Great reply, but I think it supports the nobility thesis. Non-conspiracy mechanisms are more effective than conspiracies... a real conspiracy is hard, and most

Great reply, but I think it supports the nobility thesis. Non-conspiracy mechanisms are more effective than conspiracies... a real conspiracy is hard, and most utterly fail. The essence of your post is "the only source of actual competence is insiders." It's a difficulty that emerges around any attempt to create an alternative anything. But it has been done. I do wonder if we are seeing the very earliest embryonic steps toward a new kind of financial system with stuff like bitcoin. It's not even close to baked, but there is there there.