The real shortcoming of my book was that, like many others, I did not discuss the financial sector and how its activities could undermine the capitalist order even if there were no overt inflation or deflation of consumer prices. Any working market order requires there to be some way of marrying savings with the desire to borrow; a market for investible funds and some way of insuring against the vicissitudes of life as well, of course, as a better way of keeping ready cash than storing it under the mattress. But none of this justifies the threat posed by masses of invented money to institution after institution and country after country. Capitalism is a means to freedom and prosperity, not an end in itself. Improvement here may justify not merely international regulation but the retention for quite a long time in public ownership of banks and other institutions that have had to be rescued by government.
Podeu seguir la sèrie sencera a FT.
PS. Aprofiteu per veure Margin Call, una pel.lícula que explica prou bé els fonaments de la crisi, l'excés d'apalancament i el que passa després. El comentari de FT paga la pena. Si no sabeu que és una margin call, ho trobareu a la investopedia.
PS. Per cert, el naked short selling encara que prohibit aquí, podria seguir utilitzant-se i el regulador segueix de vacances. L'article sobre terrorisme financer a The Economist m'ha impactat sobre aquests temes. Intueixo problemes potencials propers.
