The article explores different theories about financial crises to understand what happened during and after the Great Recession. It looks at models like efficient markets and rational expectations, which don't explain financial crises. Other theories from Marx, Keynes, and others offer insights into why crises happen and how to prevent them. The paper also considers long-term perspectives on capitalism and international approaches to finance. Overall, the goal is to see how well these theories explain the Great Recession, predict future capitalism trends, and guide policy decisions.