Playing The Blame Game - A Look At Responsibility

The Age

Saturday October 14, 2006

MARCUS PADLEY

ARISTOTLE says we are all responsible for our actions and that this allows others to praise, blame or punish us.

But only humans can be blamed, presumably because most other creatures are not responsible for their actions.

So, if being responsible is the key for allowing blame, I have to ask, where do children come in?

Children are the worst kind when it comes to being blamed. They are in a transition phase from not being able to be blamed (cute baby who doesn't move at all) to being fully responsible for their actions (expensive adult who doesn't move at all).

Noticeably the Jewish faith has got it all sorted. The bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah for girls is a "rite of passage", a crossover from childhood to adulthood.

When a boy turns 13, or a girl 12, the Jewish faith then holds them accountable for their misdeeds. From that point on their mums and dads are no longer responsible.

But my Anglican-Catholic-cross kids take no responsibility for their actions. When it comes to blame they possess the well-grooved skills of a Kung Fu grasshopper, able to deflect the most lethal of projectiles and at the same time embed them in the nearest sibling.

They would make a great backdrop for the next "Adopt Judaism" recruitment poster.

In England it is always someone's fault. It reflects the fact that it is a responsible nation. If something goes wrong then someone is responsible. Who is it? What rank is he? Can we demote him?

In Japan there is an understanding. There is no witch-hunt. The person knows he is responsible and if he has any honour, will remove the blame by quietly falling on his sword, leaving the rest of the nation to concentrate on finding solutions not scapegoats.

In France there is no blame. They simply don't care who did it because they are completely irresponsible.

In Australia there is very little blame because the only people endowed with responsibility and therefore liable for blame are referees and umpires. Outside of sport, the Australians are French.

So, now we come to second-hand car salesmen, estate agents, financial planners and stockbrokers - the most blamed professions in existence. What do they have in common that they should be so maligned? Let's look.

They are all agents for the transfer of pre-loved assets, cars, houses and shares. If you can only blame them for things for which they are responsible, then just what is that for which they are responsible?

They are responsible for the transaction; the buying and the selling. Yet it is clear that the buyers and sellers often battle to make them responsible beyond the transaction, to be responsible for the performance of the car, house price or share price. Is this fair? Or is it ridiculous?

After the tech wreck, the Government wanted to blame someone other than its voters for the sharemarket losses so it took to the finance industry with a big stick. In so doing it dangerously endorsed the concept that the buyer is not responsible for his actions, caveat no emptor, and imposed a regime that requires us to document every word of advice.

Although it is a huge pain, at least we now know what advice we are responsible for and therefore for what we can be blamed.

Here is a test for you. Which one of the following is your agent not responsible for:

? The transaction.

? Advising you about the nature of the asset.

? Advising you if the asset is suitable for you.

? Compensating you for any money you lose on the asset after the transaction without sharing in any gains.

Stockbrokers, financial planners, estate agents and car salesmen rejoice.

Marcus Padley is a stockbroker and the author of the daily sharemarket newsletter Marcus Today. For a free five-day trial of the newsletter, go to www.marcustoday.com.au