Perhaps this is all too obvious, but it is true that our judgment is somewhat clouded when different factors coincide with each other. It is also difficult given our personal affiliations, biases and preferences - however hard we try to suppress them. And it is especially easy for 'neutral' newspapers to influence us.
Whatever is in fashion at the time, the law will always hold some sort of certainty and stability - especially in criminal cases. To be presumed innocent until proven guilty; to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt - these foundations are essential. Why are these so essential?
Let us consider the recent case of DSK, the head of the IMF, and compare the situation of Julian Assange. The similarities - sexual offences, massive media coverage, cries of conspiracy. The prime difference - politics.
Although there is the added spice of cultural differences - the French 'seducer' and the Australian/Cyber-national nomad, we are sometimes instructed to think in a certain way due to our political beliefs. Is this the end of a creditable Socialist challenge in France? Or does this threaten the resurgence of technology-led anarchism?
But nevertheless, serious criminal charges must be investigated - the wider political milieu will have to wait or if it gets fed up of waiting, go on without them.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Examining the philosophical link between law and economics
NB: This is not about the discipline of Law and Economics, as espoused by the likes of Ronald Coase or Richard Posner.
A more general discussion about the foundational basis of both law and economics is something much underestimated. Why? Because understanding the basics of law in different will change your outlook on economics, and vice-versa.
The most obvious examples are property and taxation. How private/common should property be? Strictly speaking we are not talking about people holding property, but people having rights over property. This would perhaps elude to the conflicts between the capitalist/communist economic models.
Furthermore, taxation is enshrined in law but is ultimately determined by economic conditions and government policy. Fiscal conservatism, libertarianism, economic liberalism - these are labels attached to economics which have a profound impact on not just financial regulation, but more fundamentally contract law.
Take the ideas of Andreii Schleifer, a Harvard academic, on the historic development of different legal systems. According to his research, the Common Law system has developed in such a way that the countries adopting it have become economically more dynamic and advanced compared to their Civil Law neighbours.
Not forgetting the complications of politics and the practical manifestations of international and national policy, it is evident that there is much to think about in trying to devise the structures that underpin our modern societies. It will be particularly interesting to see how emerging economies will try and develop their own law along with their own historic traditions - Islamic Law, Confucian School of Thought, and colonial influences but to name a few.
A more general discussion about the foundational basis of both law and economics is something much underestimated. Why? Because understanding the basics of law in different will change your outlook on economics, and vice-versa.
The most obvious examples are property and taxation. How private/common should property be? Strictly speaking we are not talking about people holding property, but people having rights over property. This would perhaps elude to the conflicts between the capitalist/communist economic models.
Furthermore, taxation is enshrined in law but is ultimately determined by economic conditions and government policy. Fiscal conservatism, libertarianism, economic liberalism - these are labels attached to economics which have a profound impact on not just financial regulation, but more fundamentally contract law.
Take the ideas of Andreii Schleifer, a Harvard academic, on the historic development of different legal systems. According to his research, the Common Law system has developed in such a way that the countries adopting it have become economically more dynamic and advanced compared to their Civil Law neighbours.
Not forgetting the complications of politics and the practical manifestations of international and national policy, it is evident that there is much to think about in trying to devise the structures that underpin our modern societies. It will be particularly interesting to see how emerging economies will try and develop their own law along with their own historic traditions - Islamic Law, Confucian School of Thought, and colonial influences but to name a few.
How to sense meaning of the public consciousness
There is a problem in talking about a public consciousness when two juxtaposed events are not exactly cohesive in our understanding of the world.
The Royal Wedding had dominated the press for the best part of a week. Then suddenly, no photos of smiling Brits waving flags; replaced by the new story - the 'Osama bounce' that Barack Obama was enjoying.
Despite the enthusiasm on our screens, there was a quiet grumble from the republican minority. Was it surprising that American tourists were aplenty in the London parks? Who exactly are taken in by the pomp and circumstance of it all? In the party atmosphere, many of the questions of constitutional significance and the British soul were all but forgotten.
