ABSTRACT
Neo-liberalism has rightly emphasised that markets create wealth, the affluence of nations depending critically on whether they have vibrant markets for goods and services as well as financial markets. The dominant economic school – Chicago School economics – has propagated this message without pause through numerous outlets (academic journals, textbooks, television, newspapers, etc.), claiming that markets tend always to be efficient. Yet, as the period of neo-liberalism (1967-2001) has come to an end, it is urgent to reflect upon why it is the case that governments everywhere are involved in the economy in various roles, for instance in providing badly needed stability to the market economy.
