To be sure, whatever common ground was staked out still seems rather sprawling. Leaders agreed to sweeping plans on financial regulation, but the details remain conveniently nebulous. Disagreement remains about relative priorities: France wants to regulate hedge funds, while Britain, home to most of Europe's hedge fund industry, talks more about cracking down on tax havens. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who hosted the meeting, insisted that discussions focus on long-term financial reform rather than co-ordinating short-term responses to the crisis. It is tempting to remind the chancellor of Keynes' maxim that we are all dead in the long run.
诚然，无论此次峰会形成了何种共同立场，它们仍显得相当杂乱。各国领导人就金融监管的总体计划达成了一致意见，但细节的实用性上仍有些含糊不清。在相对优先任务方面，各方仍存在分歧：法国希望监管对冲基金，而作为欧洲大部分对冲基金总部所在地的英国，谈论更多的则是如何打击避税天堂。主持此次会议的德国总理安吉拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)坚称，大家讨论的重点应该是长期的金融改革，而不是协调对危机的短期应对。我们忍不住想用凯恩斯的一句格言提醒默克尔总理：长期而言，我们都会死亡。