1. After World War II most Western countries moved away from free markets and constructed ‘mixed economies’ combining nationalization, state planning, and Keynesian demand management. Why were policymakers so keen to abandon markets and adopt state planning during this period?
2. Were these the best policies for these states to follow at the time? If not, why did so many smart people get it so wrong?
3. Why were socialist economic solutions so attractive to leaders in Third World countries like India?
4. What led to the consensus supporting ‘mixed economies’ to collapse in the Great Britain and the United States (and elsewhere)? Why did these economies move toward deregulation and privatization? What led to the ‘revival of the market’?
5. Is the open market, capitalist economic philosophy now the only viable model for fostering economic development and prosperity? Should (or could) the state play a more direct role in guiding the economy?
6. How similar is the global economy of 2007 to that of 1907?