Emotions in an Economy Essays

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The Emotions of an Economy As said by William James, “The emotions aren't always immediately subject to reason, but they are always immediately subject to action” (ThinkExist). Humans are emotional beings. We get mad when things don’t go our way, celebrate when we have been successful, and get upset when our feelings are hurt; these are all natural responses that aren’t premeditated. The methods of expressing and acting on these feelings are where we truly differ as a species, as there is a wide range of means for doing this. The book Irrational Exuberance by Robert Shiller demonstrates that human emotions are the driving force behind almost every decision relating to something that seems so random: the economy. The economy is an especially high-octane area of emotion; it encourages risk, confidence, and manipulation, among many themes. The idea of emotion can also be analyzed within the article Minsky’s Money Manager Capitalism and the Global Financial Crisis by L. Randall Wray, where Wray argues the recent crisis has been caused by decades of previous bad behavior and ignorant decision making. By examining the works of Randall Wray with Robert Shiller, we can see that the economy is driven by many emotions, most notably greed, gossip, and confidence. People are easily deceived by something that just appears to be there, but in reality may not be. Wealth is a perfect example of this. Taking out loans to invest in stocks or housing markets, for instance, does not mean that the money is actually there. It is a means for the banks to create wealth for the economy to spend (Plante). However, when loans are dispersed that cannot be repaid, a bubble of unsustainable wealth forms. This is a continual method used by bankers and investors to become wealthy quick, but these hopes of easy credit and loans are a sure-fire trip to a recession. This is easily seen in The Great Crash by Robert J. Laubacher when he states, “Many of the newcomers, enticed by the easy credit bought and sold their stocks; not with an eye to making steady long-term gains, but with the hope, even the expectation, of getting rich quick” (2). People in the late 1920’s were borrowing easy cash on margin from stock brokers to invest in the market in an attempt to make big gains quickly, which shot the market up. This bull market was an object of fantasy, with so many of the investors borrowing on credit that made it appear much greater than it was. When stockholders felt their money was at risk, they became greedy and sold all their stocks, causing the market to crash. In Irrational Exuberance, Shiller states, ‘The stock market can reach fantastic levels only if people think that they have good reasons not to test it by trying to enjoy their newfound wealth” (139). When people decide that it’s time to withdraw all of the money that isn’t actually there, the bubble will burst. Their greed at the first sight of a scary hiccup causes them to believe it’s time to take their “wealth” out and run. The economy is much more about mind games than it ever is about money. Investors want to believe that they have more money than they actually do. Successful companies know this first hand. Companies are competing amongst each other to offer their clients the greatest return, which drives the other companies to compete harder, despite the fact that this is an unsustainable practice. L. Randall Wray sees this perfectly, stating, “Of course, the goal of each is to be the best- anyone returning less than the average return loses clients, but it is impossible for all to be above average; this generates several kinds of behavior that are sure to increase risk” (9). Investors don’t always invest out of hard research; many times they will greedily go with the company that promises the greatest return. However, when the practices of these companies become so risky that they are weak, things start to go wrong. The greed and arrogance of a company wanting the most clients can drive
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