Although many would quibble with the aptness of the term “Anglo-Saxon,” there’s little doubt that the world’s leading economies have turned their shoulders - if not their backs - on the orthodoxy of the last 30 years.

The financial crisis has chastened those who once worshipped at the altar of unfettered globalisation and freewheeling markets. The wisdom of the so-called "Washington consensus" has been called into question by plummeting stocks and shattered growth.

International regulation is now the watchword as major powers seek to drag the world economy out of the doldrums. The G20 leaders championed the Financial Stability Board as an important global monitor and pumped funds into the IMF with relish.

There were promises to clamp down on hedge funds, tax havens and executive pay - which would have been considered heresy in Washington and London just a year ago.

The summit ushered in a new order that can be described as capitalism with a conscience.

But for poorer countries, this New World Order may still be a long way off. The G20 leaders gave the IMF a huge cash boost, but the conditions under which it lends out this new wealth are likely to be as strict as ever. What’s more, a world trade deal that’s supposed to pave the way out of poverty remains a long way off.

In the end, cowboy capitalism was chased out of town not by ideological fervour – but because circumstances demanded a more interventionist approach.