Appadurai: Socialization of Loss

Eagerly await Appadurai's book after this insightful interview. The concept of socialization of loss is breathtakingly brilliant:

"This work is essentially about three questions: one, what are these new instruments (such as hedge funds, derivatives) of economic and social contracts; two, what do they presuppose in terms of legality, regulation, and social tolerance for their existence; and three, the relationship between risk-takers and risk-bearers in this new setting.

We are seeing a dramatic split between those who take risk and those who bear it. In the old idea of entrepreneurship, if you take a risk and fail, you fail; if your profit, you profit. In the new order, it’s like you profit but the loss goes to hundreds of investors, those at the bottom, unconnected to your risk-taking. The loss is socialized."