When “greed” takes over “need” and a group of “mischievous elements” are able to hold the “good” to ransom, the seeds of a crisis are sown. Each crisis is preceded by excesses e.g. excessive credit growth or excessive asset price spirals, for example. Each crisis leaves behind its own set of lessons.
And as the dust settles on each crisis, these lessons are forgotten by all concerned. As Hyman Minsky aptly remarked, “As a previous crisis recedes in time, it’s quite natural … to believe that a new era has arrived.