Sudah menjadi kebiasaan bagi ahli ekonomi, ahli politik, dan pemikir untuk mendakwa bahawa sifat-sifat seperti ketamakan dan ketakutan berada di sebalik krisis kewangan semasa dan kemerosotan ekonomi. Dalam keadaan yang lebih umum, pemikir dan ahli politik terkemuka meletakkan krisis moral di sebalik kegagalan pada skala yang lebih besar. Zbigniew Brzezinski, bekas penasihat keselamatan negara dalam pentadbiran Carter, memberi amaran bahawa Amerika Syarikat telah kehilangan kompas moral yang diperlukan untuk mengekalkan kepimpinan dunianya. Dalam kata-kata Brzezinski sendiri, "Kedudukan moral Amerika telah tercemar . . . ketiadaan keyakinan moral membuka peluang bagi demagogi yang mengeksploitasi krisis mendadak dan ketakutan baharu"11.
It has become customary for economists, politicians, and thinkers to claim that traits such as greed and fear were behind the current financial crisis and economic downturn. In a more general case, prominent thinkers and politicians put the moral crisis behind failure at a larger scale. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security advisor in the Carter administration, warns that the United States has lost the moral compass which is necessary for the United States to sustain its world leadership. In Brzezinski’s own words, “The moral standing of America has been tarnished . . . the absence of moral convictions leaves opportunities for demagogy that exploits sudden crises and new fears”11.
Jimmy Carter membincangkan krisis moral yang semakin mendalam di Amerika Syarikat dalam bukunya "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis"12. Tema beliau diringkaskan dalam kata-kata berikut: "Luas dan mendalam perubahan yang kini berlaku dalam nilai-nilai moral asas kita, wacana awam, dan falsafah politik."
Ramai ahli ekonomi, ahli politik dan pengulas menghubungkan krisis kewangan dan kemelesetan ekonomi semasa dengan kekurangan nilai moral dan etika dalam pasaran. Menurut Barack Obama, "kita memaafkan dan malah merangkul etika ketamakan . . . kita menggalakkan persekitaran 'menang-ambil-semua', apa sahaja boleh"13. Calon presiden GOP, John McCain, berkata krisis kewangan itu disebabkan oleh "ketamakan, rasuah dan keterlampauan . . . kerana Wall Street memperlakukan ekonomi Amerika seperti kasino"14. George Bush menyebut ketamakan korporat dan keterlampauan pasaran apabila beliau mendakwa bahawa "Wall Street mabuk"15. Ralph Nader berkata beliau telah meramalkan krisis Wall Street semasa, yang beliau percaya disebabkan oleh "ketamakan semata-mata"25.
Seorang wartawan CNN, ketika merenungkan peristiwa yang berlaku di Wall Street, membuat kenyataan yang luar biasa terus terang: "Pasaran dikendalikan oleh dua perkara: ketakutan dan ketamakan." Oskari Juurikkala, seorang penyelidik di Institute of International Economic Law di Finland, menulis "Greed Hurts: Causes of the Global Financial Crisis"16. Oskari menyatakan bahawa krisis ekonomi semasa membuktikan bahawa "ketamakan adalah jahat," merujuk kepada hakikat bahawa ketamakan merupakan salah satu punca utama krisis semasa. John Steele Gordon, seorang penulis yang pakar dalam sejarah kewangan dan perniagaan serta pengarang An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power, meletakkan ketamakan, kebodohan dan khayalan sebagai faktor utama dalam krisis kewangan semasa17.
Jimmy Carter addresses the deepening moral crisis in the United States in his book “Our Endangered Values: America’s Moral Crisis”12. His theme is summarized in the following words: “Extensive and profound are the transformations that are now taking place in our basic moral values, public discourse, and political philosophy.” Scores of economists, politicians, and commentators attributed the current financial crisis and economic downturn to lack of moral values and ethics in the market. According to Barack Obama, “we excused and even embraced an ethic of greed . . . we encouraged a winner-take-all, anything-goes environment”13. GOP presidential candidate John McCain said the financial crisis was caused by “greed, corruption, and excess . . . as Wall Street treated the American economy like a casino”14. George Bush cited corporate greed and market excesses when he claimed that “Wall Street got drunk”15. Ralph Nader says he predicted the current Wall Street crisis, which he believes to be caused by “pure greed”25. Reflecting on events taking place on Wall Street, a reporter for CNN made an unusually bald statement: “Markets are run by two things: fear and greed.” Oskari Juurikkala, a researcher at Institute of International Economic Law in Finland, wrote “Greed Hurts: Causes of the Global Financial Crisis”16. Oskari states that the current economic crisis proves that “greed is evil,” in reference to the fact that greed is one of the main causes of the current crisis. John Steele Gordon, an author who specializes in financial and business history and the author of An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power sites greed, stupidity, and delusion as main factors in the current financial crisis17.
