When economists go wild

Hilzoy has the list of the views of economists whose views I'm interested on Treasury's Banks R-us fixit plan. Brad deLong is seriously out-numbered.

I have no clue about such matters, but one thing I do find interesting. In reality, we have never faced a crisis quite the current one, have we? So why are economists tossing around "Mad Max" scenarios as an outcome if all of Geithner/Summer alchemy fails? Japan's economy has been in critical condition for years and while Mad Max style hair and fashion seem to be popular there, they haven't begun hoarding petrol. Hyperbole makes the dry toast of economic theory more interesting to read in a blog, but I'm not sure it's helping.