US to China: Now You Worry

I well remember the old canard about the debtor who calls up the bank and says “I’m tired about worrying about how much I owe you; now you worry about it for a while.” Last week, I heard my friend Taxmom kick it to a new level: if you owe enough money to the bank, she said, you own the bank.

Maybe she was channeling this guy:

Eumenes of Cardia was principal secretary to Alexander the Great and a member of his army. As a Greek general n the Macedonian force,Eumenes was regarded with suspicion and contempt. Those who served under him had to respect his martial abilities but this made the Macedonians fear and hate him even more. With the death of Alexander, Eumenes lost his sponsor and his situation suddenly became rather precarious. As Plutarch explained, Eumenes’ response consisted of an unusual hostage strategy. He borrowed as much money as he could, especially from his bitterest rivals. As creditors, Eumenes’ enemies acquired a financial interest in his ability to repay them, something which he could not do if he were dead. As a debtor, Eumenes made reluctant allies out of his creditors. He had, in effect, taken their money hostage.

--Bruce G. Carruthers, City of Capital 3 (Paperback ed. 1999)

I wonder of the managers of China’s foreign investments has read Carruthers (link).

Carruthers quotes the original account in Plutarch:

Eumenes, however, perceiving that, while they despise done another, they feared him and were on the watch for an opportunity to kill him, pretended to be in need of money and got together many talents by borrowing them from those who hated him most, in order that they might put confidence in him and refrain from killing him out of regard for the money they had lent him. The consequence was that the wealth of others was his body-guard, and that, whereas men generally preserve their lives by giving, he alone won safety by receiving.

--Plutarch, Eumenes

Update:From this morning's cull, some useful background.