Review Essay : The Death of Regulation in International Economic Relations

Abstract

The present instability in the world financial system was not inevitable. It is the direct result of a number of decisions (or rather non-decisions) for which the US in particular must be held responsible. The main prerequisite for regaining any form of system stability is that the US resumes its hegemony and leadership. Any hope of a wider international solution is both unrealistic and unworkable. Such is the basic thesis in Susan Strange's Casino Capitalism. The book gives a number of insightful observations concerning the driving forces of today's international financial system. But in discussing the consequences of the new financial order it skirts some of the more troubling facts concerning the ability of the US to exert the leadership called for by Ms. Strange.