The Villains of History
Blaming banksters for these vast cycles of rise and fall is something a few historians have tried to do, interpolating finance into their stages. Their model focuses on how a serviceable organization of economics is created, becomes institutionalized, and eventually turns from a social tool into a vested interest that blocks adaptation. One could argue that banking is not an eighth stage but s recurring transformation within Stages 4-6 (Time of Troubles to Universal Empire). An extension might look something like this. Leading out from the flourishing stage, finance serves production (the creation of real wealth, good for protoplasm and good for the soul both). Credit expands commerce, industry, and state capacity. Wealth is still primarily gained by created new wealth. Interpolated stage: financial ascendancy. Financial institutions become politically dominant. Increasing portions of income derive from lending, speculation, rents, and asset appreciation rather than expansion of produc...