It seems so predictable...

I am not an economist. Sure I took some basic economics courses as an undergraduate and like anyone who pays any attention to the news I have been subjected to the speculations of economists of every ilk. No matter what their individual theoretical perspective all economists seem to live by the general delusion that the primary function is growth - wealth creation is one common descriptor.

What they never like to talk about is the notion that unlimited and never ending growth is really a fancy way of describing unmitigated greed. That fact is market economics are premised on the central idea that people at the top must gain more and more wealth so that the economy as a whole functions well. It seems obvious that there has to be a limit to growth and that inevitably the so-called growth experts would slip into untenable devices for creating wealth - or at least the illusion of wealth.

And it seems to be so predictable that in the end the bubble must burst. We saw it with Dutch tulips and we saw it in the 1920's. Now the rotten house of cards ( to mange some metaphors) has come tumbling down. Will it change anything? Not really; sure we will lick our wounds and commiserate over the venality of the few. But we will remain smugly wrapped in the illusion that the marketplace is the heart of the nation - its raison d'etre for some.