Try Poison

On 2/24/10 at the zerohedge blog there was an article, titled If I were Federal Reserve Chairman... which continues: "I think I’d shoot myself. [Laughing] I don’t think I’d go to work in the morning."

His point was that every action the Fed chairman is taking and could take to try to solve the problem is helpless against the natural outcome of prior events.

What was interesting about the article was it seemed a direct reference to the dialogue between the Cloud General and the Big Goose Dummy from Chuang Tzu:

Big Goose Dummy: "What throws the warp of heaven into chaos, what rebels against the fact of things? What can keep mysterious heaven from accomplishing its ends? What scatters herds of beasts, makes birds cry in the night, and brings bad luck to bugs? I have the idea that it's excess ruling humankind"

Cloud General: "What can I do about that?"

Big Goose Dummy: "I have an idea: poison. Or take off and fly home."

In both cases the point was that events will follow their course, and attempting to impose our will and judgements upon them will only lead to disorder. The obvious question then, is what would a philosophy of economics based on this system be like?

That is the problem. Chuang Tzu frequently speaks of aspiring to the natural condition of mankind, but the values thereof don't seem economic at all. In another chapter he describes safeguarding one's wealth as making it easier for a big thief to carry it all off at once. It hardly seems to offer sound specific advice for non-allegorical situations.

In short while the Chuang Tzu is challenging and inspiring, it doesn't offer much advice to a fed chairman (except quit and go home). Applying the lessons to my own life is another matter entirely.