A lot of the evil in the world is actually not intentional. A lot of people in the financial system did a lot of damage without intending to.
Interpretation
Many harmful actions occur without intent, especially in complex systems like finance.
This quote by George Soros emphasizes that much of the harm observed in the world arises not from malevolent individuals but from systemic issues where people act without malicious intent. It challenges the perception of good and evil, suggesting that a deeper understanding of human behavior and systemic dynamics is crucial to addressing the consequences of actions that may inadvertently lead to negative outcomes.
In practice
In a discussion about corporate responsibility during a meeting, one might say, 'As George Soros noted, a lot of the evil in the world is actually not intentional.'
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.
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.
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.
People don't want other people to get high, because if you get high, you might see the falsity of the fabric of the society we live in.
Have you noticed that life, with murders and catastrophes and fabulous inheritances, happens almost exclusively in newspapers?
The culture industry not so much adapts to the reactions of its customers as it counterfeits them.
I think one of the great dangers here is going and categorizing anybody from one religion as a terrorist. That's not true... That would let the terrorists win. That's what they want us to do.
If all the suns but ours collapsed tonight, how many lifetimes would it take us to realize that we were alone?
Ancient eschatological texts are actually maps of the inner territories of the psyche that seem to transcend race and culture and originate in the collective unconscious.
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