The Economic Towers of Babel

An interesting article from the Christian Science Monitor exposes a link between the world’s tallest (or just really tall) buildings and economic downturns.  Sounds pretty evocative of the Bible story about the tower of Babel (not the Brad Pitt movie). Man, in his arrogance, builds something big.  God, in his fury, smites man.  Whether the “invisible hand” is an act of the Divine or not, there is some cosmic irony in that the some of the greatest architectural feats of the contemporary era double as monuments to our economic hubris.

I lifted this picture for graphic evidence of the phenomenon.  It is also hosted over at CSM.