Even as monetary policy, both in advanced and emerging market economies. is going through a “revolution”, one thing is clear. Central banks cannot fix economies by themselves. Governments need to act too from the fiscal side, and monetary and fiscal policies have to act in harmony. On top of this, governance needs to improve to inspire the trust and confidence of consumers and investors.
Such a paradigm, however, is viewed by many at the other end of the philosophical spectrum as obsessively materialistic and largely lacking in meaningful cultural values. But is there a simple tradeoff between civil conduct, as defined by those who find raw competitive behavior demeaning, and the quality of material life they, nonetheless, seek?