Financialization, greed, ineffectively regulated banks—all have been blamed for the global economic crisis. In reality, though, these were mere subplots in a much grander, almost mythological, drama—one that can be traced back to the Great Crash of 1929, then on through to the 1970s when, like the Athenians forced to pay tribute to the Cretan beast, the world began financing the "Global Minotaur" of America's budget and trade deficits. Now, from the deepening crisis in Europe to the heated debates about austerity versus further fiscal stimuli in the US, the consequences of the fatally wounded Minotaur are everywhere. Remarkable and provocative, The Global Minotaur gives an essential account of the socio-economic events that have shaped the world as we now know it, and the options available for reintroducing a modicum of reason in our irrational global economic order.