Most accounts of the current financial crisis tell a story of deregulation, out-of-control markets and irresponsible speculation. But few of those works have done more than regurgitate the newspaper coverage. In contrast, The Great Credit Crash digs deeper, drawing on some of the most prominent radical analysts of the modern market to foreground the key questions that are still waiting to be answered.
This volume presents a more complete and convincing analysis of the recent economic disaster, which is revealed as a product of a social order built during the triumphalist years of neoliberal capitalism. The contributors assess current events and political responses, critically examining official rhetoric and hegemonic narratives to point the way to an understanding of the crisis beyond the subprime headlines.
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Origins and Causes
1 Rethinking Neoliberalism and the Crisis: Beyond the Re-regulation Agenda Martijn Konings Konings, Martijn 3
2 Their Great Depression and Ours James Livingston Livingston, James 31
3 The Crisis in the Heartland Peter Gowan Gowan, Peter 47
4 From Financial Exploitation to Global Banking Instability: Two Overlooked Roots of the Subprime Crisis Gary A. Dymski Dymski, Gary A. 72
5 Neoliberalism and the Making of Subprime Borrowers Johnna Montgomerie Montgomerie, Johnna 103
6 Too Big to Bail: The "Paulson Put," US Presidential Politics, and the Global Financial Meltdown Robert Johnson Johnson, Robert 119
Global Dimensions
7 Structured Finance for Financed Structures: American Economic Power Before and After the Global Financial Crisis Herman Schwartz Schwartz, Herman 173
8 A Very North Atlantic Credit Crunch: Geopolitical Implications of the Global Liquidity Crisis Ronen Palan Palan, Ronen 198
9 The Politics of Smoke and Mirrors: The G-20 London Summit and the Restoration of Neoliberal Development Susanne Soederberg Soederberg, Susanne 222
10 How Neoliberals Bankrupted "New Europe": Latvia in the Global Credit Crisis Jeffrey Sommers Sommers, Jeffrey 244
11 The Global Crisis and Latin America Henry Veltmeyer Veltmeyer, Henry 264
12 Will China Save the World from Depression? Walden Bello Bello, Walden 276
13 The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Cyclical, Structural, or Systemic? William I. Robinson Robinson, William I. 289
Politics
14 The Great Silence: Their Gilded Age and Ours Steve Fraser Fraser, Steve 313
15 Facing the Economic Crisis Stanley Aronowitz Aronowitz, Stanley 326
16 Dismantling the Temple William Greider Greider, William 343
17 The Global Financial Crisis: Foreclosing or Leveraging Labor's Future? Scott MacWilliam MacWilliam, Scott 353
18 The Current Crisis: A Socialist Perspective Sam Gindin Gindin, Sam 370
Contributors 395
Overview
Most accounts of the current financial crisis tell a story of deregulation, out-of-control markets and irresponsible speculation. But few of those works have done more than regurgitate the newspaper coverage. In contrast, The Great Credit Crash digs deeper, drawing on some of the most prominent radical analysts of the modern market to foreground the key questions that are still waiting to be answered.
This volume presents a more complete and convincing analysis of the recent ...