The Great Recession

Mohamed Rabie ()

Chapter Chapter 6 in Saving Capitalism and Democracy, 2013, pp 103-115 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The Great Recession could be attributed to several factors; nevertheless, the actions, reactions, and interactions of the following forces explain why the recession occurred, how it unfolded, and why it lasted so long. They should also guide us to develop the necessary policies to address some of the recession’s social and economic implications and reduce the probability of having to endure similar recessions in the coming years and decades. 1. The success of capitalism to build an industrial capacity around the world that exceeds the current absorption capacity of the world’s population; 2. The integration of the world’s national economies to the point of creating a global economy that caused global production relations to change significantly and affect social and economic structures everywhere; 3. American and European states’ policies to spend beyond their means, causing budget deficits to widen and public debts to skyrocket; 4. The success of a few exporting states to accumulate large financial surpluses and create financial liquidity that encouraged banks to take unwarranted risks; 5. A blind belief in the virtues of free markets that led governments to loosen financial regulations and underestimate the need for official oversight; 6. A greedy capitalist class that controlled the largest banks, insurance companies, and corporations, particularly in the United States, and used them to serve their own interests at the expense of the welfare of their employees, the general public, and the national interest; and 7. The failure of most states to defend their poor against exploitation and protect their middle classes from near destruction.

Keywords: Free Market; Public Debt; European Central Bank; Budget Deficit; Economic Recession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-1-137-32131-2_7

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9781137321312

DOI: 10.1057/9781137321312_7

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Palgrave Macmillan Books from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().