Gambling with the planet

Japan's disaster and the global recession provide stark lessons on societies' failure to manage risks, economist says.

Joseph E Stiglitz
Al-Jazeera

"....In the end, those gambling in Las Vegas lose more than they gain. As a society, we are gambling – with our big banks, with our nuclear power facilities, with our planet. As in Las Vegas, the lucky few - the bankers that put our economy at risk and the owners of energy companies that put our planet at risk - may walk off with a mint. But on average and almost certainly, we as a society, like all gamblers, will lose. That, unfortunately, is a lesson of Japan’s disaster that we continue to ignore at our peril."