Forum Archive Index - March 2004

["David & Jill Stevenson" <djstevo@quicksilver.net.nz>]

Just as in Law - Ignorantia juris haud excusat , Ignorance of the law is no excuse  . Similarly in ethics there is no convenient half way house . You are ethical or you are not . No good saying you do not know what are the ramifications as to the activities a company or investment  you choose  involves itself in.. You should make it your business to find out  .Of course there are limits to how far enquiry can proceed. This is the prescription for those who want to adopt a holier than thou position.

   Unfortunately pragmatism is the oil that lubricates how a burgeoning population  interacts and operates in an increasingly more and more complicated world. A world full of Mary Poppins` would grind to a halt..

   Lead balloon though the proposition is -  I see Forex speculation (there is no more sanitary word  for that activity)  as perhaps the most harmful activity . Don`t just blame the George Soros`for creating tidal waves  that can disrupt economies . It is the combined effect of individual speculators as well . Profiteering without a drop of sweat from the forehead .  One coral does not build an island but they each contribute to an outcome . I am no Mary Poppins but I could not deal in Forex as a speculator . Nor would I deal in property ( domestic that is ) speculating in that field you are playing around with the dreams of young couples aiming for a first house and  then family. No way !  At least with shares per se one is not dealing in necessities of life required  by others.  Futures traders in commodities could be argued as a  negative activity from a social point of view  as well. Where does the list end ?

 

      David Stevenson