Web of Wealth

The Robin Hood tax, currently being advocated by a bunch of romantic celebrities and luvvies, does appear to have some support from respectable economists, despite the systematic demolition by reasonably sympathetic journalists such as Tim Harford. http://timharford.com/2010/02/if-that%e2%80%99s-the-robin-hood-tax-i%e2%80%99m-the-sheriff-of-nottingham/ Most of the arguments against the tax, whether motivated by a disinterested love of truth or a covert love of bankers, are couched in terms of the effectiveness of the tax as a short-term instrument. For example, it is argued that it will fail to take money out of the bankers' pockets because the tax will be passed on to the customers of the banks, and that it will fail to reduce the volatility of the international money system because it will encourage larger and more infrequent payment. From a longer-term systems perspective, I am interested in the nature of the tax as an intervention into a large complex system, for example as measured against Donella Meadows' leverage points. The tax doesn't look to me like an intervention capable of making the kind of profound and lasting change that is needed to the financial system. At best it represents a negative feedback loop that produces a damping effect on some parts of the system, without changing the structure or values of the system itself. It is therefore a distraction from the real issues.