When the Market Went Dark
Thirty years after the crash of ’87 and we’re still at the mercy of a volatile economic system.
In These Times Staff
The crash of ’87 is a reminder that for all its vaunted rationality, capitalism is an economic system driven by greed and fear.” With these words, long-time In These Times contributor David Moberg began the cover story from the Oct. 28 – Nov. 3, 1987, issue.
Thirty years ago, “Black Monday” sent markets into a tailspin across the globe. The ’87 crash was the largest single-day market crash in history, resulting in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars on the stock market and shrunken pension funds.
The crash of 2008, and the resulting Great Recession, offered further evidence that the capitalist system is not just risky, but prone to crises. Today, the shaky foundations of our finance-centered economic system remain largely unchanged.
Moberg ended his piece calling for a new direction in crafting U.S. economic policy:
Politically, the opportunity is ripe to respond with a more cooperative world economic order and domestically with a more democratic, innovative economy that stresses education, research, techno - logical sophistication, social accountability of capital, job security, workplace democracy and equality.
Unfortunately, this positive prescription didn’t take off, and George H.W. Bush won the next year’s presidential election. Thirty years on, we still need real alternatives to a system of greed and fear.
Donate $20 or more to In These Times and we'll send you a copy of Let This Radicalize You.
In this new book, longtime organizers and movement educators Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes examine the political lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath, including the convergence of mass protest and mass formations of mutual aid. Let This Radicalize You answers the urgent question: What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing?
We've partnered with the publisher, Haymarket Books, and 100% of your donation will go towards supporting In These Times.
