"Laissez-faire is finished, the all-powerful market that is always right, that's finished,"

[undergroundpanther]

The economic turmoil provoked by crises in the American subprime and finance markets has put an end to the free market economy, French President Nicolas Sarkozy says.

"Laissez-faire is finished, the all-powerful market that is always right, that's finished," Sarkozy said in a widely anticipated speech, his first in France on the economic crisis.

As a result, it is "necessary to rebuild the entire global financial and monetary system from the bottom up, the way it was done at Bretton Woods after World War II," Sarkozy said.

http://news.smh.com.au/business/crisis-flags-end-of-free-market-sarkozy-20080926-4o9a.html

[Trajan]

1. And we thought it was finished in 1932 ....

Au contraire Mon frere ....

You know ... All they had to do was pay us enough so we could pay our bills .... but no: They want it all ....

[rawtribe]

2. Are you saying Adam Smith's

invisible hand was just jacking off?

Who knew?

:evilgrin:

[adamuu]

9. hehe you can't see it so its like its somoene else's hand.

hawt

[lurky]

3. I hope so. If I never hear another Ayn-Rand-loving,

magic-market worshiping buffoon expound on how regulation is Evil, I will be a happy man.

However, I doubt it. Most of these guys are so far gone, they are completely immune to facts, evidence, or reason. Look for them to start saying that we didn't deregulate enough, and that's what brought down the finance industry.

[krkaufman]

5. Ummm... you mean like the people who are saying that it was regulations ...

... requiring more efforts at expanding minority home ownership that caused the crisis?

[lurky]

8. Yes, and they've manage to work in some racism too.

[krkaufman]

11. The fault for this crisis lies with ACORN -- and its community organizers

Check the clip from Lou Dobbs over in the Videos section. He's seriously ranting that this is all just a scam by Democrats to inject money into "radical left wing" organizations.

And people wonder why this race is still close.

[rwenos]

4. "Magic Market" was ALWAYS a Load of Crap

The "Magic Market" types (who had their epiphany in Econ 1 in their freshman year of college) were always talking through their sphincters about the "Magic Market." There is no "Magic Market," and there has not been any such market since the Securities Act of 1933 was passed, and the SEC was created. We've always had a mixed economy since then -- "mixed" meaning part regulated, part de-regulated.

The ONLY thing that has changed since the beginning of regulation is the DE-REGULATION the Pubs have been squealing for since before Ronald Reagan was president. GWB (brilliantly, if you're a freemarket believer) just elevated the "do nothing" Executive Branch to an art form.

Reminds me of Jake Gittes, in Chinatown, when asked "What did you do (when a cop) in Chinatown, Mr. Gittes?" Answer: "As little as possible."

Sarko is right though -- the freemarket doctrine is pretty much in tatters now, eh?

[RainDog]

6. I think this is a very important moment

I think Sarkozy is acting as the lightning rod for the Europeans to... "allow" the political leaders there to talk about the de facto end of U.S. dominance. The remaking of the economic world means the further decline of the dollar, which means inflation, which means whatever bail out occurs, it is merely a staying action.

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2008/09/adieu-stage-1-collapse.html

About the only thing the government currently seems it fit to do is extend further credit to those in trouble, by setting interest rates at far below inflation, by accepting worthless bits of paper as collateral and by pumping money into insolvent financial institutions. This has the effect of diluting the dollar, further undermining its value, and will, in due course, lead to hyperinflation, which is bad enough in any economy, but is especially serious for one dominated by imports. As imports dry up and the associated parts of the economy shut down, we pass Stage 2: Commercial Collapse.

I think Orlov, along with Emmanuel Todd, has read the tea leaves correctly. European nations do not want the dollar to totally tank because of the impact on their economies. Just as importantly, they are strong enough to no longer be willing to accept reaganomic's crapfest. France and Germany have the two biggest economies in Europe - Sarkozy is representing the European response to the current state of U.S. decline brought about by thirty years of republican rule.

We are certainly living in interesting times.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Bretton Woods, oh boy, I have not heard that one in years

he is aware that the agreement created two institutions

The IMF and the World Bank (staying away from the actual acronym)

Until they are cleaned up from all the chicago boys that took them over starting in the late 1950s, the system is worthless

[The2ndWheel]

10. "necessary to rebuild the entire global financial and monetary system"

So just keep making the problem worse?

[LeftishBrit]

12. He is right there!!!! (and I'm no special fan of Sarkozy)

[Naturyl]

13. Bravo!

Right-wingers hyped Sarkozy as the next best thing to Reagan in France - looks like they got owned again.

Et tu, brute? LOL. I'm glad to hear Sarkozy saying this.