The Future of Capitalism

French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed financial experts in Paris to discuss "the future of capitalism," seeking to create a new system of international financial governance and institutions.  

Merkel suggested a "powerful new economic council at the UN," reports France24.com.  Both urged the US not to stand in the way of tighter financial regulation, which they blame the current crisis on -- a good sign for those of us eager to get past the Reagan-Thatcher era.  

The goal, said European leaders involved in the two-day event dubbed "New World, New Capitalism," was not to end capitalism or finance as we know it, but to foster the "return of the state" as a regulator.  

Tony Blair, chairing the event, told attendees -- Amartya Sen, Pascal Lamy and Joseph Stiglitz, among other notables -- that the current system of seven powerful economies making global financial decisions is an "absurdity" in these times, calling for the inclusion of a wide array of emerging economies and interested parties.  

"We have mid-20th century international institutions governing a 21st century world," he said, calling for the reformation of the IMF and the World Bank.