A popular aphorism in the context of business advice says the Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is a combination of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.” That’s actually not the case at all, but this faux Ancient Chinese Wisdom persists because there’s a ring of truth to it. When things get out of control the usual rules tend to fly out the window, and whether out of ideogram-inspired savvy or sheer desperation, people in the midst of a crisis tend think outside the box (to use another threadbare piece of business talk).
For instance, the ongoing financial crisis has people basically shitting their pants all over the place. And since even the people we usually count on to know what to do in this kind of situation don’t seem to have a clue how to fix it, we’re starting to look for solutions in places too crazy for us to consider if things weren’t so dire. Places like Rand Paul’s brain. And the words of rogue economic theorist Raekwon the Chef.
After the jump, ‘Kwon’s advice on the economy are read into the Illinois legislature’s record: