Be afraid. Be very, very afraid...

This post for me is an adequate answer to my post "the folly of money markets". The money markets allow an international democratization of sorts, just as stock markets allow the people to vote for companies. The problem is that a money market system allows the rich who play these money markets to vote and bring down the finance situation of an entire nation, overnight. This is blatantly unfair. And it can in a way backfire, like we are seeing in the article you posted. When voters vote for short term issues only and for personal benefit only, then democracy itself becomes a folly. And the greedy rich will just end up eating themselves to extermination, They will get richer and richer just as so many people who get fatter and fatter. The death will be all a necessary cleaning of the entire sick world. But will we learn from it? Or is greed an inherent characteristic of humanity? andrew vecsey

=This post for me is an adequate answer to my post "the folly of money =markets". The money markets allow an international democratization of =sorts, just as stock markets allow the people to vote for companies. =The problem is that a money market system allows the rich who play =these money markets to vote and bring down the finance situation of an =entire nation, overnight. This is blatantly unfair. And it can in a =way backfire, like we are seeing in the article you posted. When =voters vote for short term issues only and for personal benefit only, =then democracy itself becomes a folly. And the greedy rich will just =end up eating themselves to extermination, They will get richer and =richer just as so many people who get fatter and fatter. The death =will be all a necessary cleaning of the entire sick world. But will we =learn from it? Or is greed an inherent characteristic of humanity? =andrew vecsey

Well, that's a little philosophical for a finance thread, but yes, fundamentally greed is an inherent characteristic of (male) humanity and is what makes the finance world go round. The reason the system works well in a normal, benign environment is that there is also a brake or drag or restriction on greed (in the form of regulation, taxes, moral codes etc) which limits the effect of that greed pressure to a healthy few percent a year, which in turn represents normal growth or profit margins. When one of those 'natural' restrictions is eased, as has happened in the last few years with masses of easy credit, the system slowly speeds up under the constant pressure of greed and starts to run faster and faster, like an out of control horse or a runaway reactor.

This is the danger the world now faces. The question is whether we can slow the runaway with calming words and firm control, or whether as the article suggests, it might just run away from us entirely and end with an almighty smash-up.

Greed is just one quadrant around from fear (in fact the two usually form an emotional cocktail which gives us the 'thrill' of excess). Fear, when uncontrolled, is just as dangerous as greed, and fear is now taking the upper hand and driving the credit crunch in which organisations and individuals fear for their losses and reduce their business activities to a minimum. This way lies recession and, ultimately, depression.

-Neil F.