Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy has this super speech on the topic. Couple of topics are likely to continue for a very long time after this crisis. Role of financial sector in the crisis and post-crisis developments is one such topic. Infact much of research on great depression released now also looks at role of banks in the depression.
He begins with a super Amartya Sen quote:
Finance has long been viewed as a morally dubious activity. My appeal to authority on this matter is a reference to a lecture delivered by Amartya Sen more than twenty years ago as the first Paolo Baffi Lecture on Money and Finance at the Banca d’Italia. Sen wondered: “How is it possible that an activity that is so useful has been viewed as being morally so dubious?”.
He recalled a series of historical episodes: Jesus driving the money lenders out of the temple, Solon cancelling debts and prohibiting many types of lending in ancient Greece, Aristotle describing interest as an unnatural and unjustified breeding of money from money.
Much of the speech would be known as many have talked about it. But still this one is worth a read for revision sake. Very useful for students and can be discussed in the finance classes..It has some more interesting quotes as well..
