A not-at-all insignificant question is how all those politicians and "experienced" and renowned economists couldn't predict the present financial crisis in order to take the necessary measures and reduce its painful results that we face everyday in this hard life.
Lets return to the past for a bit. One can conclude that the economically liberal system of laissez faire laissez passer (Capitalism), the "open markets", only benefited the ruling class and the interests of those that diachronically live like parasites on the expense of the workers, inside each respective global financial system. Economical liberalism can be traced back to Adam Smith, the main representative of this school. The industrial revolution brought huge changes and made Britain a hegemonic power (Pax Britannica). One of those changes was the so-called "free market" system that was adopted by Britain and it was claimed that the system was in line with the ideals of the Enlightenment. The advocates of this system supported the claim that increasing commercial deals between the nations would work to prevent the declaration of a war, because a war would bump on mutual interests generated by Capitalism. Thus world peace would be strengthened and the free market would find a way to ease the inequalities and injustice on the expense of the weak in this planet.