Richard D. Wolff

Whether consciously or not, such a focus on misbehavior by the state or by criminals serves to avoid blaming the system and its rules and regulations, its structure of rewards and penalties. Pinpointing “the bad guys” perpetuates the ancient art of scapegoating, deflecting blame on convenient targets when in fact the system is the problem.

For centuries, in every capitalist country, individual economic actors have been charged, convicted, and imprisoned for violating some law, and businesses have been shut down or sanctioned for similar reasons. But the individuals and businesses that follow sooner or later replicate their behavior.

Capitalist societies can continue to monitor, identify, regulate, and prosecute economic misdeeds, but doing so never will prevent cycles and crises. It never has. Overcoming the systemic roots and nature of capitalist crises requires a change in the economic system.