To economic discussion what Frankenstein's monster was to windmills

Hello, and welcome to THE CONVERSATION. What you see here is a bold, perhaps misguided attempt to get some to-and-fro discussion happening over the economic, political and social matters of the day. We're aiming for an exchange of ideas, maybe some considered comment and healthy debate. If there was ever a time when some healthy debate over current affairs was desirable, we're living it.

THE CONVERSATION didn't suddenly spring forth out of THE ECONOMIC FORUM began with a few economists and hangers-on from the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED) meeting once every other week-or-so for a coffee and a chat about about whatever was current in everyone's minds at the time; government policy, global economic trends, the relationship between economic and social capital, whether Ross and Rachel would ever get their act together. All the important stuff.

More people became involved; some "members" left DTED to pursue careers in other areas, while others gravitated to the Forum from without, drawn by the witty repartee and the promise of good coffee.

Over the last four years Forum events have taken many shapes, from learned discourse to heated arguments, formal presentations to political stouches, all without ever having to resort to pistols at dawn. Views are considered and opinions are respected (or at least, those that hold them are not publically ridiculed).

Eventually, though, a schism began to emerge within the broad church of the Forum. One faction - let's call them the Jets - thought that the Forum was a grand platform for serious debate of economic issues, and endevoured to steer it in that direction. The other camp - for the sake of this analogy we'll call them the Sharks - thought that the original charm of the Forum was being lost in a maelstrom of heavy thinking, and longed for the Golden Age of coffee, laughs and chatter over debate.

The Jets and the Sharks tussled in a cheesy, fifties-musical kind of way, whenever they crossed paths, but ultimately there was no clear winner; only a grudging admission that there was probably room enough for both types of activity, and one shouldn't judge the other too harshly.

Somewhere in the middle of that came the Global Financial Crisis. Now there aren't enough lunch breaks and Friday evenings in a week to discuss all of the headlines and consider all the issues.

That's where THE CONVERSATION comes in. Every week or couple of days, one of the GOOD CONVERSATIONISTS will post a story. That's when the fun begins. The point of THE CONVERSATION is that it's supposed to be interactive. That's why we didn't call it THE DIATRIBE (God knows there's enough of those on the Internet already).

You get to say what you think about the story (or anything else that falls out of the piñata). Even better, other people get to say they think you're right and should be applauded, or they think you're wrong and you should pull your head in. Then you get to say, "I will bask in some of that glory, thank you very much," or "No! You're the stupid-head!" It's just like how Democracy began.

So read the stories, grab a half-baked opinion, and join THE CONVERSATION.