Misrule of experts? The financial crisis as elite debacle. (2012)

“Political and technocratic elites were hubristically detached from the process of financial innovation as it took the form of ‘bricolage’.” This put finance beyond technical control or management.

Ewald Engelen; Professor of Financial Geography, University of Amsterdam
Ismail Ertürk; Senior Lecturer in Banking, Manchester Business School
Julie Froud; Professor of Financial Innovation, Manchester Business School
Sukhdev Johal; Reader in the Management School, Royal Holloway
Adam Leaver; Senior Lecturer, Manchester Business School
Michael Moran; Mackenzie Professor, Politics Department, University of Manchester
Karel Williams; Professor, Manchester Business School.

Ertürk, Froud and Leaver are also members of the Centre for Research in Socio-Cultural Change (CRESC), University of Manchester. Williams is its Convening Director

Economy and Society, Vol. 41, issue 3, 2012

This paper explores knowledge limits and the financial crisis. It frames the crisis as a debacle within the political elite. “Political and technocratic elites were hubristically detached from the process of financial innovation as it took the form of ‘bricolage’.” This put finance beyond technical control or management. The paper emphasizes the need to bring private finance and its public regulators under democratic political control. A technical precondition is a dramatic simplification of finance.

To access the full paper, search for ‘Misrule of experts?’ here: Taylor and Francis online