Havin' a cheeky punt!

We all await the coming together of thousands of purely selfish short term choices in the wonderful miracle of classical economics. What a glorious day it will be.
I always enjoy the reporting on the markets. The market is portrayed as this great willful beast whom none can oppose. It's never spoken of as a collection of well heeled individuals making personal choices that place their own agrandisement above the very survival of thousands - millions - of others. Why should the elite contain their greed? Ordinary folk may become poor folk and poor folk may die, but the rich must not become ordinary. That would never do.
In defense of this arrangement we organise our entire global society. In defense of the fantasy that this is inevitable we speak in terms of institutions rather than individuals. And I don't mean the meaningless sideshow of personality politics. I mean the personal as political, (that old chestnut).
So the people who opt to (knowingly and with indifference of forethought) push up the price of food beyond the means of the most vulnerable - so their investment returns may afford them an extra (whatever) -are excused ethical censure. It is, in fact, deemed the highest good - the cornerstone of free market capitalism.
Criticism is waved away with false dichotomies and meaningless comparisons. The central immorality is sacrosanct. Get rich whilst the others die tryin'.... (and don't get me started on that shameful traitorous shite...)

I wonder why so many people hate us?

As you may gather, I'm not a betting man...but... I have backed Spain in 2 world cups and 2 previous Euros, without success. So - even though it's all a meaningless distraction and a ghastly waste of money - I hope the Germans lend their cup to someone else this time.