This paper presents a comparative analysis of state intervention in two recent bank crises and suggests that factors other than those that are the focus of existing theories of the state may be important in defining the meaning of "too big to fail." In particular, social characteristics such as the race and class of each bank's respective constituents stood out as differentiating dimensions in the politics of the bailout process. This suggests that when we attempt to define the meaning of "too big to fail," or to understand the politics of finance more generally, we should look not only at the characteristics of the banks themselves but also at the characteristics of their customers.
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