ABSTRACT
The global financial crisis that erupted in 2007 struck at the heart of the global economy. It not only occurred within the world’s most powerful economic institutions in the geographical center of economic power, but the enormous sums of money involved also forced many to rethink the nature of money, reaching the heart of economics as an academic discipline. The meteoric rise of the shadow banking system (SBS) and its collapse and bailout lead to the irrefutable observation that money is not scarce. The subsequent global policy of propping up financial asset prices while restricting productive investment, employment, and production is neither economically nor politically sustainable. However, the alternative of abundant funding for full employment and production is also problematic, as simply producing more smoke and steel can no longer be a way forward.
