Walaupun semua orang bersetuju bahawa pesakit kapitalis itu sakit kronik, analisis tentang bagaimana kita sampai ke keadaan ini lebih menimbulkan perdebatan. Ramai ideologi sayap kanan terus mengajarkan keunggulan kapitalisme sebagaimana bekas Presiden George W Bush dalam ucapan televisyen beliau pada 24 September. Pandangan mereka ialah asas kapitalisme masih kukuh dan apa yang berlaku adalah kes berlebihan dan keputusan yang buruk. Dalam ucapan di satu majlis kutipan dana persendirian, Bush sebelum itu telah membandingkan tingkah laku Wall Street dengan seseorang yang mabuk dan kini menghadapi sakit kepala selepas mabuk. Walaupun menerima keseriusan keadaan, ideologi-ideologi tersebut berbeza dalam tindak balas mereka. Manakala Bush dan Setiausaha Perbendaharaan beliau sekaligus bekas Ketua Eksekutif Goldman Sachs, Henry Paulson, menyokong bantuan kewangan besar-besaran oleh Kerajaan, golongan konservatif lain menganggap sebarang bantuan kerajaan sebagai sesuatu yang dibenci, sama seperti yang dinyatakan oleh seorang ahli politik (Wakil Sam Johnson), sebagai langkah memasuki jalan sosialisme. Bagi golongan kiri, kegembiraan mereka jelas kelihatan; setelah berhujah menentang pasaran bebas tanpa kawalan selama beberapa dekad, mereka kini berpendapat bahawa akibat kapitalisme telah kembali menimpa dirinya sendiri.

Though everyone agrees that the capitalist patient is chronically sick, an analysis of how we got here is more controversial. Many right wing ideologues continue to preach the superiority of capitalism as former President George W Bush did in his televised address on 24th September. Their view is that the fundamentals of capitalism remain strong and that what happened is a case of excess and bad decision making. In remarks at a private fundraiser Bush had earlier compared Wall Street’s behaviour to someone getting drunk and now facing a hangover. Though accepting the seriousness of the situation such ideologues differ in their response, whereas Bush and his Treasury Secretary and former CEO of Goldman Sachs, Henry Paulson, favour large Government bailouts, other conservatives find any government bailout an anathema, akin as one politician (Representative Sam Johnson) stated, to embarking down the road of socialism. For those on the left their glee is palpable, having argued against unfettered free markets for decades, they now believe capitalism’s chickens have come home to roost.