
prosecuting financial wrongdoing to deter future malfeasance; vigorously enforcing financial reforms to rein in excessive risk; and rooting out Wall Street’s conflicts of interests, abysmal governance and badly flawed compensation incentives.
With the help of the author and his chosen elected representatives and their regulatory appointees, we can legislate and regulate ourselves into financial nirvanna in which the "little guys and gals" who, under the current cruel system, are underemployed and trailing badly in the race to earn and keep the most money, would live in milk and honey forever.
With his and his peers' accumulated wisdom, we could get on with:
...the urgent task of putting people back to work and creating real wealth for America’s future. Over the past decade, we squandered trillions of dollars on rampant speculation rather than on making investments — in technology, infrastructure, clean energy and education — that increase our productivity and economic strength. The financial sector’s share of corporate profits climbed from 15 percent in 1980 to 33 percent by the early 2000s, while financial-sector debt soared from $3 trillion in 1978 to $36 trillion by 2007. With tens of millions still unemployed, isn’t it time to shift from an economy based on money making money to an economy based on money creating jobs and genuine prosperity? (emphasis mine-PFE)
Because surely it is within the reach of gods like the author, and heretofore all to human politicians, to simply legislate and regulate better so that we can right the wrongs and cure the ills and make everything work hunky dory ... like the Europeans have done so deftly lo these many years.
Dang, why didn't I think of that.
This author has plenty of both. First, he understands the "real" causes of the economic crisis. How? He possesses the special knowledge of which authorities to which he can appeal for a complete explanation.
The report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission detailed the recklessness of the financial industry and the abject failures of policymakers and regulators that brought our economy to its knees in 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-real-causes-of-the-economic-crisis-theyre-history/2011/06/27/AG2nK4pH_story.html
He can see inequality, and knows it for a sure sign of bad things to come. He can tell that anyone wins, somebody had to be losing; and the winners surely played unfairly to win. He trusts himself (and politicians he approves of) to carefully, and justly, untainted by human failings, balance out the inequality.
prosecuting financial wrongdoing to deter future malfeasance; vigorously enforcing financial reforms to rein in excessive risk; and rooting out Wall Street’s conflicts of interests, abysmal governance and badly flawed compensation incentives.
With the help of the author and his chosen elected representatives and their regulatory appointees, we can legislate and regulate ourselves into financial nirvanna in which the "little guys and gals" who, under the current cruel system, are underemployed and trailing badly in the race to earn and keep the most money, would live in milk and honey forever.
With his and his peers' accumulated wisdom, we could get on with:
...the urgent task of putting people back to work and creating real wealth for America’s future. Over the past decade, we squandered trillions of dollars on rampant speculation rather than on making investments — in technology, infrastructure, clean energy and education — that increase our productivity and economic strength. The financial sector’s share of corporate profits climbed from 15 percent in 1980 to 33 percent by the early 2000s, while financial-sector debt soared from $3 trillion in 1978 to $36 trillion by 2007. With tens of millions still unemployed, isn’t it time to shift from an economy based on money making money to an economy based on money creating jobs and genuine prosperity? (emphasis mine-PFE)
Because surely it is within the reach of gods like the author, and heretofore all to human politicians, to simply legislate and regulate better so that we can right the wrongs and cure the ills and make everything work hunky dory ... like the Europeans have done so deftly lo these many years.
Dang, why didn't I think of that.
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