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Sadly, if you believe in evolution and market forces we are on the optimal path.

• eli_gottlieb 13y ago
  Which is a very good reason not to believe in market forces.
  • atlanticus 13y ago
    Like evolution, market forces are there whether you believe in them or not.
    • eli_gottlieb 13y ago
      I meant capital-B BELIEVE. The point being that just because some forces you artificially walk in and deem "natural forces" have brought us to a certain situation doesn't mean that situation is "perfect" or "optimal". To the extent that evolution and market forces are actually real forces and not political constructs (coughcoughcoughSocialDarwinismcoughcoughFreeTradecoughcoughcough), they are merely forces, not criteria. In fact, a fairly good definition of "civilization" would be "a bloc of people who have organized themselves so as to overpower natural forces and configure their lives in accordance with their own preferences/values/criteria". TL;DR: I don't go around claiming hurricanes are "optimal", so neither are market crashes. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/03/the-market-as-god/306397/ http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1999/03/the-mark...