Daniel Finkelstein

The Times today

For the past ten years the Government has been boasting of the
stability it has brought to the economy, of the growth it has seen on
its watch, of low interest rates and of the money it has been able to
spend on public services. And this narrative has, generally, been
accepted. Yet now this record appears very different.

In his book The Black Swan, the financial analyst Nassim Nicholas
Taleb provides a useful analogy. In the months before Thanksgiving,
turkeys begin to build up a theory about mankind. Man is benevolent.
Every day he appears with more food, and the turkey is allowed to get
fatter and fatter. And then, about a week before Thanksgiving, the
turkey will, as Taleb puts it, “incur a reversion of belief”.

On 15 Oct, 08:07, MikeinCam...@aol.com wrote:
> Daniel Finkelstein
>
> The Times today
>
> For the past ten years the Government has been boasting of the
> stability it has brought to the economy, of the growth it has seen on
> its watch, of low interest rates and of the money it has been able to
> spend on public services. And this narrative has, generally, been
> accepted. Yet now this record appears very different.
>
> In his book The Black Swan, the financial analyst Nassim Nicholas
> Taleb provides a useful analogy. In the months before Thanksgiving,
> turkeys begin to build up a theory about mankind. Man is benevolent.
> Every day he appears with more food, and the turkey is allowed to get
> fatter and fatter. And then, about a week before Thanksgiving, the
> turkey will, as Taleb puts it, “incur a reversion of belief”.

And of course the Turkeys will  listen to the BBC further enchancing
their rosy view of the world. The windows in their fattening sheds
will be blocked out so to avoid any glimpse of reality.