I hate to have to get into it, but I've been thinking about the fact that Wall Street and the financial markets in general are all run by emotionally underdeveloped men with a 'gotta win the big game!' mentality. I was listening to a slate podcast the other day and some twitty little thing chirped optimistically to the effect that she believed these smart guys would (close paraphrase) "find a way to take advantage of all this turbulence and make ton of money." And that somehow that would "get us out of all this." I don't have time to listen again and get the exact quotations, but check it out here.
This kind of thinking is epidemic, and very dangerous. People don't seem to understand that this kind of clever perseverance is just what the 'smart guys' have been doing for decades now and if they succeed again with yet another smart coup we will have an even worse problem down the line. It will only temporarily stave off the collapse and make it even worse.
I thought the culture commentators on slate were supposed to be 'smart' too, so what gives. Also, notice that how our cheery little journalette assumes it will be some 'smart guys' who will solve everything, and that she need not really trouble her pretty little head about it. Ok so feminists, time to regroup, ok? "Help me Princess Leia you're my only hope."
This also reminds me of the sort of silly non-think I've been hearing in the debates. The non-think comes from both sides, but the side with the long history of supporting dangerous deregulatory policies seems to be resorting to this more than ever. This approach suggests that we should accept the notion that everything will be just fine if we only have a bit of FAITH in god, smart guys, the honest hard working American, Joe Six Pack, our fighting men, the financial markets, faries or what the fuck ever rhetorical myth worked in the most recent focus group; as long as we don't think about it but have lots of enthusiastic FAITH it will all work out, just like in the movies.
The dance goes like this:
Democrat suggests policy alternatives. Then republican mouths mindless high school forensics dodges and peppy rhetoric about the ingenious and hardworking American worker. "Don't worry the smart guys will save us! It'll all be great! These dark times will only prove our strength of character! Don't listen to the liberal panty waists, they eat pork from barrels, I'll make them famous, burble gurble upr belch frowgog smak frog fromog wocka wacka wocka wacka...
Here, on the other hand, is a suggestion from a woman quietly being sane and reasonable in Merry old England.
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