The global financial crisis of 2008 and the consequent global recession produced widespread reflections on capitalism.Focusing on these discussions,this report summarizes four different opinions regarding the essence of the Western crisis:1)as a financial crisis,2)as a crisis of liberal capitalism,3)as a crisis of capitalism,or 4)as a crisis of Western political civilization crisis.The demarcation between these four schools of thought is not absolute,but the groupings are helpful to obtain an overview of overseas reflections on the crisis of capitalism,to have a clearer understanding of the essence of the current Western predicament,and to provide enlightenment to develop better coping strategies. <<