The New Media Journal | American Fifth Column

The New Media Journal | American Fifth Column: "Since the beginning of the turmoil in the financial markets that is now commonly referred to as the 'financial crisis,' many voices have asserted that this is a 'crisis of capitalism.' These are not merely the voices of socialist groups, who could be expected to see this event as a vindication of their views; government officials also joined the chorus, as did many commentators on financial matters. As Samuel Brittan observed early in the mortgage meltdown that ultimately became the financial crisis, 'Any failures on the financial side are sure to bring the opponents of capitalism out of their burrows. Pundits who until recently conceded that 'capitalism is the only game in town' are now rejoicing at what they hope is the longed-for death agony of the system.' Billionaire investor George Soros, who had been arguing at least since 1997 that the capitalist system was 'coming apart at the seams,' finally found vindication, telling a group in New York in February 2009, according to a Bloomberg News summary, that 'the current economic upheaval has its roots in the financial deregulation of the 1980s and signals the end of a free market model that has since dominated capitalist countries.' In 2009, the debate over the responsibility of capitalism for the current crisis rose to such significance that the Financial Times ran a gloomy series on the future of capitalism."