Soaring capital flows, a debt-based consumer culture and unbalanced trade between countries all contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The question now is whether governments follow a 'business as usual' model based on self-interest and inequality, or one that promotes equitable development based on moral and social principles.
On a structural level, the basic imbalances that caused the recent economic crisis have not been resolved. Despite renewed optimism amongst many analysts, the only reliable prediction for the immediate future remains uncertainty and continued volatility, says Jayati Ghosh.
The financial crisis exposed not only the risks inherent in our prevailing economic model, but also the moral deficit of market fundamentalism. Will we seize this opportunity to prioritise sustainability and community resilience above growth and individual gain? By Joseph Stiglitz.
For more than two years the world has been wracked by a series of interrelated crises, leaving us trapped in a state of limbo between old dogmas and a shifting middle ground. Social movements must now forge a new 'common ground' beyond a rejection of neoliberalism, writes Turbulence Magazine.
In response to popular outcry after the financial crisis of 2008, politicians around the
world seem ready to discuss how to regulate and restrain the market.
The question is, can they, and, if they can, in whose interests will
this regulation work?
By Raj Patel.
Close parallels can be drawn between the causes of the current economic crisis and the marketing innovations associated with carbon trading. Studying the financial crisis and the climate crisis together can provide useful tools for understanding how to tackle both, says a report by The Corner House.
After three summits have produced only broad policy statements of a voluntary nature, the G20 is not a credible policymaking body to address the global economic crisis. Will it now serve as the lightning rod for the rebirth of the anti-globalization movement? By Walden Bello.
The international monetary framework which emerged after the
collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s has proved volatile, damaging
and prone to crises. It is time for a fundamental redesign and the introduction
of a global reserve currency, argue Peter Chowla, Barbara
Sennholz and Jesse Griffiths.
