Is The World Gloating At America?

Of course they are.

They've been waiting for this for years.

Most major nations are pointing the finger at the United States for the current financial crisis that grips the world.

Yes. It is true. The Americans are at fault. So, in come the "I told you so's" from the peanut gallery. But I wouldn't gloat for too long. It's unbecoming.

For example, French President Nicolas Sarkozy considers not having a regulated market as "mad." The Germans for their part are gleefully enjoying the Americans losing their status as a financial super power. Oktoberfest never tasted so good.

Aw, how nice.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

I would submit it's over regulation that has led to this mess. It's easy to pin this on individual greed operating in an evil capitalist system. On the other hand, government interventionism is like shooting up heroin - it feels good for a while but in reality it's a massive downer. But that's me.

A couple of years ago I wrote on this blog about a phenomena I observed. It seemed like everyone was reconnecting with their cultural roots. I never saw so many "Eire," "Portugal" and "Polska" t-shirts - to name a few. To me, this was an indication in the rise of neo-nationalism.

As a world recession stares at us in the face, this nationalism will manifest itself into other areas. The nation-state will reassert its power to prove its existence. Protectionism and nationalization will be the "duh" solution. It's possible nations will barricade themselves - ironic given these globalized times.

Either you believe capitalism is spiraling out of control and that humans are incorrigibly flawed and greedy or you think it's evolving and maturing into a healthy system where human virtue will eventually gain an upper hand.

In the latter interpretation, compassionate capitalism may not be a far fetched idea. But we can't get there if we keep getting in the way of it.