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been encouraging the Japanese yen to increase in value as a tactic to pressure Japan in trade negotiations because the rising yen makes Japanese exports more expensive and harder to sell around the world. The talks collapsed and the value of the Japanese yen rose.41 The same thing happened again in November 1994 with a $400 to $600 million loss for Soros.

Malaysia.

In August 1997, Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, criticized the United States for not regarding Soros's currency speculation as a crime. "The United States does not consider Soros as a criminal because it is not a victim of his actions. We are the victims and if we keep quiet, the United States will continue to legalize his manipulations."42

Mahathir accused Soros of targeting the currencies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He said Soros drove down the value of these currencies in retribution for ASEAN allowing Myanmar (formerly Burma)—which is ruled by a military dictatorship—to join. Soros runs a foundation that opposes the Myanmar military junta, but Soros said its activities have no influence over his financial dealings.

Philosopher, Not a Financier

In Soros on Soros, Soros acknowledges that he has made a mark as a money manager. "But can I make a mark with my ideas? Can I formulate them and communicate them properly? Are they valid? That is what matters to me most and that is where I feel most insecure. The same set of ideas has served me for making money and for giving it away. It has worked for me but that does not mean that it has universal validity."43

Soros viewed himself not just as a speculator but as a philosopher—and a failed one at that. "I have been less successful in communicating my ideas and getting them generally accepted. That is why I consider myself a failed philosopher."44 He always wanted to get a hearing for his ideas, but it was only after the sterling crisis that he became a public figure; it changed his position in the world.45

In Soros on Soros, he explains, "I would say that it is the adventure of ideas that attracts me. Basically, thinking is the most important as-