Joint stock companies and stock exchanges have made the upswing of modern economies possible. However, they have always been suspected of serving the greed of a few. What, then, is the function of “financial capitalism”?
The lockdown has accelerated the onset of the financial crisis. Global rescue programs are opening the door to a creeping nationalization. We now face the threat of the kinds of restrictions found in former planned economies.
At first it seemed as if the new President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde would simply continue the loose monetary policy of her predecessor. But now she has announced a green policy shift. This marks the beginning of a whole new act in the euro drama.
Many economists, policymakers, and central banks are afraid of deflation. Generally speaking, they do not even distinguish between different causes of price deflation—i.e. between price deflation caused by growth and price deflation caused by contractions in credit. In this interview, the economist Phillipp Bagus says that these fears of deflation are misguided.
