Now that capitalism's worst crisis since the 1930s is ebbing away, what about capitalism itself? Three decades ago the world began moving towards markets and an increasingly open world economy. Is that over?

Certainly, there is less talk about the “magic of markets”. The focus is on what goes wrong with them, along with bitterness, suspicion and outright hostility. Around the world governments are retaking substantial parts of the commanding heights of their economies, although in an improvised way, more like the fire department than a master plan.

Even in the US, the balance has changed. Washington is now also the capital for the automotive, energy and finance industry. Europe is resuscitating the “mixed economy”. In China, the state's role has re-expanded. Is the balance between state and market being dramatically reordered back towards the state? Will people decide that they need the state to protect them against the markets, or will they conclude that the crisis proved the ultimate robustness of markets?