The crisis existed largely because existing regulations were loosened, and those that weren't were laxly enforced against people who were gaming the system. The

The crisis existed largely because existing regulations were loosened, and those that weren't were laxly enforced against people who were gaming the system. The markets in the late 1800s and 1920s were both largely libertarian, free, and unfettered -- and both failed pretty miserably, which is why we have (flawed) institutions like the SEC now.