Market highs arise from millions’ indifferent thinking, not expert consensus

Evidence

The high stock market levels did not, as so many imagine, represent the consensus judgment of experts who have carefully weighted the long-­term evidence. The markets have been high because of the combined effect of indifferent thinking by millions of people, very few of whom have felt the need to perform careful research[,] … who are motivated substantially by their own emotions, random attentions, and perceptions of conventional wisdom. Their all too human behaviour has been heavily influenced by news media that are interested in attracting viewers or readers. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 99

Categorization

• SHARE: A crisp Shiller quote for a finance/behavioral-economics colleague who studies market narratives.
• XREF: connects to: Share prices reflect guesses about others’ opinions, not intrinsic value — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 995; Speculation prices assets by imagined future appeal to others, not actual value. — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living With…, 138; Speculation is an imaginative act detached from asset value, pricing others’ future desires — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities: Living with…, 215 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Share prices reflect guesses about others’ opinions, not intrinsic value #corroborates (0.85) — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism, 995
• Speculation prices assets by imagined future appeal to others, not actual value. #corroborates (0.82) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 138
• Speculation is an imaginative act detached from asset value, pricing others’ future desires #expands (0.80) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 215
• Market rationality is actually imagination dominating at every level #expands (0.78) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 156
• Finance’s dominance rests on speculative imagination, not just market rationality. #corroborates (0.75) — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 550