16 The EconomistOctober 26th 2019
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A changing anti-Semitism
The question of whether criti-
cism of Israel can be disentan-
gled from anti-Semitism is an
empty one (Graphic detail,
October 12th). To criticise Israel
and its policies is perfectly
kosher. Every newspaper,
including in Israel, does it
every day. But saying things
like Israel is the greatest danger
to peace in the world, or that it
is an abnormality and should
be peacefully dissolved—
sentiments that were emailed
by German academics to the
Israeli embassy in Berlin—go
further than this and are
examples of the latest
incarnation of anti-Semitism.
There are limits to the
statistical examination of
anti-Semitism you wrote
about. To ask people on the
street what they think about
Jews produces doubtful results
and in the end leaves the
matter unexplained. Mixing
questions on attitudes towards
Jews with other issues only
causes confusion.
Anti-Semitism is a histori-
cal phenomenon, a negative
attitude towards Jews and
Judaism deeply rooted in
Western culture. Over the
centuries it has changed
themes, but remains basically
the same negative cultural
value. In the Middle Ages Jew-
hatred was mainly religious
(its answer to the “Jewish
Question” was conversion to
Christianity). In modern times
it became secular and adopted
racial tones. In the 20th cen-
tury, this came mostly from the
right of the political spectrum.
One reason for much of
today’s misunderstanding
about anti-Semitism is that it
is undergoing another
thematic change. A lot of
today’s Jew-hatred is directed
against the most evident
symbol of continuing Jewish
vitality: the state of Israel. And
much of this Israelisation of
Jew-hatred originates in the
centre-left and the left. The
anti-Semitic tropes uttered in
the British Labour Party are far
from being the exception.
professor monika schwarz-
friesel
Technical University of BerlinJustthreelittlewords
Thenumberingofhomesin
ruralFranceneedn’trestonthe
archaiclogicofNapoleonic
systems(“TheviewfromNo
2027”,September28th).The
bafflingmetricnumbering
systemusedinFrenchvillages
couldberemediedbyusing
What3Words.Thisapphas
comprehensivelymappedthe
entireworldbygivingany
positionontheplaneta unique
three-wordcombination.
Recentlydeployedbydelivery
driversinNigeria,it couldalso
behelpfulinthesomewhat
moreAmazon-friendlyterrain
ofruralFrance.
Everyphilosopherhashis
timeandplace.Perhapsthe
daysofrelyingsolelyonCarte-
sianaddressconventionsare
numbered,ironicallyby
words.
tombottomley
jonathanmoon
Riga,LatviaReligiousdialogue
Asyoureport,African
languagesarespreadingto
northernlatitudes(“Theother
African-Americans”,October
19th).Perhapsknowledgeof
Africanlinguisticsshould
spread,too.Anotherrecent
article,onthepopeinAfrica,
describesa stand-offbetween
thepontiffanda Nigerian
diocesewherea bishop-elect
wasseenasanethnicand
linguisticoutsider(“Stony
ground”,September7th).
Whatevertheperceptions,let
meassureyouthatthebishop
andhispotentialflockwereall
speakers,likeme,oftheIgbo
language,whosedialectsdiffer
nomorethan,say,theGeordie
andScouseformsofEnglish.
kennethamaeshi
EdinburghLeave Brexit to people’s juries
What a pleasure to read “Tiny
democracy” (October 5th),
about people who have been
randomly chosen to sit on civic
institutions in Belgium’s Ger-
man-speaking area. This meth-
od was used successfully by
Britain’s lottery charities board
and its successor between 1998and 2004 tochoosesome
membersofnineregional
panels,whichdispensedmany
millionsofpounds.In 2003 a
parliamentarycommittee
examineditsworkingsand
calledfora widerexperiment,
butthiswasrejectedanda year
laterthepanelsdisappeared.
A citizen’sinvolvementin
civicaffairsismeritorious.In
“DemocracyinAmerica”,
AlexisdeTocquevillewrote
perceptivelyofrandomly
chosenjuriesasformsof
politicalinstitutions.He
concludedthatthejury“isboth
themostefficientwayof
establishingthepeople’srule
andthemostefficientwayof
teachingthemhowtorule.”
Unlikereferendums.
martinwainwright
Kidlington,OxfordshireFlashier trading
Yes, more of the financial
industry is being automated,
which is the evolutionary
nature of every business
(“March of the machines”,
October 5th). The good news is
that humans are not going
away. There is no substitute for
human interaction, judgment
and experience. I doubt there
are any trading operations with
zero human oversight; some-
one has to press the stop but-
ton to turn a malfunctioning
system off. After all, a fool with
a tool is still a fool.
As for the stability of the
financial system, particularly
equity markets, the answer has
been staring us in the face for
some time. Does share trading
have to be continuous? Is faster
always better? A good market
needs to be efficient and fair,
not necessarily faster. Intro-
ducing a periodic single-price
auction (spa) trading mecha-
nism in place of the continu-
ous system we have today
would reduce the risks of
future market meltdowns. It
would also obviate the insane
speed-trading arms race.
Almost as ridiculous as
microsecond trade executions
is the speed-bump mechanism
used to slow things down. A
spamarket mechanism would
not only be more elegant, it
would also provide more li-quidity, as it would concen-
trate trading interest both in
time and place.
This would help deal with
the question of market frag-
mentation. Do we really need
so many markets to trade? With
trade executions essentially a
commodity (for equities at
least), one could argue that the
execution of business in a
spa-oriented market should be
a regulated utility, whether
member-owned or not.
joseph rosen
Editor, “The Handbook of
Electronic Trading”
New YorkGranted, computers can do
many things in finance quicker
and better than any human.
However, programming a
computer to run an index fund
is child’s play compared with
teaching it what to do when
one of Donald Trump’s tweets
declaring a new trade war
sends everyone running for the
exit. An experienced trader
instinctively knows that the
markets can remain irrational
longer than you can remain
solvent. How do you build that
truth into an algorithm?
atilla ilkson
Woodstock, New YorkYou said that the first trans-
atlantic cable ran between
Liverpool and New York,
carrying cotton prices, and was
completed in 1866 (“Masters of
the universe”, October 5th). In
fact, the first transatlantic
cable was laid between
Valentia Island in Ireland and
Newfoundland. After several
attempts, it delivered its first
message in 1858.
ronan o’shea
LondonIs it only a matter of time
before artificial intelligences
discover the joys and profits of
insider trading?
mark van dusen
Mandalay, Myanmar