In

this innovative and exhaustive study, Steven A. Ramirez posits that the

subprime mortgage crisis, as well as the global macroeconomic catastrophe it

spawned, is traceable to a gross failure of law.

The

rule of law must appropriately channel and constrain the exercise of economic

and political power. Used effectively, it ensures that economic opportunity

isn’t limited to a small group of elites that enjoy growth at the expense of

many, particularly those in vulnerable economic situations. In Lawless Capitalism, Ramirez calls for

the rule of law to displace crony

capitalism. Only through the rule of law, he argues, can capitalism be

reconstructed.