BBC: "Super Rich The Greed Game "

[Xicano]

Full length BBC video documenting today's super rich, how they got that way, and, how the rest of us pay for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suZb9Z0b05I

[Kablooie]

1. I haven't watched it yet but...

it seems to me that part of the problem is that wealth has become a status symbol of worth.
It's more than the ability to live luxuriously. It's viewed by society, and the wealthy in particular, as a measure of your value as a human being.
That's why the overly wealthy strive to become obscenely rich. They want to prove they are better people than their peers.
The more you have, the more valuable you are as a person.

The fact that this is a complete fantasy doesn't make any difference. It becomes the foundation of their whole belief. It's not unlike fundamental Christian who base their whole life on unproven biblical hearsay, most of which is probably invented stories that have evolved over the centuries.

The accumulation of wealth becomes a means in itself. The use of that wealth is superflous.
If it is stolen from someone else, so much the better. The victim is thus proved a lesser human being that the rich victor.

...

I'll watch the documentary later and see if what I've written here is total hogwash.

(Unfortunately I'm afraid I have dispensed several gallons of excellent soap suds for hogs in the past.)

[PoliticAverse]

2. Good overview of the credit bubble. n/t