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When learning Japanese, have you ever tried to understand a folk tale? I remember trying to read a simple version of Urashima Taro (浦島太郎). The story initially grabbed my attention, but as it progressed, I found myself increasingly confused—what was the point of this tale?

A nice elderly lady thrust herself between myself and the door. For a moment, not understanding her motive, I kindly obliged and gave way. As the moment passed my senses returned: she wanted a seat on the next train.

In 1979, Broughton Knox, an Australian minister, could say, Inflation is sinful and it should be recognised as such. It is a new sin.1 Inflation, the decline of purchasing power over time, is seen today as a key component of economic management. There are a number of reasons economists argue that inflation is necessary. From the US Federal Reserve itself, one reason given is that,

A pill to induce moral behaviour might sound like a far-fetched idea, but ongoing discussions in the academic literature seem to give some legitimacy to the possibility. Similar to the idea of the SOMA pill in 'A brave new world', the hope is for a chemical for "moral bio-enhancement"; we can all be happy …