From LRB, having fully indulged their greed on the way up, and created the risks, the bankers are now fully indulging their fear on the way down, and allowing the system to seize up. How fear is making the financial catastrophe worse than it needs to be. Don't watch the Dow: Here’s the number that really captures the financial crisis. The Fed has historically been the lender of last resort to banks — now it’s becoming the lender of last resort to everyone. From Counterpunch, Chris Floyd on The God That Failed: The 30-year lie of the market cult. More on The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs by Charles D. Ellis. A review of Transcending Capitalism: Visions of a New Society in Modern American Thought by Howard Brick and American Capitalism: Social Thought and Political Economy in the Twentieth Century. From YaleGlobal, article on the global crisis: How far to go? (and part 2 and part 3). From Big Think, Joseph Stiglitz links the economy to the Iraq war; and why Niall Ferguson is a pessimist: The economic historian outlines the three historical factors that lead to international conflict. An interview with George Soros: The end of the financial crisis could be in sight. The current crisis is clearly one of those times when we can’t wait for science to catch up to common sense. Rick Shenkman on American democracy and the 10 alarm fire we're ignoring (and more).
