In the United States, the financial crisis began to erupt ten years ago and quickly spread to Europe and also to most of the world. The major setbacks are still in force, which has led to many economic and social consequences, as well as dramatic changes in politics. From the outset, the crisis management carried out by Western governments took precedence over the survival of banks and the financial system. On the other hand, they have suffered heavy cuts in social spending, particularly in southern Europe, dragging the most serious effects of globalisation previously. Poverty and inequalities have therefore accelerated everywhere. As in previous periods of deceleration, the most vulnerable groups have been the main losers of austerity policies.

Crisis II. It has shaken the global political balance built after the World War, as without taking into account its influence is incomprehensible the election of President Trump, the vote for Brexit or the rise of the extreme European and American right. Although the initial gravity of the crisis has softened, the financial explosion has changed the nature of the capitalist system. The crisis of these years has created a new model of economic and industrial relations focused on the loss of citizenship rights. On the other hand, large companies, banks, investment funds and large technological groups have been gaining power until they question the power of the State itself. This is demonstrated, for example, by the limitation of fiscal policy, as the expansion of tax havens constitutes a serious threat to the welfare state.

However, the current political debate in the Western countries has neglected the importance of financial regulation and given priority to the fight for the control of public spending. Conservative governments and politicians have successfully reviewed the origin of the crisis and have focused on the lack of control of fiscal policy, concealing their own cause – the lack of control in the financial sector. Thus, the failure of the free market hidden behind the crisis has been disguised and the debate on welfare state costs is centred on the centre.

In the European Union (EU), expansive monetary policy has been interspersed with harsh austerity policies, economic growth has been favoured – albeit weakly – but in return there are many countries in the euro area which are suffering from a fragmentation of the labour market and a significant deterioration in the quality of employment, especially young people and women. In addition, the restructuring of the financial system has followed a very short path in the EU. Unlike the United States, much of the bank aid has not been recovered in the EU, with estimates of over EUR 200 billion. In addition, the 2012 EU target for the state to cease to be the last sponsor of banks has not advanced. At the last summit in June, no progress was made towards the construction of the Deposit Guarantee Fund at European level.

On the tenth anniversary of the catastrophe, stability is a long way off. The weight of the financial sector in the global economy is increasing. Among the top ten on the list of big companies that Forbes magazine produces annually, there are seven banks. Progress in sectoral regulation is negligible and, therefore, the level of risk in the financial area is similar to that of ten years ago. On the other hand, the current global debt far exceeds that of 2007 and is four times higher than that of gross domestic product. If the increase in interest rates leads to trade protectionism, then the outbreak of ten years ago may happen again.