Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Wall-Street Shamans

In more than one respect, those who labour in the banks and firms of Big Finance remind me of pre-medieval shamans.

Both spin never-ending lies in complex forms as varied as they are untrue. Their word governs everything from medicine to Republican tribal politics. In return for these lies, they are excused from any actual work: betting on whether or not a number is going to increase or decrease is not a productive occupation: it is little more than educated gambling, and is the modern equivalent of prayer and chants - at best useless, and more often than not destructive.

I've always found it interesting that we choose to not merely accept, but encourage the pursuit of these careers in our society. We may have taken a step away from religion and barbarism, but insist on keeping the crazy old men in tents, chanting about the end of the world and when the rain will come.

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