At a church in Frankfurt I recently had the opportunity to listen to a debate between Professor Paul Kirchhof, a former Federal Constitutional Court judge, and the former chairman of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Professor Wolfgang Huber. The topic was the gradual destruction of church and state and the eventual end of institutions. Almost inevitably, the conversation turned to the 'crisis' – nowadays, an empty catchphrase for all social problems.
The cause of the crisis was quickly identified as the 'anonymous' financial markets. It was no wonder then that the discussion also touched on speculators. I learned that night that there are good ones and bad ones: on the good side are the brave entrepreneurs who produce real goods and are therefore able to add real value; lurking on the dark side are the evil hedge funds with their leverage and arcane derivatives, of which the simple investor understands very little. The point was driven home using an example of a famine provoked by a hedge fund that speculated in commodity futures, a tale that drew gasps of horror among the audience.
The experts' inability to say what they meant by 'financial markets' in front of a curious and, as Paul Kirchhof emphasized, intelligent audience, strikes me as woeful during discussions like this. Only the moderator threw in a short aside that we are all part of the financial markets, and she's right. 'We' can mean people who are only trying to hang on to the value of their money, or those who are out to get the best return possible. This search for an opportunity was named speculari by the Romans.
It would be pure pretence to say that one is satisfied with a low return when higher yields are available somewhere else. What's more, as one quickly grows accustomed to any additional income, the search for even more is pursued in order to maintain the perception of advantage. This seemingly endless quest for more is commonly known as greed. Greed manifests itself in turbulent asset prices, so it is actually quite convenient that these greedy financial markets provide this 'veil' of anonymity. In this case, individual greed becomes an abstract form known as 'the markets' whose excesses we now judge with impunity.
The discussion ended with Matthew 7:12, where it is written that everyone should treat others as they would like to be treated. It still seems reasonable that one might expect something in return for adhering to this social rule as, in a world where there appear to be only a few rules to govern economic community, it is common to fear being taken advantage of by others. This is where theism comes in. Over the history of the Church there was always the promise of a reward in the Hereafter in return for demonstrating proper ethical and social behaviour in this life. Perhaps this is the reason for the decline in membership in some Christian denominations, that the Church can no longer convey the added-value of God.
The economist and Nobel-laureate, Thomas Schelling, once observed that rules are necessary to constrain selfish behaviour.[1] Market deregulation over the past 30 years may actually have lost those rules, and the values, the basis of all rules, are not sufficiently represented by the state or by the Church.
Related posts:
- The Feel-good Euro
- Even gold won't help then
- No Heroes, Lots of Zeros
- Of Greed and Generosity
- A Kindergarten Test-Bed for EU Deficit Sanctions
Tags: adaptation, greed, morality, religion