This presentation suggests an alternative lens through which to view the global economy's struggle to achieve sustainable and balanced growth, reflecting a failure to prevent the build-up and collapse of hugely damaging financial booms and busts. A symptom of the current malaise can be seen in interest rates that have been exceptionally low for an exceptionally long time, with a record high amount of global sovereign debt trading at negative yields. To break out of this trap, there is a need to take a longer-term view and rebalance policies towards structural measures, abandoning the debt-fuelled growth model that has brought us to the current predicament.