Abstract
The most obvious lesson from the recent crisis is that today's version of unfettered capitalism is unable to selfcorrect. For the past 30 years and more, perhaps, the neoliberal model of capitalism has ruled supreme, promoting ultimate freedom in markets and the globalisation of finance to apparently deliver endless prosperity to all through consumption-led growth. The result has been massive environmental damage, depletion of natural resources and a growing gap between rich and poor. The model is unravelling, as the hidden costs are surfacing everywhere. Asian governments are being called upon to wake up and understand that to rely on the market to correct the inefficiencies in the allocation of resources is at best futile and naive and at worst plain dishonest.