David Brooks Doesn't Believe We Should Jail People for Stealing (At Least on Wall Street)

April 11, 2014

Everyone thought David Brooks was a conservative. But in today’s column on high frequency trading and the fact that it has often been used to support front-running in which traders effectively engage in inside trading, Brooks tells readers:

“You can’t tame the desire for money with sermons. You can only counteract greed with some superior love, like the love of knowledge.

“Third, if market-rigging is defeated, it won’t be by government regulators. It will be through a market innovation”

So there you have it. According to Brooks, if people are stealing on Wall Street we shouldn’t look to try to have regulations and punishment, we should go after them with love. It will be interesting to see if Brooks shows the same attitude towards people’s whose greed leads them to steal cars or burglarize houses.

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