Establishment commentators tend to blame every financial crisis on the "bad luck" of a whole host of factors coming together to create a "perfect storm." What they "forget" is that the incentives of the modern system always drive the elites themselves to destabilize their own system. Not sometimes. Not most of the time. Always.
They will say that the 2007-8 crisis was a combination of the US banking deregulation of the 90s, the US political agenda of moving poor people into home ownership, the poor financial oversight by the George W. Bush administration, the 'global savings glut,' the existence of a shadow banking system in the US, the loose monetary policy in the aftermath of the dot com bust, etc. etc. All true. What they forget to mention is that, if it were not these factors, there would be others (stock buybacks anyone?) If it hadn't happened in 2007-8, it would have been later.
Only looking at the top of the world system, ie Britain in the 19th century and the US later, we can see that:
- There was a financial crisis in Britain roughly every 10 years from 1810 to the 1860s.
- The British Empire bought itself a couple decades by making gold the only money, and not silver. (Thereby making itself rich at the expense of silver countries -- not unlike what the US might be doing with crypto-currencies today.) But in 1890 a financial crisis in London made it necessary for the Bank of England to be bailed out by gold from other central banks, the first time in history.
- Soon after world-leader status was moved to the US, in 1929-31, the Great Depression started with a series of financial crises.
- Though the bloodshed of World War II bought a few decades of stability under the US, it was forced to renounce its promise to allow foreign governments to redeem every $35 for an ounce of gold, in 1971.
- The 1970s global crisis of confidence in the dollar forced the US to pay 20% interest on 30-year Treasuries by about 1980.
- The US stock market crashed in 2000. By 2002, the NASDAQ had lost 78% of its value at the peak.
- The entire world system teetered on the brink of collapse in 2008.
Remember that, we're only talking about the top of the world system, which is the most stable, by design. (Paper pound sterling in the 19th century and dollars in the 20th were the world's top reserve currencies of their day. Every effort is made to make other countries fail first -- e.g. the emerging markets crisis of today helps protect the value of US money and debt.) Further down the ladder, there were many more crises, plus conflicts and wars.
So the long view reveals the truth. And the truth is that you can't escape the perverse incentives that make individual members of the elites want to profit or prop up the system today by storing up even more trouble for future elites. These incentives come directly from the system's core nature of theft and deception.
If we listen to mainstream economists, the reason for recurring crises is that, for some reason, people just want to keep losing money. They keep chasing risky assets whose high values have nothing to do with being propped up by state-bank-elites. Right.
This system also punishes prudent people who put the most trust in its promises and its official narratives. But we have a long-term defense: buy gold, silver, and Bitcoin!
It's certain they'll come. A financial crisis is nothing more than a contraction due to a transitional period where the economy adapt itself to emerging and fading markets. The key to progress and survival is adaptability, staying relevant and being able to read the times helps a lot when figuring out next moves. Research, planning anticipation and assertive action can make a different when adapting investment portfolios or trading strategies to remain afloat during a bearish market and even during contractions. Right now, many would say that are some emerging markets and projects that have high probability to perform well, regardless of crisis, blockchain is poised to grow exponentially and venture capital is a necessity that won't die soon. There are opportunities for growth and improvement, that means value, which in turn, means profit.