We tend to view the particular financial norms of our time fatalistically, as an inevitable reality of our circumstances. But the ways in which economic activity creates wealth change over time – economist and sustainable finance specialist Thomas Lagoarde-Ségot argues that the concept of the accumulation regime teaches us that the debt-loaded, extractive system that currently shapes our lives won’t last forever, and other options are available.

Financial markets and banking institutions have become the command center of the global economy. The decisions of governments, companies and individuals are guided by a gigantic network of interconnected financial balance sheets on millions of computers, in which money acts as a universal language. For many policymakers, as well as ordinary citizens, there is nothing more to economic reality than the information provided by this network, which seems, at first glance,  capable of revealing the real and only truth about the economy. This truth, in turn, shapes our destiny.

While it would be very difficult to envisage running an economy without a financial system, the current structure of finance and the economy is, however, idiosyncratic. Financial interests, institutions and narratives change over time. Understanding this is vitally important for understanding the global economy.  When it comes to finance, not every Euro is created equal, and recognising that our current system is but one setup of infinite possibilities opens the door to change.

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