6The concept of a financial system limit
53The austerity contradiction
7A world riddled with contradictions
54When economic relationships change
8The policy limit
55Changed behaviour
92 Evolution by trial and error
56The 50% factor and the savings contradiction
10How the financial system evolved
57Growth or decline?
11The Marxist view of capitalism
58When growth is decline: distinguishing economic growth from credit and regulatory growth
12The Great Depression and Keynes
59Government mandated spending
13The long economic cycle
60Substitute taxation
14The post-war consensus and the managed economy
61Substitutes for public ownership
15The growth of services and a new cycle
62The conflicts in easy answers
163 Before the credit crunch
63Official forecasts and the limits to government power
17Borrowing from the future
64Treasury forecasting
18How the British economy destroyed value
65Do governments have any power?
19The Private Finance Initiative
66The link with evolution, delegated government and regulation
20Other warnings
67The political system limit
21PFI was a financial bubble
68Why deflation is unavoidable
22Private equity
69Global paradoxes
234 An era of wishful thinking
70Government bond markets
24Lessons from Japan
71Broader paradoxes of capitalism
25Warnings from sub-prime
72Communism, Islam and population change
26The misuse of numbers and bubble accounting
736 Group think
27Accounting for knowledge
74Mass delusions and the media crowd
28What is a valuation?
75Consensus or contrarian?
29Risk is not amortised
76Some examples of group think
30Offshore financial vehicles
77The world of standards and rules
31The cost of debt
78The regulated, compliant society
32Public or private debt?
79Conformity
33The statistics of difference
807 Academic differences of opinion
34Bubble accounting must change
81The differing economic arguments
35Pension funds
82Is financial theory bunk?
36Pension fund growth assumptions
838 The dark side of capital markets
37The fashion for alternative assets
84The capital market cycle
38Target date funds
85Conversion flow
39Property
86The greater fool theory
40The home-owning dream
87Dow theory of ‘bear’ markets
41Mortgage availability
88Practical perspectives
42Demographics
89Time
43The link between economic activity and residential property
90Propaganda
44Market saturation
91Conditions for the ‘bear’ market to end: What should investors do in this great ‘bear’ market?
45Unique factors in the United Kingdom
929 The attitude change
46Other countries
93Notes: Further reading
47The world’s deficit with itself
94Sparkling Books
