Moralizing and Polarizing News Flow

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

This is a slightly more intense weekly than usual and I recommend you only read it if you really are up for it and can spare a moment to think about it.

You know, Ladies and Gentlemen, I ask myself if I am the only one or if there are others out there, who like me seem to have detected an unhealthy development of black or white thinking and/or black or white reporting on just about any important and even unimportant topic in politics and/or financial markets and many other things.

I do get the impression we are constantly being pulled or pushed into one or the other camp, black or white, by influencers of any sort moralizing and polarizing with at times very week arguments.

I really can’t think much of this and it bothers me big time. I don’t think moralizing and polarizing; black or white thinking is helping the knowledge building process of voters and financial investors in any positive way. Why can’t we accept different shades of grey or even colours and have a debate on viewpoints without having to fiercely defend the moralizing and polarizing viewpoints of pseudo gurus?

Is it really impossible to see something (anything really) good in a political candidate, who’s face, style, political program you dislike? Is it really impossible to see something (anything really) good in an asset class you generally dislike? Isn’t it the mix that proposes the best results?

Look, Ladies and Gentlemen, in a very simplified illustration what would you think if a cook was only offering dishes with one ingredient? Don’t you think this would be slightly boring over time and that he would maybe soon be out of business? While and thanks to a mix of ingredients he may were to achieve balanced and interesting menus?

Same is obviously true for politics. I personally think President Donald Trump is not a very elegant person, however I cannot imagine that everything he does is bad. The new Italian government does not want to stick to agreements signed with the EU by their predecessors long time ago, true and yet, there are arguments I understand even if I don’t like them.

Now, when it comes to financial markets, the sometimes-fierce fight between defenders of one or the other asset class is truly surprising as it leads to more restrictions instead of more freedom and flexibility. Why would someone be happy to give up freedom or flexibility?

You know, Ladies and Gentlemen, this phenomenon you can also find in religion and while we finally seem to understand that religion was man made, we almost seem to seek restrictions outside religion. Again, this is very surprising to me as it makes our thinking and acting more rigid and thus fragile instead of flexible and antifragile.

What is your opinion, Ladies and Gentlemen?

Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts with me on whatever seems interesting or bothering to you. Please feel encouraged to do so but please don’t forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to:

smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen I wish you a great day and weekend.

Kind regards.

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth
Wealth Management
Incrementum AG