Racjonalny wybór - Studium przypadku 1

Rational Choice - Case study 1

The financial crisis of 2007-2009 is considered by many economists the worst crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s. It threatened the collapse of a number of financial institutions and played a significant role in the failure of key businesses. It caused a substantial decline in consumer wealth and a downturn in economic activity. One of the U.S. Senate’s representatives stated that the crisis was the result of trading high risk, complex financial products as well as of widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision. This is the official and a very general summary of what triggered the crisis in America. However, this issue should also be analysed from an ethical point of view, as something went definitely wrong at this level. Let us have a look if, by applying the theory of rational choice, it is possible to determine which parties and at which point failed to take ethical decisions that could have prevented the crisis from happening. This is not intended to be the final word or the final analysis. This is an attempt to present some arguments and show how they work out and what ethical reasoning looks like.