I've written recently about the possibility of the development of errors in Islamic practice; now here is something about the development of a serious error (culture of profligate moral hazard devoid of any care for consequences) in US civil society and economic behavior.
Cunning Realist writes: (Begin quote) A phrase that's become popular is "a clash of cultures" and variations of it. The description's appropriate. The first culture is one in which policymakers believe they've repealed the natural business cycle. This culture of moral hazard and push-button Fed liquidity makes it possible for 30-somethings to sit in front of computer screens in Manhattan and Connecticut and make millions from the flickering green dots, while that same liquidity debases the dollars held by wage earners, retirees, and prudent savers; it allows mediocre corporate executives to exercise stock options and become fabulously wealthy; it tells stock and real estate speculators that if things go south, someone sitting in an office in Washington will press the "print" button and make everything okay; it makes "bridges to nowhere" possible; and it allows a nation to launch a preventive war and decades-long occupation without a thought about how to pay for it. This culture depends on dollar hegemony.
The other culture is composed of a few countries, non-allies, that happen to occupy the ground above the natural resource most sensitive to Washington's print button. Since they have the gall to object to our insistence on exchanging ever-depreciating pieces of paper for their main (and finite) natural resource, they both complicate our attempt at reinflation and profit from it.
If a U.S. attack on Iran happens during this administration, it won't be an act of the White House, neocons, or Republican party. And if it doesn't happen before January '09 and something magically comes along after that to make it "necessary" it won't be an act of the Democrats. It'll be the culture, the establishment. (End quote)
Realist ends with: "They have the oil. We have the paper. By shunning that paper and benefiting from our extraordinary attempts to stem economic weakness, they pose an existential threat to Bailout Nation. How much longer can the system allow that? If there's a time for vigilance and maximum skepticism about any sort of "provocation" that conveniently pops up, I think this is it."
Truly.
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