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分享一个知识点： Reader question: Please explain “Damascene conversion” in the following passages (The Wisdom of King, John Cassidy, The New Yorker, October 27, 2009): In a previous post, I mentioned a speech that Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, gave last week, in which he appeared to endorse some of the ideas for breaking up big banks that Soros, Paul Volcker, and others have been putting forward. In the United States, King’s speech hasn’t received the attention it deserves, and I thought I would post some of it. First though, some background. A former academic, King joined the Bank in 1991 as its chief economist and became chairman in 2003. Until the financial crisis erupted in 2007, he was a strong supporter of financial deregulation and allowing banks to merge as they pleased. During his term as chairman, the British banking industry, which has traditionally been dominated by a handful of giants, became even more of cartel. Now, following massive government bailouts of two of these flawed behemoths—Lloyds-TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland—King has had a Damascene conversion, or so it seems. My comments: Damascene conversion refers to a complete change in one’s beliefs. The phrase comes from the Bible, but first, a word about the New Yorker story. In this story, the author says King is now supporting ideas about breaking up big banks, a stand that represents a far cry from his previous position regarding the running of banks. If I read it correctly, King used to advocate non-interference. Banks being banks, a quintessential part of capitalism, King believed that they are best left to their own devices. Now, he wants investment banks (at least) to be controlled in one form or other so that they become more prudent with OPM – other people’s money. | 
