>I think the economy is one of these things that no one can understand. I think that's overstating it a bit. The economy is certainly a complex system, but the

>I think the economy is one of these things that no one can understand. I think that's overstating it a bit. The economy is certainly a complex system, but there are patterns we can understand. We do understand how something like Facebook can come to pass in capitalism. We just can't predict where, when, what and and who (sorry, ycombinator can do that of course, but that's an exception :). We do know that debt and leverage comes with certain dangers and also that there are counter forces that mitigate those dangers. We just can't predict very well where and when it gets out of hand. But to those who reject markets on that basis I want to say that society as a whole is a complex system as well. We can't really get rid of that sort of danger. Nations and democracies can be stable and peaceful for a long time and then suddenly fracture and drift towards conflict and hostility for no one's benefit.