The markets have ceased to primarily serve their original purpose of being locations for exchange, and are now gambling dens for speculators. With global participation.
Because each bubble is built on covered-up risks, and because all the traders actually know this, many people are constantly ready to jump ship at the first whiff of problems.
Because these are generally the “best” traders, people follow their lead, selling off until selling becomes a self-perpetuating mania and the bubble bursts.
Remember that almost everyone knew at almost every point that this was going to happen, they just weren’t sure when.
That’s right, traders know when they’re paying over the odds for something, but they’ll still buy it if they think they can sell it for more tomorrow. This is how irresponsible speculation fuels market bubbles and continually damages the lot of the helpless majority.
And that’s why Thatcher and Reagan were bastards.