14 September 2008

There are several things that threaten a democratic free enterprise system: two of them are anarchy and predatory greed.

Anarchy is a natural extension of freedom; in order to be free one must not have to do anything anyone else wants them to do - or not to do anything they are not allowed to do.  Its banner cry: no one can tell me what to do!  There are people, there are always people, who believe that rules do not apply to them.  Why?  Because rules threaten their liberty - their freedom.  Democratic freedom dissipates when order disappears; it's as simple as that.  It is difficult to flock to the banner of freedom when order no longer exists.  People readily surrender freedom when there is no order, and a few can destroy it for the rest of us.  If you don't believe that, stand by and watch it happen

Predatory greed is another story; it has to do with self interest, which is the cornerstone of free enterprise: it works - but only up to a point.  Today the sharks are gathering around large financial institutions that are in trouble.  So, let them sink, right?  Where there are losers there are also winners.  But there is also the psychology of defeat, and that is the problem.  Many financial institutions are only in trouble because inverstors think they are in trouble - the old run on the bank.  That's what happened during the Depression.  It didn't have to be as bad as it was, but the bunker psychology took over. 

Our entire economic system is built upon trust and confidence; when that disappears it crashes.  Let him without sin cast the first stone.  'Think that will deter anyone?  Me first.  But it's their money; can you blame them?

Beware.  We are our own worst enemies, and if it all goes south we need only look to our own greedy self preservation - led by the sharks.  Worst of all is that the most virulent predators - the sharks - are the ones that will win.  We detest them, but we let them lead us where they will.   The sky is falling, Henny Penny.