Fragile, Complex Systems

Eurodollar University · May 1, 2020 · 38m

In 1929 a plague struck Florida resulting in an overwhelming government response. The consequences were not only agricultural but financial as banks, heavily exposed to the Sunshine State's horticulture sector, approached insolvency. Bank stability, Federal Reserve responses and a suitcase stuffed with six million dollars are all part of the thrilling story. But so is the notion of bureaucratic delay, wild swings from hope to despair (and back), contemporary titans of industry offering reassuring words, and the impotence of human effort against the monstrous chaos of a complex system…