To many people, the 2008-09 financial crisis was a complex, fast-moving news story and an anagram-laden, horrifying collapse. Such events often give rise to false histories, myths and ideologically driven narratives.
It is vitally important that we understand what really happened. Let's put to rest some of the sillier ideological narratives that have been pushed by partisans. And let's start here: Five years on, it's clear that the collapse of Lehman Brothers signaled a deep and enduring global financial crisis. Lehman's failure did not, however, cause the crisis.
The counterfactual argument goes something like this: If only the government had rescued Lehman, things would never have gotten so bad.