Wall Street, Lions and Zebras

I do not think [financiers] can be blamed for [the financial melt-down] any more than one can blame a lion for eating a zebra. Capitalism is Darwinian.

--Judge Richard Posner, "A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression"

Personally, I think Posner lets Wall Street off the hook a little too easily.

I don't have a problem with lions eating zebras, either. But that's not exactly what happened.

Rather, one specific pride of lions deposed the game warden, installed one of their own in his stead, then decided to cull all the rival lions and get the other animals to herd the zebras into holding pens.

What a surprise, then, when the supply of zebras gets inexplicably low, and the entire food chain is distorted and disrupted . . .