The “new” economy seems to be vulnerable to cyclical shocks that increased in magnitude and induced higher volatilities in the markets. Consequently, the role demanded to and assumed by the State(s) in this intricate equation of markets’ equilibriums significantly increased. Despite the various accents observed in the traditional analyses on the roots of this kind of phenomena, we will argue that the causes of the present crisis, ignited inside our “modern” economies, are strongly related to the modern nature of money, the role of “fiat-currency” as exchange support for real transactions and the impact of central banks and their monetary policy on the economic stability. Even if many are tempted to consider that the current crisis is just another pure effect of a free market failure, we will try to show that at least one of its provable cause is quite the opposite: the public hampering of the free market. This article offers a different perspective than the mainstream view on this issue, aiming to provide a better understanding of the crisis phenomenon and the role played by the States through their monetary institutions in its very inception.

Article published within Research Project CNCSIS TE_340, Contract no. 38 / 03.08.2010 entitled “Contagion Effect of Financial Crises in Case of Eastern European Countries”