The year 2008 brought one of the most severe financial crises in American history. Venerated financial institutions disappeared in a fortnight, hundreds of banks failed, billions of dollars evaporated. The crisis turned contagious sending European economy into deep recession and affecting the world economy at large.
The implications of the crisis go beyond financial hardship. They pose a significant theoretical challenge to American style capitalism embodied in and propagated by the financial system in the US. During the semester we shall critically discuss the underlying cultural and political premises behind the US financial system.
While becoming familiar with the drama of the crisis we shall examine a financial system that has morphed into a lever for wealth transfer to the upper echelon of American society. We would try to discern if the system had changed as a result of the crisis.