The collapse of the global marketplace would be a traumatic event with unimaginable consequences. Yet I find it easier to imagine than the continuation of the present regime.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a fear of a potential economic collapse while also feeling a greater concern for the existing economic system.
George Soros highlights a deep concern regarding the stability of the global marketplace, suggesting that while the thought of its collapse invokes fear and uncertainty due to the severe repercussions it could bring, he finds such an occurrence more palatable than the persistence of the current economic regime, which he perceives as flawed or damaging. This reflects a tension between the potential for disaster and the frustration with ongoing issues in the current system.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the implications of economic policy changes.
The securitisation of mortgages added a new dimension of systemic risk. Financial engineers claimed they were reducing risks through geographic diversification: in fact they were increasing them by creating an agency problem. The agents were more interested in maximising fee income than in protecting the interests of bondholders. That is the verity that was ignored by regulators and market participants alike.
Regulating and taxing marijuana would simultaneously save taxpayers billions of dollars in enforcement and incarceration costs, while providing many billions of dollars in revenue annually.
We are the most powerful nation on earth. No external power, no terrorist organization can defeat us. But we can defeat ourselves by getting caught in a quagmire.
My foundations support people in the country who care about an open society. It's their work that I'm supporting. So it's not me doing it. But I can empower them. I can support them, and I can help them.
The criminalization of marijuana did not prevent marijuana from becoming the most widely used illegal substance in the United States and many other countries. But it did result in extensive costs and negative consequences.
Stock market bubbles don't grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality as distorted by a misconception.
While we have created prosperity for many, too many are being left behind.
The benefit of appointing a hawkish central banker is the increased inflation-fighting credibility that such an appointment brings.
The real and effectual discipline which is exercised over a workman is that of his customers. It is the fear of losing their employment which restrains his frauds and corrects his negligence.
Wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is.
The big bankers of the world, who practise the terrorism of money, are more powerful than kings and field marshals, even more than the Pope of Rome himself. They never dirty their hands. They kill no-one: they limit themselves to applauding the show.
Our economy is the result of millions of decisions we all make every day about producing, earning, saving, investing, and spending.
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