Former US National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft encapsulated the post-crisis conventional wisdom in 2012: “The postwar leaders set up the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade to develop rules of the road. The new G-20 is but a pale reflection of that once-brilliant institution building.”
另一个集体误判的共同原因是用错地方的怀旧情感。2012年，前美国国家安全顾问斯考克罗夫特（Brent Scowcroft）概括了后危机时代的传统智慧：“战后领导人建立了IMF、世界银行和关贸总协定，以此建立了前进规则。新二十国集团只不过是这一曾经光芒四射的机构建设运动的回光返照。”