HOUSES, credit and now perhaps oil: is anything immune from the depredations of the speculators? The lives of millions have been caught up in economic bubbles that seem beyond anyone’s power to control. Boom followed by bust: can anything be done to stop this vicious cycle? Perhaps not – and perhaps we shouldn’t try.
Exactly what triggers a speculative bubble remains mysterious, as do the mechanisms that inflate and ultimately burst it. But put crudely, bubbles start when dissatisfied people try to shake things up by taking risks with their money, their careers and even their lives. Since human beings are…
