Falstaff: "I can get no remedy against the consumption of the purse: borrowing only lingers and lingers it out, but the disease is incurable." King Henry IV, Part II. The tremors that shook the financial world during 1982 and most of 1983 have for the time being subsided. But the ensuing calm is an uneasy one: clearly, the crisis has merely been postponed to another day.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full. Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.