perfection has not yet been attained.......

     Such a system did not arise fully formed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.  Contrary to the orthodoxy of today's mullahs of market fundamentalism, a vigorous culture of stock investing requires strong government-run institutions to ensure that shareholders are not damaged by "information asymmetry"—that is, they are not cheated by the company's managers.  The recent accounting scandals vividly demonstrate that even after four centuries of active joint-stock operations, perfection has not yet been attained.  Both shareholders and government must vigorously police business.

-William J. Bernstein, The Birth of Plenty:  How The Prosperity Of The Modern World Was Created