Published 29 October 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2268
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2268

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Model behaviour

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Perhaps you blame yourself. Common sense warned you that the ridiculously easy credit couldn’t last and was best avoided. However, if self criticism is inappropriate or too painful, don’t worry: there are plenty of others to accuse.

What about the politicians who acted like they understood what was going on when, plainly, they were clueless? Then there are the "light touch" regulators, laughable watchdogs with neither bark nor bite. And don’t forget the economics experts commentating after the fact who now claim, unconvincingly, that they knew all along the world’s financial systems would combust.

This already crowded rogues’ gallery would be incomplete without the bankers, traders, and brokers, who have been an obvious target for public anger. But guilty as these groups may be, it is simplistic to label them as the root cause of the problem. For example, many of them were only disciples to some of the true . . . [Full text of this article]

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