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How We Fail: Framing the Problem to be Fixable with an Existing Solution
How We Fail: Framing the Problem to be Fixable with an Existing Solution We say we want solutions, but we actually want a specific subset of solutions: those that already meet with our approval. The possibility that none of these pre-approved solutions will actually resolve the problem is rejected because we are wedded to the […]
Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation
Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation Let’s call this financial system what it really is: the MetaPerverse, a conjured world of self-serving cons. We live in a peculiar juncture of history in which truth has been banished as a threat to the maximization of private gain, i.e. the hyper-pursuit of self-interest. Evidence that supports a causal chain has […]
Markets Rely on Accurate and Honest Information — But Governments Want the Opposite
Markets Rely on Accurate and Honest Information — But Governments Want the Opposite Have you ever worked with people you couldn’t trust to tell you the truth? It isn’t pretty. Without the ability to rely on what you’ve been told (or that you’ve been told everything relevant), effective cooperation at almost every margin of choice […]
Truth Is What We Hide, Self-Serving Cover Stories Are What We Sell
Truth Is What We Hide, Self-Serving Cover Stories Are What We Sell The fact that lies and cover stories are now the official norm only makes us love our servitude with greater devotion. We can summarize the current era in one sentence: truth is what we hide, self-serving cover stories are what we sell. Jean-Claude […]
Why Bad Economics Makes Such Good Politics
Why Bad Economics Makes Such Good Politics As the election nears, politicians will more and more frantically point out what wonderful favors they’ve done for the voters — or what favors they will do for the voters, if elected. Of course, they never mean all the voters. They mean groups or individuals within the voting […]
Why Governments are Like an Ameba
Why Governments are Like an Ameba QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; You may be called the legend because of your forecasts on so many levels, but it might also be because you have met with more governments than probably any economist or analyst. My question is simple. From your experience, do you believe you can prevent the […]
The Public Are All Alone: Understanding How the Enemy of Your Enemy Is Not Your Friend
The Public Are All Alone: Understanding How the Enemy of Your Enemy Is Not Your Friend In political matters, the public are taught to believe that some political Party is ‘good’, and that the others are “bad”; but the reality in recent times, at least in the United States, has instead been that both Parties […]
A 1970s self-help guru’s hint why investors may be duped (again)
A 1970s self-help guru’s hint why investors may be duped (again) America’s top forecasters missed the 2008 market crash, during which stock investors lost half their money. Now with stocks approaching bubble territory it looks they are again ignoring warnings signs. What gives? The biggest red flag is the S&P 500 index, which groups 500 […]
Fraud, Fools, and Financial Markets
Fraud, Fools, and Financial Markets Adam Smith famously wrote of the “invisible hand,” by which individuals’ pursuit of self-interest in free, competitive markets advances the interest of society as a whole. And Smith was right: Free markets have generated unprecedented prosperity for individuals and societies alike. But, because we can be manipulated or deceived or […]
Our Crazy-Making Economy’s Endgame: Festering Frustration Seeking an Outlet
Our Crazy-Making Economy’s Endgame: Festering Frustration Seeking an Outlet The consequence of policies that exacerbate injustice, inequality and double-bind demands is a madness that will find a social and economic outlet somewhere, sometime. We all know crazy-makers: people who make contradictory claims about reality, who say one thing and do another, who change their stories constantly […]
