An analyses of the major economic crisis that began in 2007, this book explains that it is not just a financial crisis caused primarily by the banking sector, as many commentators claim, but a systemic crisis caused in part by overproduction, falls in business profits, environmental problems, and a stubborn insistence by political and monetary authorities on economic policies driven by austerity. Providing examples from the economic history of Western nations, which provide economists and social scientists with essential reference for understanding the complexities behind this Great Recession, author Charles Manera proposes economic solutions to end the crisis that are at odds with policies proposed and acted on by major European governments, led by Germany. In turn, Manera adopts a heterodox approach—a “subversive view”—making this book stand out not only from economic policy-making but taking a stance far from conventional academic literature on economics.