This book offers an interdisciplinary overview of the role of law in modern
capitalism in the context of fi nancial crisis. In this work, the reader will fi nd
a discussion of key issues relevant to the crisis that have occupied the pages
of the fi nancial press since 2007, including an assessment of the meltdown of
the sub-prime mortgage market, the credit crunch, the European debt crisis
and the turmoil in Greece, plus a series of theoretical contributions that are
aimed at challenging perceptions of the market–state relationship and the
place of law within it.
The book includes a methodological defence of the state–market dichotomy,
a critique of the tenets of neoclassical economics and an evaluation of
what the fi nancial crisis heralds for the future of the political economy of
western democracies. Ioannis Glinavos argues that it is a mistake to associate
markets with freedom and states with oppression, and suggests that more
choice for consumers can – and does – mean less choice for citizens. The book
suggests that a new social contract is needed to ensure the survival of both
capitalism and democracy.
In contributing a unique, legal perspective to the underlying dynamics of
the fi nancial crisis, this book will be valuable to scholars and students of
regulation, fi nancial markets and economic development.