In Defense of Finance (Yaron Brook)

The financial industry took most of the blame for the 2008 financial meltdown, as it has taken the blame for virtually every economic crisis and disaster in history. In this talk, Yaron Brook will challenge the conventional wisdom and argue that finance is a crucial, productive, and noble undertaking. Addressing a widespread myth, Dr. Brook will show how the financial industry has long been the most regulated industry in America, and that these regulations were a central cause of the recent financial crisis. Free, unregulated financial markets, he'll conclude, serve the vital function of providing capital to producers and fueling economic progress. Dr. Brook will end by exposing the deepest source of hostility toward the financial industry: the widespread hatred of the profit motive. (Recorded February 15, 2011.)