On Boldness

There is a some talk at the moment of a historic opportunity - an opportunity to refound the economy on sounder principles, to shackle the banking system in the service of society, to rebalance the inequalities between the very rich and the very poor, or at least between the hedge fund manager and the minimum wage drudge. While the forces of reaction are by no means slain - the CEO of Deloitte did a nice job this evening of warning about the dangers of actually changing anything that might offend his clients - I do indeed think the political obstacles against change are lower than at any time since the 30s.

But the problem today is the same as it was 80 years ago: the only people who know enough to produce workable alternatives are so invested in the old order that they are unlikely to be radical. There are many, many bad alternative solutions so we really need to deploy the best talent possible in making policy. That means that the new order is, sadly, likely to look a lot more like the old one that it needs to.

Update. It seems the Big Picture is thinking along the same lines.