Greed isn’t good. But it is the reason why social systems based on the equality of the individual simply never work out. Falter and fail. Falling victim to a deeply rooted human trait. And, whilst the West pursues prudence, struggling to recover from earlier excesses, the material world is flourishing Down Under. For now.
Every opportunity taken to make a quick buck. Nothing free. Everything costs. Inclusive rapidly fading from the Australian lexicon. And the consumer pays. Reluctantly maybe. But it makes no difference. Recent floods and cyclones seen by some simply as a convenient justification for further price hikes. Not simply passing on genuine, unavoidable, additional cost. Extra profit as well. Boundaries between opportunity and exploitation blurred.
For now at least, the country seems as awash with money as precipitation in Queensland. But it can’t rain forever. Even here. Dry season looms. And so for the economy. Shades of the UK. A few years before the financial downturn. If people here do sense the inevitable, no one wants to talk about it. To peer into the precipice. Preferring instead to make the most of it while they can. It’ll all end in tears. Always does.
