From Charlie Robinson
There are many interesting parallels between the global financial system and natural ecosystems (22 January, p 6). It is not entirely surprising, given that financial institutions are able to pass on the information which encodes their operations, are subject to mutation and exist in a milieu which imposes selection pressures – all characteristics required for natural selection to occur.
It seems to me that the activities of financial institutions may even be determined more by Darwinian selection processes than by the people who are nominally in charge of them – though perhaps a degree of Lamarckism could be conceded.
However, as these institutions can exchange information in many directions, rather than simply from one generation to the next, perhaps the world of microbial ecosystems would prove a better comparison. The opportunity to compare bankers to bacteria obviously has nothing to do with the appeal of this idea.
Hove, East Sussex, UK
