Introduction

Abstract

This edited volume arises out of a seminar series at the School of Oriental and African Studies on developing countries, the ideas of Hyman Minsky and his critique of neoclassical economics. As the financial crisis evolved, however, the discussions came to focus much more on the impact of the current downturn and on the ways in which financial development progressed in the main financial centres now in difficulty. As the contributions to this volume came in, it became apparent that this was the worst recession since the 1930s. This was accompanied by much fashionable commentary on Minsky’s work whose analytical value is here open to doubt. Voguish references to ‘Minsky Moments’, in particular, generally trivialise his insights. The premise of this volume of collected essays is that it is necessary to adapt and refine the original vision of Minsky in order to use his insights to shed light on a number of different contexts. These essays present ‘interpretations of Minsky rather than detailed exegesis of his ideas. Minsky always avoided arguments over “what the great man really said”, preferring, instead, to present an interpretation. This… [volume] follows the practice of “standing on the shoulders of giants” which Minsky prefers’ (Wray, 1992: p. 162).

Some have dubbed this a ‘Minsky moment’, but the observation belittles the range and depth of Minsky’s work. Now it is time to take seriously the insights of Hyman Minsky and build upon his groundbreaking work in order to find ways of putting our financial system on a more solid footing. (Henry Kaufman, 2008, Foreword to new edition of Stabilizing an Unstable Economy)