Brigita Schmögnerová

Inspired by Karl Polanyi's assertion that a self-adjusting market cannot persist without undermining the human and natural fabric of society, this book explores the critical role of market regulation in sustaining capitalism. It defends the thesis that "regulation is saving capitalism," while acknowledging the cyclical nature of market regulation: periods of regulation are often followed by waves of deregulation, creating “a swinging pendulum” phenomenon. Combining approaches from political economy and history of regulatory approaches in theory and practice, the book investigates the sensitivity of the pendulum to its driving forces incl. “material causes,” changes in a political power, competing interests, etc. It verifies the capacity of two main theories of regulation to explain this cyclical phenomenon. Part I. of the book examines, with a specific focus on regulation in the European Union, main goals of regulation, the redistributive effects of regulation, regulatory capture by vested interests including “international policing mechanisms,” risks of regulatory failure, the dangers of overregulation, and limits...