101st session of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance

Title: Rules of Engagement in the Evil Empire

Date: March 23, 2012
Time: 6 to 8pm
Venue: University of Westminster, Regent Campus, Room 516 or 501

For the 101st session of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance, we will continue on the nerve touched by Greg Smith's letter of resignation from Goldman Sachs (see note to the 100th session) and generalise if not ascend to the mythological vibrancy of the Galactic Empire in our first reading:

[ ] http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5007&Itemid=81

Playful parody is sometimes better than mean sarcasm in burying messages deep inside the subconscious because the obvious and just symmetry arguments are made more palatable by a touch of charm, wit and pleasure. And in today's world where members of so-called religious groups have decided to take offence at any statement which shows how logically stupid they are, it is important for self-preservation to cloak the sarcasm with wit, charm and a harmless laugh. Otherwise, well, you can be shot dead for being a member of an "out-group" relative to the murderer's "in-group". The cost of freedom of speech is now something like: (1) beheading; (2) internment; (3) banishment. In the old philosophical days, a cup of hemlock and a quiet receding into unconsciousness was a dignified punishment. Anyone living in a so-called civilisation should stop kidding themselves and measure their rights and duties against the freedoms set out by Plato's Republic (especially books 8 through 10) and Plato's Laws. 

The second reading will be a review of Plato's concept of "social comity" as a basis for measuring dare I say it, the maximum utility, of any particular regulation. Please note the wide variance of legal instruments available, from education and training which are Plato's normal solution to all social problems to Draconian punishments. The excerpts will come from Books I, II and III of 

[ ] Plato's Laws 
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/laws.html

If we have time, we will continue our dissection of the (im)morals of the presumptive immortals (in- versus out-group analysis) of investment banking socio-pathology. For the journalistic view, see:

[ ] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-06/goldman-secret-greece-loan-shows-two-sinners-as-client-unravels.html
which gives us some detail on how Goldman Sachs sucked the living soul out of Greece in a fairly simple "debt" transaction.

For the hub-bub in the legal realm of the Empire, where Goldman Sachs appears to be losing, see:

[ ] Complaint: http://securities.stanford.edu/1045/GSC10_01/201124_r01c_10CV07497.pdf

[ ] Judge Victor Marrero's Decision to Deny Motion to Dismiss
http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/uploadedFiles/Reuters_Content/2012/03_-_March/Dodona_I_v_Goldman_Sachs.pdf

After tonight's class, we'll go to a nearby cafe restaurant around Oxford Circus and gossip about what's happening in Syria, Iran, Israel, Bhutan, and so on. Last Friday, I had a would be Jew and a very committed Syrian discuss in a very affable manner what's really going on in their minds and hearts.

ciao
joe

101st session of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 51st Weekly Meeting

Dear all

The 51st meeting of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance on Friday 7 May 2010, from 6.00 to 8.00pm, in room 5.16, 309 Regent Street (University of Westminster) will deal with globalisation and exceptionality in the financial regulation.

It is obvious that Goldman is losing the public relations war and that Blankfein should lose his job as a matter of answering the public call for blood. When the Financial Reform Bill passes with the Volcher rule, GS and the other Wall St investment banks will continue in much stronger fashion. The regulatory cut off line of $50bn with the FDIC managing banks below and the Fed Reserve managing those above means that big banks (not taxpayers!) will be "protected" by a tax which is triflingly meaningless in comparison to the size of trading. The regulators have forgotten the first lesson of Plato's Laws – absolute population size matters.

When we study law without philosophy we are undertaking a service for the dark discipline of destroying the many-leaves of inner-life. Beware of the media mandating the categories of our subjectivities! On Friday, the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance suggest two options for enlightening the legal debates on financial regulation.

We can start reading neo-Marxists like Hardt and Negri (2000, Empire, Harvard University Press. Available at http://www.angelfire.com/cantina/negri/) to appreciate the "meanings" of global regulations as instruments of controlling the inner subjectivities of biopolitics. Also, systemic risk from a neo-global Empire perspective is enforced by the exceptionality of regulations – that is, in regulations being justified in the name of these so-called "emergency situations" whose magnitude and probability are mediagenically amplified by social network gossip. We cannot extract ourselves from this chat once we get in. Systems communication a la Luhmann is that the power projected through the media organises, re-orders, and sets out risk symmetries that trap us all. The Greek tragedy and the Goldman farce re-order our thoughts to bow to the communicative power of Empire. We should shelter ourselves because our outer material world could be a lot better as our inner world becomes more narrowly sliced and diced by digital communication systems.

