It became widely believed that financial markets are such sublime poolers of information that they represent a collective judgment that transcends that of any mere mortal. James Surowiecki’s bestselling 2004 book, with the outrageous title The Wisdom of Crowds , pressed this idea forward at the very height of the real estate boom.
当前的危机和对繁荣时期发展起来的市场的高度崇拜有关，这与理论金融学中的“有效市场理论”是一致的。人们普遍认为，金融市场是非常庄严的信息会聚地，它们代表了超越任何一个凡人的集体判断。2004年詹姆斯·索罗维基（James Surowiecki）以庸俗的《群众的智慧》为书名的畅销书，在房地产市场最繁荣的时候，将这一观点进一步向前推进。