“We tend to assume that our unwritten constitution is fundamentally sound and could weather any crisis. But like the levees in New Orleans and Lehman Brothers in New York, we generally fail to take the risk of low-probability, high-impact events into consideration. As Daniel Finkelstein, the Times writer, has recently argued in a different context, we should not ask if our constitution can withstand day-to-day life – the test is whether it could survive Katrina, or a credit crunch. The lesson of the last few years is that, in Donald Rumsfeld’s words, ‘Stuff happens’ – even unlikely events do occur.”
The Times, 18th March 2010
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
