"Lipstick on a Pig: Why Bail-outs Fail and People Power Will Succeed" is the first of a new series of books by Zopa co-founder Simon Deane-Johns (aka "The Pragmatist") that take a subversive and irreverent look at how the relationship between society and its institutions is changing, fundamentally and forever - how we, as individuals, are personalising the one-size-fits-all existence traditionally offered by our institutions; and what the impact of this trend will be on our financial system, politics, unions, the church and beyond. Irreverent it may be, but the series deals with some of the most serious and far-reaching issues facing us today. Why start with our financial system? Because, like it or not - and recent impromptu campsites demonstrate that most of us do not like it - our financial system is supposed to be the beating heart of our society, yet it"s badly broken. And all the money we allocate to the existing structure is just so much lipstick on a pig. But there is hope,...