Noreena Hertz is now my favorite economist because she points out the main failure in western economies today - and that is that large businesses are allowed to social risk and privatize reward.
Full profile on Noreena at FC (and it is worth the time to read it all):
How an Economist's Cry for Ethical Capitalism was Heard Hertz is now being looked to as something of a visionary in Europe, someone uniquely qualified to rebuild our dilapidated economic theories while helping to create a blueprint for a new kind of capitalism. Her concept of "co-op capitalism" -- an idea she plans to develop further over the next year -- calls for businesses, governments, NGOs, and the public to experiment together to design new, more-adaptive business models and financial structures that take both profit and larger social goals into account. Companies should be financially motivated to behave in ways that benefit everyone. Where government lags, corporations will put pressure on the state; government, conversely, will impose more regulation on corporations as necessary. The key, Hertz says, is to be flexible, creative. "One of Marx's biggest flaws," she says, was trying "to find a unifying theory for every aspect of the world. I don't think that's possible."
Reading Ms. Hertz reminds me the whispering speculation over the last year that
had women been in charge none of this economic mess would've happened.
And this leads me to think of the
Dana Scully character in the X-Files or reporter
Lara Logan in that Noreena Hertz is an extremely bright and fearless woman with a widespread appeal to men and women and who uses that to expand her audience. It is a tricky task.
