Bo Goodrich

Preston Gulledge
Honors 100A
8 November 2015
Addressing Financial System Reform Fractally
When I think of a challenge facing the world today that is highly under addressed and
threatens to undo our society as we know it, the instability of the global financial system comes to the
forefront of my mind. When this instability surfaced during the Global 2008 Financial Crisis many
oversimplified the issues at hand chocking up this huge market regression to overly risky investments
and deregulation. While those causes are not wrong, analyzing this instance of international financial
instability in a fractal manner reveals so much more complexity that is essential fix the system to
recover stability and growth.
Current proposed solutions in many countries have simply moved to address these two
assumed causes of the financial meltdown, such as the US instituting greater capital reserve
requirements and the Dodd-Frank Act. However, much of the world has still yet to recover and some
financial analysts predict another crisis on the horizon. I would like to look fractally at the causation
of the situation: the factor of the connections between money and politics, and the perception of the
financial industry in addition to the previously mentioned factors of deregulation and risky
investment making. I believe without digging deeper into all of these issues and addressing all of
them, financial system instability will persist throughout the world. In digging more deeply into
understanding these issues, the realm of positive adjacent possibilities will expand exponentially and
the world will be able to become a better place.
Firstly I believe that the connections between financial institutions and politics must be fully
severed as these being connected does not allow for substantive work to occur in any of the other
factors of change. Corporations in countries all the way from India to Greece to the US are able to
essentially buy political influence for their interests and current politicians have yet to find any
equitable solutions that are truly aimed at making the world a better place. Several thought leaders in
the US have countered these failures of imagination in electoral finance reform by proposing total US
reform to a voucher system which would level the playing field. This action would take mass
support, partnerships, and unification to occur, but with that a fair foundation of the regulation of
world financial systems could become more stable and equitable!
I also believe that the public has traditionally too quick to blindly follow the lead of the
financial industries and this must be changed. There is no simple answer to changing peoples
personal perceptions, but large organized social movements drawing on the influence of now
impartial politicians could be highly affective.
The regulations that have occurred since the 2008 financial crisis have been argued to be
largely bark and little bite because the financial industry and politics are so connected, leaving Wall
Street open to make many more risky investments. Once these groups are disconnected, I believe that
convening a group of educated individuals together to lay out a set of regulations that challenge
previous failures of imagination will allow many of the current shortfalls to be countered.
The instability of the financial markets of the world is an issue yet to be equitably addressed
but I believe that applying the framework of thought and change that Paul Farmer discusses would
provide a highly effective medium for action!