Why Players Need a New Rulebook

Abstract

A good GFS should make it possible for participants to achieve their legitimate interests while also channelling the results of their pursuit of self-interest to the service of the community. Adam Smith’s invisible hand always did need a proper structure of rules and ethical behaviour — and stable money — to function properly. Yet in the course of the years from the 1970s onwards the GFS developed in such a way that it frustrated players from achieving their key longer-term objectives. These players included financial institutions, multinational corporations, other businesses involved in international trade and investment, and individuals, whether as taxpayers or investors. We first look at the point of view of some major players and then discuss what went wrong.

This chapter traces how the global financial system (GFS) developed in such a way as to frustrate rather than facilitate the long-term interests of players, whether in the public or private sectors. It became too flexible and open to inappropriate influence.