Is the era of globalization and “neoliberalism” over? Does the global crisis that began in 2007 mark the beginnings of the “post-neo-liberal” world? Are neoliberal policies the only ones in crisis? Are there several global crises or is the current economic and financial one responsible for all the global turmoil? And what is in crisis: globalization, global capitalism, the financial system, or multilateral cooperation? These important issues in the ongoing debates are not just theoretical in nature. The outcomes of the search for practical answers and development policies may bring long-term changes.
Some schools of thoughts in the social sciences are more prone than others to label turbulence in a system as a crisis. Several different approaches are taken to the present crisis. Some look at it in terms of the global system, others in terms of various subsystems, such as ecology, economy, politics or society. It should be emphasized here that crisis does not imply the collapse of the system concerned, but it is a major disturbance or turbulence blocking or seriously hampering its functioning. However, other views on this as well are being expressed during the current debate.
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