In the previous section, we established some of the more relevant historical context, as it relates to the development of the financial markets and their influence on our culture and values.
The intention is not so much to reiterate financial history, as there are other writers have done this more comprehensively and more effectively. Rather, the objective in selecting these historical milestones is to provide a backdrop for a more robust exploration of the psychology of money.
Because money is so ingrained in the DNA of the human experience, it is an ever-present element in the human mind.
The purpose of this section is to continue along our trajectory and examine the “Human Evolution of Economic Theory.” You can never fully excise the fallibility of humanity from economics.
The objective here is to not to exhaustively discuss the merits of modern economic theory, but to hand-pick select elements and developments that highlight key psychological influences.
Therefore, we engage this discussion with a review of the some of the more well-known economic theorists, such as Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes and Karl Marx. With the luxury of hindsight, we explore how their theories have reconciled and/or conflicted with our natural human instincts and collective behaviors.
Subsequently, I then apply elements to this discussion specifically to the role of the financial professional, ideally providing the context my target audience can use to best process the guidance I provide with my program.
In more than 25 years of practice, I have found that despite their superior intelligence, my patients have had difficulty in gaining perspective with regard to their life experience. Ultimately, their specific experience may be unique, but the machinations of the financial services industry that cause them such grief are certainly not.
Lastly, we reinterpret the teachings of two master strategists —Niccolò Machiavelli and Sun Tzu—who are so often (mis)quoted in financial circles. The true value in interpreting their work is not necessarily in adopting ruthless tactics, but rather in understanding how to apply their selective pragmatism.
The financial professionals I treat often become helplessly assimilated in the darker corners of the industry, seduced by vast riches, coerced by greed and power, forced to make difficult decisions and sacrifices.
My aim is to empower the reader with knowledge of the psychology of money to better develop their internal Gyroscope to survive such seductions and survive and prosper in a money-mad world.