What Is the Cause of the Financial Crisis?

Posted by Mark Zimmerman Oct 29, 2008

Jim Hopkins of the New Zealand Herald, in his article "Human Nature Root Cause of Crisis" supported the notion of egoism, or "self-interest" as he put it, is the cause of the financial crisis:

"As fat cats fell like hail from the upper storeys of Wall Street skyscrapers, they voted to save their own skins and to hell with the economy.

There's something strangely comforting about this, if only because it demonstrates the reliable consistency of human nature.

Just like the oft-condemned and much maligned financial wizards who'd precipitated the crisis, the men and women of Congress had, predictably, put self-interest first.

As most of us do almost all of the time. That's why we have moral codes. It's why the exceptions to the rule are so notable. And why they privately shame us - just a little - when drawn to our attention.

Like it or not, disquieting as we may find it, self-interest is what drives human behaviour.

We're big enough and ugly enough to handle that, surely?"

Michael Laitman, in his blog post "What Caused the Current Financial Crisis?" continues by discussing Kabbalah as the method for correcting human nature:

"What difference does it make “Who’s to blame?” (supposedly!) or who is trying to hush up the financial crisis? The crisis keeps progressing regardless. We have to find its true cause - the quality of egoism inherent in man’s nature, and an effective way to overcome it. It can only be overcome by the force that can correct egoism – the force of the Light that created egoism in the first place. This force is evoked when we study it – by studying Kabbalah. This is what we should do instead of looking for for a scapegoat - “who hushed it up” or “who is trying to hush it up now.”"