“Our economy is increasingly dependent on the success and integrity of the financial markets.”
For the political foundations of free markets to become stronger , society has to become more cognizant of how much it owes them. The first step in mounting a defense of markets is to create the awareness about their true benefits and their limitations. Because the free market system is so weak politically , the forms of capitalism that are experienced in many countries are very far from the ideal. They are a corrupted version in which powerful interests prevents competition from playing its natural and healthy role.
The financial markets , attract even more opprobrium than others. Few trained economists in the developed world today would be against free markets in goods and services , but a sizable number can still be found who would oppose free financial markets. Not only are financial markets more misunderstood than other markets , they are more important because , as we shall comprehend this later , free financial markets are the elixir that fuels the process of increasing economy and also responsible for continuously rejuvenating the capitalist system. As such they are also the primary targets of the powerful interests that fear change.
So, let’s now examine what the public believes financial markets and the financiers do. One belief that is widely held is that Wall Street is that parasite that lives on the Main Street . At best , the financier takes from one individual and hands over to the other concerned individual , while keeping back a significant commission with him self. Here’s how we can get this through a narrative which clearly depicts what exactly the financier do from Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the vanities , in which there’s a character named Judy McCoy explains his daughter Campbell what exactly her father , a bond salesman , does : “Daddy doesn’t build roads or hospitals , and he doesn’t help build them , but he does handle the bonds for the people who raise the money .” “Bonds?” “yes. just imagine that a bond is a slice of cake , and you didn’t bake the cake , but every time you hand somebody a slice of the cake a tiny little bit comes off, like a little crumb, and you can keep that.” Judy was smiling , and so was Campbell who seemed who seemed to realize that this was a joke , a kind of fairy tale based on what her daddy did. “Little crumbs? she said encouragingly. “Yes,” said Judy. “Or you have to imagine little crumbs, but a lot of little crumbs to make gigantic cake.” By going through the above narrative we some can get into them realm of what the financiers are apt to do.
The great monopoly in this country is the money monopoly. So long a sit exists , our old variety , freedom and individual energy of development are out of question. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of few men, who, even if there actions be honest and intended for the public interest, are increasingly concentrated upon the great undertakings in which there own money is involved and who, necessarily, by reason of their own limitations, chill, check and destroy genuine economic freedom.
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