Sean Corrigan Archive

Overegging the Pudding

September 30, 2008 12:09 AM by Sean Corrigan

In his latest piece, Frank Shostak approvingly quoted Jeff Tucker's earlier rhapsody as follows:-

But as wonderful as the daily shifts and movements are, what really inspires are the massive acts of creative destruction such as when old-line firms like Lehman and Merrill melt before our eyes, their good assets transferred to more competent hands.... This is the kind of shock and awe we should all celebrate. It is contrary to the wish of all the principal players and it accords with the will of society as a whole and the dictate of the market that waste not last and last. No matter how large, how entrenched, how exalted the institution, it is always vulnerable to being blown away by market forces -- no more or less so than the lemonade stand down the street.

While I approve of the sentiments, I am forced to demur at their application.

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Cincinnatus redux?

September 23, 2008 2:37 AM by Sean Corrigan

The extraordinary powers which that champion of Corporativisimo, Hank Paulson, would like to arrogate to himself sparked the following comparison:-

'Dictatorem(que) dici placeret qui rem perculsam restitueret, L. Quinctius Cincinnatus consensu omnium dicitur... et plebis concursus ingens fuit; sed ea nequaquam tam laeta Quinctium uidit, et imperium nimium et uirum ipso imperio uehementiorem rata'

'And they were determined that a Dictator should be appointed to restore their embarrassed affairs, so, by universal consent, they chose Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus... There was a large gathering of the people, but, by no means, did they regard him with equal delight, considering both the extent of his authority as too great and the man vested with such authority as rather arbitrary' Livy, History of Rome, Bk III.26

Of course, old 'Curly' did what he had to to rescue the Romans then went straight back to his plough, leaving the political and economic system undisturbed behind him.

I don't suppose his smooth-headed successor is likely to be quite so obliging!

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Ben Bernanke as Solon

March 4, 2008 10:03 AM by Sean Corrigan

With his latest, rather forlorn call for banks to help solve the mortgage crisis by 'forgiving' just enough of their loans to keep people's inability to service their full contractual obligations from triggering foreclosure proceedings, he truly has gone all the way back to Solon and his 6th century answer to Athen's very own sub-prime crisis, the 'seisachtheia' - or 'shaking off of debts'

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2007 in song:The Ballad of Alpha, the Bull's Bull, All Geared
2007.12.30 | Comments (1)

Better stay in Bali, boys, it's cold up here!
2007.12.21 | Comments (51)

Heroic opposition to the Bali-hoo on AGW
2007.12.13 | Comments (23)

IMF explicit about carbosocialism
2007.12.09 | Comments (32)

Carbophobic socialism rules OK!
2007.11.28 | Comments (63)

GG on Capital
2007.11.07 | Comments (8)

The Whine of the Ancient Marriner
2007.11.07 | Comments (2)

Good diagnosis, but quack medicine
2007.10.05 | Comments (6)

Malthus and Mein Kampf come to Cork
2007.09.16 | Comments (674)

ABCT and 'Bureaucracy' in China
2007.09.14 | Comments (3)