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page 189 chapter VII
the other hand, it was often simply a question of earn-
ing money as quickly as possible, without paying any
attention to the social consequences. The lesson to be
learnt from the crisis was: “We must intervene, as the
political community, as a strong state that can regulate
and protect, and that monitors the distribution of
wealth.”
Eric G. Sarasin rejected excessive regulation of the
economy by the state. Self-regulation most certainly
existed in the economy: “The market punishes those
who fail to act ethically. Sooner or later, they get their
just desserts. But banks, and also politicians, backed
mismanaging businesses and banks, and let them do
as they liked for too long. It’s time for a clean-up.” One
problem, however, was that politicians often understood
too little about the economy and thus intervened
in the wrong way and too late. “The task of the
state is to make sure that the free market economy remains
truly free, so that it works properly. And it has to
provide itself with the necessary tools for the job,”
countered Jean Asselborn. “The market simply isn’t capable
of regulating itself. Without politics, the economy
would never get back on its feet again. Without
state investments, the market economy would have
collapsed in the current crisis, because all confidence
in it has been lost.”
Those who decide must also accept responsibility
In the opinion of Eric G. Sarasin, the current financial
and economic crisis is having a far greater impact than
the worldwide economic crisis of 1929, because global
ties are much tighter today. The origins of the current
crisis lay not only in greed, but also in the power and