Financial Crisis: Panic, Blame and Crash Avoidance

Panic, blame and the search for similarities with the 1929 crash are the three features in the story of this financial crisis. Panic is in the eyes of small investors watching their pension pots melt. Panic is in the voices of small savers, overwhelming talk shows switchboards: ‘how solid is my bank?’ And panic is in the media-generated frenzy toward greedy investors, irresponsible regulators and aloof central bankers. Who is to blame? There is a reasonable need for an explanation, and the deeply irrational wish to know there is somebody to hold responsible for the current mess. But the chain of responsibility is far too long, making it impractical – and unfair – to name and shame.