80 years is short enough that we can’t be confident that it’s some rule of human societies, but it’s also much longer than any other recorded bubble has ever lasted. At 80 years the burden of proof is beginning to shift from those who think the system will work tomorrow the same as it worked today, and onto those that are predicting doom and sudden change.
I’d also like to point out that prior to the current system, market panics occurred significantly more often than once in 80 years. So if we’re comparing the system we have today and the system that existed 80 years before it, the current system seems measurably more stable.
80 years is longer than the average life span of most highly developed economies. In short: It is a lifetime. It seems long to me.
And 80 years is roughly 50% of all years of industrialised economies that started around 1850. Recall that the world economy had zero growth per capita until the industrial revolution started around 1850.
80 years is longer than most constitutions. The current French Republic was created in 1958, 63 years ago. In fact 80 years covers three French constitutions. China’s constitution is from 1982, and Finland redid theirs in 2000.
Of the countries part of the UN, only 14 countries have a constitutions older than 80 years. The oldest is the US in 1788, and the youngest is Ireland in 1937.
I’d also like to point out that prior to the current system, market panics occurred significantly more often than once in 80 years. So if we’re comparing the system we have today and the system that existed 80 years before it, the current system seems measurably more stable.