This could be seen as an update to our contribution on “The new long wave“.

The following excerpts (see the wiki links) are from a must read article by Thornton Parker, “Reforming Global Finance: From Wall Street Bird Nests to Main Street Growth Cycles”, which appeared in Hazel Henderson’s EthicalMarkets.com.

Parker’s argument can be summarized as follows:

– productive investments lead to a growth cycle, but parasitic investments lead to a contraction cycle.

– after Reagan, the U.S. has been engaged in parasitic investments, leading to the current meltdown

– what then could be the drivers for a renewed growth cycle.

Thornton Parker’s article gives examples of earlier growth cycles in the U.S. and Japan, describes the current drivers of the contraction cycle, and concludes with a two-phase proposal to return to a new growth cycle.

Do read it here.