How the World Economy Fell Apart, and Why the Economists Didn't Have a Clue

The Great Recession of 2008 was officially over in 2009, but in 2011 U.S. unemployment remains above 9%, consumer confidence is low, European and Asian economies are nervous, and there is recurrent talk of a double-dip recession. James Galbraith, calls this “One Great Crisis,” examining how it came about and why economists did not understand what was at stake or warn us to modify our troubled economic structures in time to avoid the crisis itself.

Most citizens are not experts in economic theory, yet the prevailing theories can have a profound impact on our individual well-being. Why didn’t current theory predict the economic melt-down? How could the public – from investors to employees to retirees – have been better served? What theories can best lead us out of the Great Recession?