The Confidence Con

How mood can eclipse math in modern politics. How Mark Carney may be about to pull off the greatest con in Canadian political history.

There is an old form of fraud more elegant than the shell game and more durable than the pyramid scheme. It does not hide the pea. It persuades you that the pea does not matter. The classic confidence trick does not depend on secrecy; it depends on psychology. Establish prestige. Borrow authority. Flatter the mark. Create urgency. Close the deal before …