>To take an example, there is ample evidence for a
>critique of finance in regard to denying capital
>to urban, minority communities for housing and
>business formation. This does not require one to
>celebrate the management practices of the businesses
>that might be financed under alternative policies.
What alternative policies? I like Leo Panitch's idea of replacing the Community Reinvestment Act with a tax on all financial institutions, the proceeds used to endow nonprofit development institutions. But that's not just a financial innovation, that's replacing the logic of profit maximization with one of human need and democratic control of investment.
Finance doesn't really neglect the poor, either. Most poor neighborhoods are filled with check cashing joints, payday loan houses, and rent-to-own schemers. What they lack are grocery stores and decent transportation. Not to mention health care and a basic income. You're sounding a bit like Clinton with his "underserved markets" anti-poverty initiative.
Doug