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This essay shows the influence of Max Weber on Frank Knight's interest in combining economic theory and comparative economic history. In the interwar period -when the teaching of economics had a pluralistic character-Knight opposed institutionalism and defended the scientific status of neoclassical theory, but his readings of Weber Knight led him to regard equilibrium and perfect competition as "ideal types," constructs useful for theorizing but never observed in reality. They help to identify the central elements, but the study of how they change is not the object of theory. One must then turn to history, in which changes do not resemble equilibria. In the postwar period a new scientific standard appeared, which redefined the discipline and relegated Knight's work to the non-scientific realm of "social philosophy". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an analysis on the factors that caused the 2008 global financial crisis in the U.S. It discusses various explanations of the crisis and the solutions offered by economists from the four schools of thought which include Neoclassicals, Keynesians, Institutionalists and Marxists. It also provides useful insight and view from the different schools of thought regarding the government's response to address the problem and the economic imbalances of the nation. Furthermore, it explores the Marxists' concept on the systemic causes of the crisis and its suggestion on the need for the government to initiate investigations and interventions.