Risk-Taking Is Profitable—but Perilous in Our Interdependent World
From Freeway Speeding to Financial Instruments, Big Gambles Can Spin into Disaster
Risks are inherent in life and so, over the centuries, people have devised many mechanisms to pool and reduce risks.
These institutions range from families to religious tithing to formal insurance contracts and diversification strategies for market investing. But, whether formal or informal, social or financial, all serve to ensure that those of us who are unfortunate enough to face adversity at any one time are taken care of by those who are not.
The very ability to share risks allows us to be bolder, more adventurous and frankly, …