Guardian.co.uk:This free-market farce shows how badly we need the state - by Ulrich Beck

For the complete report from The Guardian click on this link

This free-market farce shows how badly we need the state - by Ulrich Beck

There are surprising parallels between the Chernobyl reactor disaster, the Asian financial crisis, and the threat of the collapse of the international financial system today. The traditional methods of management and control are proving unreliable and ineffective in the face of global risks. The millions of unemployed and poor cannot be financially compensated; it makes no sense to insure against the consequences of global recession. At the same time the social and political explosive force of global market risks is becoming palpable. Governments are overthrown, civil wars become a threat. As the public begins to recognize the risks, the question of responsibility is increasingly raised. This dynamic leads to a reversal of neo=liberal policy - not the economization of politics, but the politicization of the economy. Not even the most liberal national economy functions without macroeconomic coordinates. It's with a certain degree of bewilderment that one asks oneself: how could anyone in his right mind assume that the world economy is any different?