Tulipmania: Bullshit, or even bigger bullshit?
Surprisingly, the fallout from this doesn’t appear to have been very drastic. While some lost their fortunes, most simply paid small penalties on not honoring their tulip contracts and moved on with their lives. (Tulip futures speculators were not obligated to pay the full amount of their contract, simply a small percentage if they chose not to pay for their purchase, which also seems to have contributed to the growth of the bubble.) This, combined with the fact that most of the trading took place on “Main Street”, rather than at the stock exchange and among nobility, and that in general no money or tulips changed hands during the height of the bubble, resulted in the overall economy not being affected much at all, contrary to what you may often read.
Most people who misuse the phrase to describe today’s more ethereal “bubbles” don’t even think about the fact that at least during “Tulipmania,” you (usually) got actual tulips.
Also?
This is a helpful reminder that the book Popular Delusions... — which has influenced the world view, and behavior, of untold millions — is itself full of “delusions” (such as the breadth of “Tulipmania” and “witch burnings”, along with who the bad guys were during the Crusades) which the author made very “popular” indeed, to society’s detriment.