Dalam sebuah artikel yang diterbitkan oleh Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, punca krisis itu diterangkan seperti berikut: "Untuk menerangkan krisis ekonomi semasa, dunia kewangan mempunyai leksikon tersendiri, termasuk, contohnya, credit default swaps, mark-to-market dan gadai janji subprima yang disekuritisasikan. Ahli psikologi, sebaliknya, mungkin menggunakan istilah yang sangat berbeza: harapan, ketamakan dan ketakutan"18. Ketua Biskop Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, menyalahkan "ketamakan manusia" sebagai punca krisis kewangan itu. Beliau menyertai pemimpin-pemimpin Muslim dari seluruh dunia dalam menyeru pemimpin-pemimpin dunia supaya bekerjasama mencegah beban krisis kewangan itu daripada jatuh ke atas golongan yang lemah dan miskin19.
In an article published by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the following account was given to the root cause of the crisis: “To explain the current economic crisis, the world of finance has a particular lexicon—including, for example, credit default swaps, mark-to-market and securitized subprime mortgages. Psychologists, on the other hand, might use very different terms: hope, greed and fear”18. The archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams blamed “human greed” for the financial crisis. He joined Muslim leaders from around the world in calling for world leaders to work together to prevent the burden of the financial crisis from falling on the weak and the poor19.
The Inner Projection Journal menerbitkan sebuah artikel pada 23 Mei 2009 dengan tajuk "Financial Downfall a Moral Not Financial Crisis" dan memberikan gambaran berikut: "Di mana sahaja anda memandang—gelanggang sukan, bilik perniagaan, mesyuarat politik, kampus sekolah dan kolej, tempat awam dan persendirian—orang ramai kini kebanyakannya semakin kurang bersopan dan kurang bermoral. Era 'Express Yourself' pada tahun 80-an telah bertukar menjadi era 'Just Yourself' pada tahun 2000-an."
Artikel itu meneruskan penjelasannya, "Kita memang telah jatuh dalam kesusahan ekonomi. Tetapi dari segi moral, kita bukan sahaja jatuh lebih teruk, malah lebih dalam"20.
The Inner Projection Journal published an article on May 23, 2009, under the title “Financial Downfall a Moral Not Financial Crisis” and gave this account: “Regardless of where you look—the sports arena, business room, political meetings, school and college campuses, places public and private—people have become predominantly less civil and moral. The ‘Express Yourself’ 80s has turned into the ‘Just Yourself’ 2000s.” The article continues to explain, “We have fallen on hard times economically, for sure. But morally, we have not only fallen harder but deeper”20.
Jeffrey T. Kuhner, seorang kolumnis di Washington Times, dalam artikelnya "Our Moral Crisis" yang diterbitkan oleh Washington Times pada 5 Oktober 2008, menjelaskan krisis moral yang semakin mendalam di dunia kapitalisme. Beliau berkata,
Jeffrey T. Kuhner, a columnist at the Washington Times, in his article “Our Moral Crisis” published by the Washington Times on October 5, 2008, explains the deepening moral crisis in the world of capitalism. He says,
Kita mesti menangani punca-punca yang lebih mendalam di sebalik krisis kewangan ini. Terdapat satu krisis moral yang meresap ke dalam setiap aspek masyarakat kita . . . Ringkasnya, budaya kita telah melakukan segala-galanya untuk memusnahkan apa yang dahulunya dipanggil akhlak. Apakah yang telah berlaku kepada pengekangan diri, kejimatan dan tanggungjawab peribadi?
We must address the deeper roots of this financial crisis. There is a moral crisis that infects every aspect of our society . . . In short, our culture has done everything to destroy what used to be called character. What happened to individual restraint, thrift and personal responsibility?
Inilah nilai-nilai yang membina ekonomi kapitalis paling mengagumkan yang pernah dicipta oleh dunia.
These are the virtues that built the most impressive capitalist economy the world has ever created.
Kuhner berpendapat bahawa krisis moral sedang mengancam semua institusi; beliau terus menjelaskan sejauh mana krisis moral tersebut.
Kuhner believes that the moral crisis is threatening all institutions; he continues to express the extent of the moral crisis:
Kita kini berhadapan dengan lebih daripada sekadar kekacauan kewangan; hampir setiap institusi utama yang lain turut berada dalam ancaman. Sistem politik hilang arah; sekolah awam semakin gagal; sempadan negara mudah ditembusi; agensi perisikan tidak berfungsi; bandar-bandar dalam dipenuhi dadah dan kumpulan samseng; institusi keluarga telah runtuh; dan berjuta-juta orang meninggalkan gereja mereka.
