Dickens, literary genius and philosopher ?
Bred at first, as many physical diseases are, in the wickedness of men, and then disseminated in their ignorance, these epidemics, after a period, get communicated to many sufferers who are neither ignorant nor wicked.
Charles Dickens – Little Dorrit, Book Two, Chapter XIII
Economic crisis, swine flu pandemic (OK, H1N1 Influenza A), seems a perfect quote for any of these man made problems.