Are The Problems Of The Great Depression With Us Today?

Brad DeLong and Larry Summers wrote a new preface for Charles Kindleberger's history of the Great Depression.  The preface describes the central causes of the Great Depression, as well as the inability of nation states to take the necessary actions to fix a global crisis.  It also points out some of the similarities to the global economic problems that we have today.  One of the more important features of the Great Depression was the lack of international leadership.  Britain was unable to fill that role, as it had done in the past, and the US was unwilling to fill the void.  We have a similar situation today.  The US, Germany and perhaps China, have the potential to provide the necessary leadership, but they are unable to so for a variety of reasons.  Moreover, there is no international organization with the power and authority to provide leadership.

There are similarities in this analysis of the Great Depression and the description in the post below.  They both draw on Minsky's description of credit cycles, and their role in determining economic booms and busts.