Economics Follow

The Bank of England announced a record interest rate cut of 1.5 percent last Thursday – cutting interest rates to their lowest level since 1955.

How do the billions wiped off the stock market relate to the rest of the capitalist system? Joseph Choonara goes back to Karl Marx to explain.

Economists, both left and right, are championing Keynes as the answer to the crisis. Since his theories do little to challenge the fundamental grip of capitalism, isn't it time for those on the left to recognise his flaws?

Adam Smith is considered to be the founder of modern economics. He was a pivotal figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, a period of intellectual and scientific creativity that swept across Scotland in the mid to late 18th century.

We are all Keynesians now, it seems. Last week chancellor Alistair Darling proclaimed, "Much of what Keynes wrote still makes sense." Not so long ago this would have been heresy.

Eamonn Butler Is capitalism’s werewolf greed now devouring it? Some people think this is the inevitable collapse. A lot more don’t – but want to see more regulations and controls on the system. My view is that you should let the market economy get on with what it’s good at – creating and distributing goods and services – and that it is too much control and regulation that got us into this mess.

The ruling classes of the US and Britain are reeling in the face of the economic meltdown of their system and the real character of capitalism is exposed, writes Chris Harman

The financial crisis has spooked capitalism’s ideologues. Anatole Kalatsky, a widely-read hardline free marketeer, has written of the need to consider the "wholesale nationalisation" of the banking system. Calls for tougher restrictions on the City are everywhere.

Rising economic chaos is leading to the sudden return to prominence of an economist once thought largely consigned to history.

The Global economic crisis known as the "credit crunch" reached its first birthday last week – and it’s a long way from being over. The anniversary coincided with new figures showing home repossessions, unemployment and food prices all rising fast.

The current credit crunch was triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis in the US. But how did the global economy become so reliant on consumer debt in the first place?

"The worst is over in the financial crisis or will be very soon." This is what Alan Greenspan, former head of the US central bank, said back in May.