We Are All Zero Hedge

There was a lot of excitement on the Internet recently after the pseudonymous administrators of the finance-media website Zero Hedge were unmasked. Zero Hedge has become known as a source of cutting-edge news, rumors and gossip about the financial industry, as well as a haven for gold bugs, foes of the Federal Reserve and critics of high-frequency trading.

My views on Zero Hedge have evolved over the years. At first I focused on its use of masculine imagery that seemed to encourage an attitude of risk-taking. Later, I criticized it for promoting some economic thinking that I don't like. But I've realized that the website is also something else -- a kind of support group for financial industry workers who are worried about their own economic future in the face of sweeping changes in technology, regulation and demand. Seen in this light, Zero Hedge isn't much different from the rest of America, or maybe even the developed world.