Alternatively, we can get a great introduction to the concept of globalization by beginning reading Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor (http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/2884/)

Either way, we shall gather at Vapiano (19-21 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QB) from 8pm onwards.

See you on Friday!
Joe and Laura

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 51st Weekly Meeting

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 50th Weekly Meeting

Dear all

To mark the 50th session of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance, to be held on Friday 23 April 2010, from 6.00 to 8.00pm, in room 5.16, 309 Regent Street (University of Westminster), we will tackle with the uncanny theme: "Fraud in The Heart of Finance and Religion"

We will focus on a recent filing by the US Securities Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs and a 28 year vice-president named Fabrice Tourre for securities fraud.

Although we never ask participants to prepare for class, you may be curious to read the complaint: http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2010/comp21489.pdf
We also recommend Kevin M. LaCroix blog: http://www.dandodiary.com/2010/04/articles/subprime-litigation/ok-so-the-sec-sued-goldman-sachs-now-what/
Good legal analysis can be found at: http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/goldman-fraud-case-holds-risks-for-both-sides/

We will attempt to read the complaint together and comprehend a bit of US securities law. If we have time or depending on the inclination of the group, we shall then turn to the Grand Inquisitor, the 26-page classic within the Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. You can find an extract at http://www.online-literature.com/dostoevsky/2884/

The most zealous and frequent attendees to the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance may be surprised to see how group theory applies to "Fraud in The Heart of Finance and Religion": homomorphism, epimorphism, monomorphism and isomorphism will be defined and used for purposes of abstracting comparisons. (It's all in the mapping of Mx.) In a system of law, why is truth isomorphic to fraud? Only a group theory can bring them together rigorously without sounding sanctimoniously Kantian. Also, we will again emphasize the perception of seeing "devils and and angels" simultaneously everywhere for any given decision at a given time.

We shall celebrate our 50th at Vapiano (19-21 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QB) from 8pm onwards.

See you on Friday!
Joe and Laura

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 50th Weekly Meeting

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 38th Weekly Meeting

Dear all

On Friday 20th November 2009, from 6 to 8pm, in room 5.16, 309 Regent Street (University of Westminster), it’s time for the 38th session of the Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance.

It’s time for apologies.

In Plato’s Apology, Socrates defends himself against the charges of being a man "who corrupted the young, refused to worship the gods, and created new deities". The Apology is brief and yet contains the essential taste of all the ironic wit of an enlightened being; it is irreverence of Monty Python and the eloquence of Don Quixote – one wonders how this could ever be the basis of serious philosophical discussion it is so damned funny – and it is also oddly funny that whilst it is one the best of the so-called Platonic dialogues, it is actually an extreme form of Socratic Monologue – a lovable and irascible soliloquy. Is this the perfect portrait of the wise man or the wiseacre in court? One isn't quite sure who Socrates is addressing – his accusers and judges or posterity? Joe thinks he addresses everyone directly with absolutely no apology.

One thing is sure, I add: Socrates’ apology was totally unsuccessful in court.

What function and upshot for today’s apologies of Goldman Sachs for "its role in the financial crisis"? At a corporate conference in New York, Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive told that the bank regretted taking part in the cheap credit boom that fuelled the pre-crisis bubble. “We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” Mr Blankfein said. “We apologise.”

Mr Blankfein spoke hours before Goldman revealed plans to invest $500m - or about 2.3 per cent of its estimated bonus and salary pool for 2009 – over five years on business education, technical assistance and venture capital to help 10,000 small businesses across the US. See http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/782afd66-d3bd-11de-8caf-00144feabdc0,s01=1.html?catid=2&SID=google

We will finally convene at Vapiano (19-21 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QB) at 8.00pm.

See you on Friday!

Joe and Laura

PS I look forward to hear from you about what you wish to present at the seminars, l.niada@my.westminster.ac.uk

Philosophical Foundations of Law and Finance - 38th Weekly Meeting