The other week I watched Charlie Rose interview George Soros. He’s a successful billionaire through investing and speculation but also commits to philanthropy and his own philosophy. He was there to promote his new book, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets, the Credit Crisis of 2008.

He spoke against the “market fundamentalism”, promoted by the Thatcher/Reagan era of decreased taxation and limitation of government regulation of business. This is the driving argument of Milton Friedman. Expecting the market to “self-regulate” or “self-correct” is simply irrational, he said. He criticized Greenspan who addressed the market at times as “irrational exuberance” but then did nothing to address this forthcoming recession.

He believes government is responsible for fiduciary oversight. They have to step in as an ethical platform to stop businesses from this irrationality. For him, the consequences of or “market fundamentalism” are both the IT and subprime mortgage bubble. He doesn’t support Bernake’s estimate that it will get better next year and predicted that both the UK and US are in for further trouble ahead followed by the Euro-dollar and the China market collapse because of its heavy dependence on exports. He predicted an emerging new world economic order with the dollar likely to lose its standard as the international currency.

Obviously, he paints a discouraging future but one that seems realistic and likely to continue. Professor Silver provides a historical and coherent picture of several events that influenced this current state of affairs. I would like believe that the pendulum is about to swing toward building stronger communities for education and a long term commitment “of the people, by the people, for the people” (Abe Lincoln) but we’re all too busy not paying attention.