"Does anybody else see this tragedy as a metaphor for the fate of the global economy in 2012?"  Only you and nearly every other person who commented on the NY Times article about the Costa Concordia fiasco.  It is an odd mindset that takes an apparent incident of literal irresponsible showboating by one person and holds it up as proof of:

• The inevitable corruption and recklessness of private, for-profit organizations; and
• The necessity and superiority of government oversight.

You don't have to read Hayek or Friedman, or even add their books to that unread pile next to your TV to see the absurdity of this line of thought given the evidence so far. 

Let us take a quick poll...

1. Please raise your hand if you are a Carnival shareholder and are glad to know that your ships' captains might occasionally veer off course to give a thrill to shorebound locals.

2. If you are not a Carnival shareholder, but rather some prole in a for-profit company, please raise your hand if is the policy of your company to encourage acts of risky exhibitionism because it will increase profits.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what Times readers made of the riots in Nigeria.  On one hand, the government was letting market forces to work (bad) by allowing gas prices to rise from $1.70/gallon to $3.50/gallon; on the other hand raising prices would decrease consumption of fossil fuels (good).  

But it looks like they silent on the issue.