The credit crunch and the deepening recession have provided church leaders, politicians, economists, journalists and armchair philosophers with a good excuse for moralizing and for expounding their views on what happened, why it occurred and what to do to prevent a recurrence.
The queen is reported to have asked one guest: "Why didn't anyone foresee the coming economic crisis?" Why indeed? When "all in the garden is lovely," anyone who forecasts rain is condemned as a doomsayer, and it is only when the rain starts that everyone rushes to save their belongings from the downpour. Some items are damaged irretrievably, other are permanently rusted.
Church leaders, including bishops in England and Germany, have blamed greed and the materialist consumer society for the financial crisis that triggered the recession. They also see some long-term benefits arising from the crisis. They predict, probably wrongly, that people will be less willing in the future to run up credit-card debt and take on obligations that they cannot afford, and will recognize that happiness does not lie in having the latest fashion accessories or the latest gadgets.