I'll have to chime in on this one. When I was gambling in the forex meakrt (I was fascinated with patterns at the time), I really got into the psychology of it. There's a really good book called "Trading in the Zone" that brings some extra insight into this post. Simply put, losing is twice as hard as winning. Flip a coin with a friend for a dime each time. No sweat if you lose ten in a row. Now do that betting the house payment each time- different outcome. Somehow we think that because heads has come up 10 times in a row, we are "due" for a win. Not so, the odds remain at 50/50. Successful traders, like poker players, are able to do well with only a slight advantage because they emotionally distance themselves from the effects of the outcome. I once saw on the Andy Griffith show Andy say "Winnings the easy part. Everybody knows how to win".So what happens when a nation loses? I'd say first we deny it. Then as its effects become apparent, we blame ourselves. Hopefully, when people get around to the blame part, they'll pick the root causes instead of the scapegoats. I'll say it again- Concentrated wealth destroys democracies.