Why the economy failed: An irony

Richard Posner a supreme court judge published this assessment of why the current financial crisis could not have been avoided. My reading of his argument is that it is an appeal to ignorance which is one of the informal fallacies you learn in a first year critical thinking class. Perhaps that is why we are in a mess. A lawyer(not an economist or even a business person) with enormous power and prestige can make economic pronouncements- and people listen.

(BTW Lawyers only have to make persuasive arguments- Philosophers have to make convincing ones.)