The sovereign debt crisis is shining a new light on a commonly held assumption, namely, that crises are caused by unfettered markets and can be avoided only by giving the state more space. However, the sovereign debt crisis has shown quite clearly that even sovereign debtors can fail.
Of course, the crisis has opened our eyes to a blind faith in the market that has sometimes prevailed; however, statism and dirigism are, by no means, the right path to take. Instead, I suggest we return to a founding tenet of the social market economy: individual responsibility. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Those who take risks must also face the consequences.