[anamax]

> I suspect that doesn't describe what most of the participants in the game

This case involves folks who wanted to make billion dollar bets on the housing market. It involves folks who had personal attention from Goldman Sachs. (In other words, we're not talking a Schwab IRA with a $10k balance.)

If these folks can't be held responsible for their investment decisions, who can?

> Which means regulation, ratings and market forces that are intended to stop things getting out of hand might function somewhat better.

You're assuming that complexity was relevant even though there wasn't even a correlation.

Note that no one is forcing folks to do complicated deals. Moreover, simple deals are available.

I trash Warren Buffet fairly often, but he's correct when he says that you shouldn't invest in something that you don't understand. Folks who violate that rule should lose their money.