Lewis also argued that Western financial markets are still flawed by a design that allows high-frequency traders to skim “around 30 basis points” off of trades, generally at the expense of the average investors.
He linked the reluctance to reform financial markets with an overall decline in citizenship among Western elites, holding out his alma mater, Princeton, as an example.
“The people who came out of Princeton used to come out with a sense of noblesse oblige,” said Lewis. “Their education was their birthright and they had an obligation to give back to society. … Today, there’s a natural tendency for people to think that they don’t owe anybody anything. The sense that people have an obligation to their society has eroded quite a bit.”