We are now facing more than just a financial mess; almost every other major institution is under threat. The political system is adrift; public schools are failing; the borders are porous; the intelligence agencies are dysfunctional; the inner cities are infested with drugs and gangs; the family is broken; and millions are fleeing their churches.
Menteri kebudayaan Rusia juga mengaitkan krisis kewangan semasa di dunia serta di Rusia dengan krisis moral yang lebih mendalam. Beliau berkata, "Dalam mana-mana masa yang sukar, perkara pertama yang menderita ialah kebudayaan, golongan muda dan pendidikan kita"22.
The Russian minister of cultural affairs also attributed the current financial crisis in the world as well as in Russia to a deeper moral crisis. He says, “During any tough times the first thing that suffers is our culture, youth, and education”22.
Majalah dalam talian Suite101.com menerbitkan artikel “Krisis Moral & Masalah Kapitalisme Moden”, yang ditulis oleh penulis Ireland Timothy Woods, di mana beliau menulis: “Krisis kewangan telah mendedahkan perangkap kapitalisme moden. Generasi semasa hampir secara berbahaya kehilangan selama-lamanya rasa nilai, kod moral . . . tanpa kita sedari, kita mengekalkan, memperkukuh ketamakan yang wujud akibat pasaran bebas di seluruh dunia”23.
Suite101.com online magazine published the article “Moral Crisis & Problems with Modern Capitalism,” authored by Irish writer Timothy Woods, where he wrote: “The financial crisis has laid bare the pitfalls of modern capitalism. The current generation is dangerously close to losing forever a sense of values, of a moral code . . . we unwittingly maintain, strengthen the inherent greed produced by free markets the world over”23.
"Akar Mendalam Krisis Kewangan Kita" ialah sebuah artikel yang ditulis oleh Theodore Roosevelt Malloch (bekas presiden World Economic Development Congress yang ditaja oleh CNN). Artikel itu tersiar pada 11 Februari 2009 dalam jurnal dalam talian Another Perspective. Dalam artikelnya, Malloch menegaskan bahawa krisis moral di sebalik krisis kewangan semasa adalah serius dan wajar ditangani sewajarnya: "Melainkan sebab-sebab (moral) itu ditangani, semua tuding jari dan semua penyelesaian yang dicadangkan hanya akan umpama menampal plaster pada tumor"24. Beliau merumuskan bahawa moral, yang pada asasnya terhimpun dalam "kebajikan", secara harfiah dan kiasan telah hilang daripada perbendaharaan kata awam kita, dan idea "moral" sama ada telah "dipandang remeh" atau "direlatifkan sepenuhnya". Tambahan pula, nilai-nilai moral di sebalik sistem ekonomi kapitalisme tidak dapat dipulihkan atau dihidupkan semula melalui "sesi latihan atau taklimat eksekutif yang ringkas, kerana ia dibentuk sebagai kebiasaan selama bertahun-tahun dan bertahun-tahun. Di akar umbi krisis kewangan terdapat satu kekosongan moral, yang hanya boleh diisi dengan kebajikan yang sebenar." Ramai ahli politik, pemikir, pemimpin agama dan ahli ekonomi terus meramalkan bahawa krisis moral serta kekurangan etika dan kebajikan asas boleh membawa kepada kegagalan serius dalam bidang kewangan dan ekonomi. Bagaimanakah ketamakan boleh menjatuhkan sistem yang berkuasa seperti kapitalisme? Apakah peranan moral dalam penghasilan kekayaan dan dalam pengagihannya? Soalan-soalan ini dan lain-lain akan dibincangkan dalam bab-bab seterusnya buku ini.
“The Deeper Roots of Our Financial Crisis” is an article written by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch (former president of the World Economic Development Congress sponsored by CNN). The article appeared on February11, 2009, in the online journal Another Perspective. In his article, Malloch insists that the moral crisis behind the current financial crisis is serious and should be accordingly addressed: “Unless those (Moral) causes are addressed, all the finger pointing and all the proposed solutions will be like putting band-aids on a tumor”24. He concludes that the moral, essentially embedded in the “virtue,” is literally and figuratively missing from our public vocabulary and the idea of “the moral” has been either “trivialized or totally relativized.” Furthermore, the moral values behind the economic system of capitalism cannot be restored or revived through “training session or quick executive briefing, because they are habituated over years and years. At the very root of the financial crisis is a moral vacuum, which can only be filled with true virtue.” Numerous politicians, thinkers, religious leaders, and economists continue to predict that moral crisis and lack of fundamental ethics and virtues can lead to serious failures in the financial and economic arena. How can greed bring down a powerful system like capitalism? What role moral plays in the production of wealth and in its distribution? These questions and others will be addressed in the subsequent chapters of this book.
