A history of crisis: can the G20 save capitalism from itself?
Wesley Widmaier writes: ‘To understand this week’s G20 Summit … and measure its success, requires a sense of the history of economic crisis and change. Recurring crises have shaped global institutions across the interwar gold standard, the Bretton Woods postwar order, the G7 of the 1970s and the expanded G20 of today. This “family tree” has evolved as crises have reshaped the balance of power and ideas, altering the distribution of economic capabilities and driving debate over four broad phases. Tracing their evolution can help us understand the challenges and choices leaders face today. (The Conversation, 11.11.14)