Cocksure - Malcolm Gladwell on the Global Financial Crisis

This story from the New Yorker is an excellent teaching tool for Australians and New Zealanders attempting to understand or explain the underlying causes of the GFC.

Speaking at a special conference in May, Gladwell, reflects on whether it was incompetence or overconfidence that tipped us all into 2008's recession, and has subsequently cost the US Government North of $5 trillion (so far) to try to dig their way out of the shit.

He uses the case of the British army, arriving at Gallipoli in April 1915 at the peak of their military powers - by far the superior combatant, but frittering away their advantage while they set up their battle 'governance' - ships offshore for the command, soldiers ashore with all the administrivia of the typical British Army battle setup being put in place before they attacked. Their confidence of victory was supreme.

Amazingly, this was after a shockingly failed naval attack on the Dardennelles, which had effectively telegraphed the British intention to invade 4 long weeks before the fateful late April beach assaults.

Infamously, on April 25th when the British command realised their cocksure attitude had just cost them the strategic advantage against an opposition perceived to be Turkish rabble with limited ammunition, they pressed the button and proceeded to sacrifice 44,000 Allied soldiers on the beaches and hillsides of Gallipoli, with 96,000 wounded. The Turkish army lost nearly 87,000 men, while the Anzacs had 11,000 casualties and 24,000 wounded.

The many ensuing battles at Gallipoli are ingrained in a generation of kiwis and Australians minds - in a way they were nation-forming, as they they were for modern Turkey.

New Yorker is kind enough to offer their embedding code to bloggers, so I encourage you to watch this video and then buy a copy of the New Yorker some time to encourage them along. The print industry needs all the help it can get these days!