ABSTRACT
After the 1970s the global economy radically changed character. The influence of the US-driven ‘Washington Consensus’ policies of ‘free-market fundamentalism’ penetrated ever deeper worldwide. 1 Nowhere was the influence of these policies greater than in the progressive removal of constraints upon financial institutions, which laid the foundation for the most explosive growth of debt and asset-price inflation ever seen. The collapse of this long-maturing bubble presents profound challenges for all countries.
