Lecturer speaks on the future of finance

On 27 April 2023 Dr Philip Roscoe gave a public lecture at the Library of Mistakes in Edinburgh. Following an introduction from the Library's Keeper, Professor Russell Napier, Philip sketched out his thoughts on the future of finance via some key moments in the history of financial markets: 

• the grotesque circulation of credit in the 18th-century transatlantic triangle
• the very male spoken trading of the London Stock Exchange's Old House
• the sudden transformations of the 1980s
• his own experiences as a youthful journalist in dotcom London.

With the audience he debated boom and bust, the real value of active fund managers, and the democratic possibilities of cryptocurrency. An audience of about 60 attended the event, which was livestreamed worldwide. It is available to watch as a Library of Mistakes YouTube video, How to build a stock exchange.

The Library of Mistakes describes itself as a 'free-to-use public library dedicated to the study of financial history'. It is located in the heartland of Edinburgh's financial district, with a mission to help others learn from the past mistakes of finance, 'continuing a tradition of enquiry stretching back to the work of local luminaries such as Adam Smith'.