Ewald Engelen

Julie Froud

Adam Leaver

Sukhdev Johal

Karel Williams

Ismail Ertürk

Mick Moran

Adriana Nilsson

What is the relationship between the financial system and politics? In a democratic system, what kind of control should elected governments have over the financial markets? What policies should be implemented to regulate them? What is the role played by different elites - financial, technocratic, and political - in the operation and regulation of the financial system? And what role should citizens, investors, and savers play? These are some of the questions addressed in this challenging analysis of the particular features of the contemporary capitalist economy in Britain, the USA, and Western Europe. The authors argue that the causes of the financial crisis lay in the bricolage and innovation in financial markets, resulting in long chains and circuits of transactions and instruments that enabled bankers to earn fees, but which did not sufficiently take into account system risk, uncertainty, and unintended consequences. In the wake of the crisis, the authors argue that social scientists, governments, and citizens need to re-engage with the political dimensions of financial markets. This book offers a controversial and accessible exploration of the disorders of our financial capitalism and its justifications. With an innovative emphasis on the economically 'undisclosed' and the political 'mystifying', it combines technical understanding of finance, cultural analysis, and al political account of interests and institutions.

Financial Crisis and the Politics of Reform

After the Great Complacence

For some time I had suspected that someone, or more than one, was actively engaged in sabotaging my business. Then one morning, seeing the windscreens of all my best cars smashed, confirmed it: I had an enemy who was out to destroy me, and clearly, he was stepping up his destructive activities. More, probably worse, was to come. He wouldn't give up. But neither could I. After I got over the initial shock, I was more determined than ever not to be beaten. I had been running the used-car business for a year then, and despite many setbacks along the way, I had reached the stage where I felt I was on top of the job, and I was enjoying it. I couldn't allow it to be taken from me. But what could I do? I was lucky up to then: It was by sheer luck that I had avoided the many traps that were set for me, but had my luck ran out? The wanton destruction that I found that morning was the most disconcerting yet.

Smashed Windscreens

Mick Moran

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