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Financial alchemists and financial shamans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Samuel G. B. Johnson
Samuel G. B. Johnson*
Affiliation:
Division of Marketing, Business and Society, University of Bath School of Management, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom. [email protected]://www.sgbjohnson.com
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Abstract

Professional money management appears to require little skill, yet its practitioners command astronomical salaries. Singh's theory of shamanism provides one possible explanation: Financial professionals are the shamans of the global economy. They cultivate the perception of superhuman traits, maintain grueling initiation rituals, and rely on esoteric divination rituals. An anthropological view of markets can usefully supplement economic and psychological approaches.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 41 , 2018 , e78
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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