If this is the party the hangover's going to be a doozy

Some interesting posts catalysed by the credit crunch fallout.

The first focuses on the implications for marketing. Neil over at Only Dead Fish posted this little number on Marketing in a Meltdown.

The smart and to-the-point Charles Frith contributed The mother of all market meltdowns. This quote had particular resonance with me:

"One thing is for sure I'm sick to death of the word growth being used as if it's a sign of success."

I've been reflecting on the same thing. Growth is one of the central premises of Capitalism... but how on earth (interesting turn of phrase that) can we expect endless growth from what is essentially a closed system?! Doesn't the house of cards need to come tumbling down evenutally? Or is what is happening a cycle we're doomed to repeat, endless growth not possible but the short term illusion... enter stage left a boom/bust cycle that gives the illusion of economic progress.

What irks me most about all of this is who ultimately foots the bill. I wanted to write something pithy on this but Jeff Jarvis has already done a great job. So instead I'll simply link to his posts on the The Moral Imbalance of Bailouts and What $700 billion could buy. So much for accountability. And hat tip to him for the link to Umair Haque and this quote:

The real point is this. The time is now.

Now is the time for revolutionaries to step up and build something better, something more real, and something greater.

There will probably never - at least in our lifetimes - be an opportunity for total economic reinvention this tremendous.

Or this meaningful.

I like the sense of possibility in this, but I also read it with a vague sense of trepidation.