What should be done about the economic and financial situation facing the global system? The U.S. has its approach, its solutions, and a renewed trust in Bernake as of last week. The fact remains, though, that the economic crisis isn’t just the U.S.’s problem- it has affected the whole world and will require cooperation from the whole world to deal effectively with the future of the system as it is.

"It has to be an international agreement, and we need to use our strength, our conviction with our colleagues to really set up this platform," French Finance Minister Christine Legarde told Al Jazeera.

A call for cooperation and group decision- crowdsourcing the financial recovery. The Group of 20 nations (G20) is dealing with just these issues right now, as a call for cooperation sounds great but presents a slew of problems all its own- how do you work together? The true question of effective politics is now facing the world’s economy, with bumps on that road coming up around how to collectively heal a system that is rooted in capitalistic notions of profit. How do we resolve the need for working together within a system that requires losers for there to be winners and growth?

Finance leaders of the G20 are currently meeting in London to deal with this issue. Out of that meeting are coming calls from several European countries to reduce banker bonuses, though this idea is not backed by the U.S. or the UK.

The finance ministers of Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands called for a ban on bonuses guaranteed for over one year- that could be a major blow to countries with big players in the banking and finance world.

While France is backing a uniform world cap on bonuses, the U.S. and the UK reject the idea. Britain, instead, wants to link bonuses with extended performance, and the U.S. is behind tougher international standards on capital and liquidity.  

"You can and you should say that bonuses should be related to performance, but you can't get away from the fact that pay levels vary from country to country. Ultimately, and if you look solely at the bonus side of banks turnover and profits, it is probably quite limited so the effect would not be very substantial," said Gabriel Stein, an economist at Lombard Street Research in London.

The other big issue facing finance leaders is how to scale back economic stimulus measures with signs that the economy is recovering. Fears and disagreements over when and how much to scale back are on the table. The director of the IMF says that stimulus should be reduced only when the recovery has taken a strong hold, not now when signs are good but not solid.

This is the central issue for large countries dealing with how to manage the aftermath of the global economic crisis- when to stop financing the issues. Right now governments are a big source of capital and security for business and banking. Banking and financial sectors need a source of money to keep working- when will that capital flow move from the government to the private sector?