Wishing away hierarchy is hypocrisy

[U.N. chief: 'Drastic' action needed for poor: UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Friday for "drastic" measures to shore up banks and extend lines of credit to the world's poorest states, pledging to support European and American efforts to rethink the global financial architecture.
Moon: The era of self-regulation is over. He said the era of self-regulation among the biggest banks and other money-lending institutions had ended... CNN International]

[Marx And Spencer TOI 25 Oct 2008, DIPANKAR GUPTA Society must always come before the market.
We have to decide what kind of society we want before we let loose the market...When one plans for society, one plans for the long run... If one were to think long distance then policies that fundamentally encourage equality need to be at the base of every political decision... Democracy needs resolve and it must place society first. This is where planning plays a role, and all planning need not be of the slothful Soviet type. Interestingly, so many of those who till recently praised the poise and gift of the market have had a sudden change of heart. Earlier, only laissez faire and Spencer’s “survival of the fittest” figured. But today they are overeager to condemn the bosses of Wall Street and of every other crooked street in the world. The short term not only encourages painful social philippics, but also fair-weather friends...
To favour the market and blow the whistle on society only perpetuates the Marx & Spencer brand of politics. Do we really want that? Should not the dead rest in peace? The writer is professor of sociology at JNU. 9:26 AM]

If we can really "decide what kind of society we want," then we should first determine the contours of "equality" that we propose to espouse, for wishing away hierarchy is hypocrisy. [TNM]