There's a lesson in Detroit, but it is kind of interesting and important to realize how hard it would be to prevent, even if people were inclined to sort through and assign responsibility, which I don't think the parties responsible and their brethren other places are all that inclined to do. Expecting people to act against their immediate self-interest can be a hard sell, particularly when there's little reason to have long term trust.
I agree that the rest of us can look at it and try to act according to our interpretations of its lessons. There's a value in understanding it absolutely, but when you said "to keep it from happening in other places/industries" I think you're being too optimistic. I think the best we can hope for is to keep it from happening at such a grand scale, which of course, is still important.
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