My Personal Take on the Made-off Made-up World
We didn’t believe it at first. We were amazed that traders transferred their deepest emotional architectures and echoes onto the prices… but alas, they do. In fact, it isn’t really all that surprising now that we know. I mean after all, the markets encompass and symbolize competition, winning, money, success and smarts. If you are going to have the echo of your deepest issues show up anywhere, why would it be somewhere with less stakes?
Which brings me to the question of Madoff…. last year at The Philoctetes Center (look it up? .org) he said that when he started his career everyone hated him for bringing electronics to the markets – and causing the human brokers to loose their jobs. So now at the end of his career everyone truly hates him again. And in between, he used charm and popularity to create this scenario.
This is how Freud’s Theory of The Repetition Compulsion works (see my paper published in Annals of Modern Psychoanalysis). My opinion? – this ain’t no accident and greed is a sorely insufficient explanation!
At this point I can only conjecture but my conjecture is that it was about the fear of missing out and the fear of being ostracized… the exact things he unconsciously created. This guy, for some reason, recreated being hated. This would leave the question of who hated him early on in his life open… but I for one would bet A WHOLE BUNCH on the idea that someone did.
It is horrid and shameful and everything else. There are a million things to say and that will be said…. but one of the lessons for traders and investors is – understand the emotional drivers behind market, investing and trading decisions. … whether it is you or your manager who is doing the trading …
to be continued. and… tell me I am crazy!
Tags: Madoff
Maybe so, interesting to speculate (of course!)…but what about something as simple as emulation? All the biggest games “in town” are ponzi schemes. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery & if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, etc….