The black market is unlike any other illicit and criminal environment in that it directly exposes- and exploits- irrationality in the counterpart legal environment it mimics- our economy. And the black market is no small affair- by some counts it is twenty to thirty percent of the entire global economy. That's actually not such a big problem until we see where this money is going.

As we evolve into a global economy, this black market is stretching far beyond the simple desire of an individual to make a quick-and-easy buck. The bad guys are no longer a few derelicts on a street corner peddling fake watches from a trench coat. Rather, the bad guys are now extremist political organizations- terrorists- many bent on disrupting or destroying capitalism itself.

One may take this as an indictment on the general concept of capitalism. Certainly, as we've seen, the forces primarily at fault for the rise in the black market are the players in the game of capitalism: suppliers and consumers. However it is not quite that simple. The problem is not capitalism, but rather the inability of the said players to responsibly participate in capitalism.

The variables here that cause the irrational flaws in the market- which, in turn, feed criminal interests- are very much cultural, even psychological. We are a culture that increasingly devalues true logical thinking. It's perfectly accepted for a consumer to value a purse at $1000. It's perfectly understandable for an industry to try to cling on to a business model based on inflated perceived value.

Terrorism is not funded simply by "evil doers" doing evil things. It is funded by illogical thinking and irrational consumerism. That, in the end, may be the toughest war to fight.