And for those who are not politically inclined, what does the death of Osama Bin Laden mean? It depends what you make of the Arab Spring I guess. Or perhaps whether you think the soft power idealism of Obama is more effective than those in the Kissinger school of realism or even the Leo Strauss school of neo-conservatism.
If the media had an overriding narrative, it may be slightly schizophrenic.
The Royal Wedding had dominated the press for the best part of a week. Then suddenly, no photos of smiling Brits waving flags; replaced by the new story - the 'Osama bounce' that Barack Obama was enjoying.
Despite the enthusiasm on our screens, there was a quiet grumble from the republican minority. Was it surprising that American tourists were aplenty in the London parks? Who exactly are taken in by the pomp and circumstance of it all? In the party atmosphere, many of the questions of constitutional significance and the British soul were all but forgotten.
And for those who are not politically inclined, what does the death of Osama Bin Laden mean? It depends what you make of the Arab Spring I guess. Or perhaps whether you think the soft power idealism of Obama is more effective than those in the Kissinger school of realism or even the Leo Strauss school of neo-conservatism.
If the media had an overriding narrative, it may be slightly schizophrenic.
What's wrong with the pettiness of the middle classes?
There has always been a certain hoarding element of the middle classes, but two forces make this an altogether different beast - globalization and financial technology.
Globalization is exporting the aspiration of the middle class to new territories, bringing them modern problems that many would have not anticipated. From the eternal problems of hunger and cruelty, different nuances are required to see ostentatiousness or materialism as just as threatening to happiness.
In emerging economies such as China and India, this is very much prevalent as disparities in wealth become wider and more visible in societies that have prided itself on spiritual/philosophical depth. Evolved over millenia, India is perhaps one of the most spiritual countries in the world, while Confucianism has long underpinned all that is great and cultured about China.
It is not much of a stretch to imagine these societies starting to contemplate in the oft-surreal, existential way that Japanese has raced through the modern age. After you have your assets comfortably protected by property and education, then what next?
But developments in finance will also exacerbate the position the middle class will find themselves in. This is because it is perhaps the natural tendency to securitise the assets (hard and soft) one already has. It is most recently evident in the Financial Crisis - with financial instruments taking advantage of the 'safest' asset there is: property. A few CDOs and CDSs later, sub-prime mortgages become front page news.
The next big bubble may come in the form of defaulting student loans, according to Peter Thiel. This is epitomised by the Harvard MBA being described by the Economist as a leveraged bet on someone becoming a finance director at a blue-chip company. Education becomes an asset, albeit a soft one, and a commodity which can be treated and marketed as such.
In safeguarding our own interests, we have quantified our most important social and capitalist values in a way that wider moral and cultural stability is at threat.
Globalization is exporting the aspiration of the middle class to new territories, bringing them modern problems that many would have not anticipated. From the eternal problems of hunger and cruelty, different nuances are required to see ostentatiousness or materialism as just as threatening to happiness.
In emerging economies such as China and India, this is very much prevalent as disparities in wealth become wider and more visible in societies that have prided itself on spiritual/philosophical depth. Evolved over millenia, India is perhaps one of the most spiritual countries in the world, while Confucianism has long underpinned all that is great and cultured about China.
It is not much of a stretch to imagine these societies starting to contemplate in the oft-surreal, existential way that Japanese has raced through the modern age. After you have your assets comfortably protected by property and education, then what next?
But developments in finance will also exacerbate the position the middle class will find themselves in. This is because it is perhaps the natural tendency to securitise the assets (hard and soft) one already has. It is most recently evident in the Financial Crisis - with financial instruments taking advantage of the 'safest' asset there is: property. A few CDOs and CDSs later, sub-prime mortgages become front page news.
The next big bubble may come in the form of defaulting student loans, according to Peter Thiel. This is epitomised by the Harvard MBA being described by the Economist as a leveraged bet on someone becoming a finance director at a blue-chip company. Education becomes an asset, albeit a soft one, and a commodity which can be treated and marketed as such.
In safeguarding our own interests, we have quantified our most important social and capitalist values in a way that wider moral and cultural stability is at threat.
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