Words of Wisdom

I just finished Stiglitz's book Freefall today. It excites me because he mentions many things I have been thinking about like contradictions and questions. In the concluding chapter he talks about how the economic system reflects and maybe even defines our moral values, and how we should think about what kind of moral values we want and to take a more active role in designing the system so that it reflects those values.

I really like this line.

There was individualism but no individual responsibility.

Society cannot function well if people do not take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. "I was just doing my job" cannot be a defense."

If people are serious about wanting less regulation then they need to take more personal responsibility rather than taking refuge in the fact that their actions are technically legal and thus must be "good".