The Frights and the Avatars of the Financial Crisis

摘要

The end of the twentieth century had as main feature the financial globalization and characterized an unstable, unpredictable and fragile world. The outset of the financial globalization in the modern era occurred within a particular ideological climate. The liberal revolution of the late '70s had as an essential discourse the withdrawal of the state, privatization, deregulation and liberalization. The debut of the new millennium is marked by the increased economic and social imbalances. An important task of economic science is to identify the causes and factors that contributed to the radical transformation of the unfolding conditions of economic activity. The existence of different perspectives to approach the new realities may offer greater opportunities for decrypting the conditions that generated so far unknown developments, as well as for shaping solutions to promote new paths of progress and civilization. Realities of today's financial markets, which are the subject of numerous studies and analysis, have contributed to the association of the arguments that are contesting the thesis on the virtues of self-regulation markets and promoting a new paradigm, within which finances should subordinate the requirements of a balanced and sustained economic growth. The serious imbalances from the global economy and the increased virulence of the crisis calls for the identification of the destabilizing forces of the system, as well as the context of the emergence of a new capitalism and a new society. Crises have continuously changed global capitalism which has not ceased to transform itself, proving to be an evolutionary and adaptive social system. The capitalism's ability to adapt must be analyzed based on emphasizing the interconditionality of the major crisis with the great transitions that took place within. The evolution and characteristics of the new forms of capitalism are revealed by the features of the specific method of accumulation, as well as the regulation and growth regime. Transformations that followed the phases and stages of capitalism have also lead to changing the perspectives over crisis, by emphasizing the role of the political process in their genesis and transgression. Within this context, the role of neoliberalism and intensification of globalisation over the convergence of different models or varieties of capitalism is revealed. Profound mutations generated by the current global crisis should boost the theoretical debates on the direction of reform not only of an economic system, but also of the type of emerging capitalism.