Are the Greeks the victims of unjust circumstances, or are they sinners for whom paytime is justly at hand? The international discourse about Greece has been debating this question since the beginning of the Greek crisis in 2009. Most economists generally focus on the inherent errors of the euro to...
Year: 2012
The inexorable rescue of Greece
When the Roman armies of Julius Caesar and Pompey met in 48 BC near the Greek city of Pharsala the Athenians made the mistake to side with Pompey. Following Pompey’s crushing defeat Caesar advanced his legions towards Athens where he was met by a citizen delegation who pleaded to him...
The end of Europe?
What a fine mess we've found ourselves in! Following a confusing election result and the incapability of Greek politicians to manage a crisis Greece is heading for the Grexit, the exit from Euro. Spain is on the brink of financial meltdown. Hollande braves storms and thunderbolts to fly to Berlin...
The positive side of the Greek elections
Last night (6/4/12) the political system of Greece since the restoration of democracy in 1974 collapsed. The two dominant political parties, centre-right New Democracy and centre-Left Pasok, were thrashed by the electorate. The liberals, split in two tiny parties, did not manage to enter Parliament. The big victors were the...
Amasia, the future supercontinent
Eight hundred million years ago Earth’s landmass concentrated into one area forming a supercontinent called Rodinia. Parts broke away and shifted in a dance orchestrated by the hot core of our planet, and 400 million years later the parts reassembled into another vast landmass called Pangaea. If this is a periodic...
How to fix a “communist” country (Greece)
The latest bailout for Greece is one more product of the prevailing philosophy among EU governments: austerity measures in return for bail-out money. Strongly influenced by the IMF’s prime tenant, bailouts such as these protect primarily the interests of bond investors by transferring costs to societies and citizens. This makes...
A new Greece is born
Lector caveat: this is a fantasy tale. After one hundred and eighty years of pointlessly trying to emulate a western-type state, Greeks decide to face up to their true cultural facts. They are not children of the European Enlightenment, or the Renaissance. Nevertheless, they are democratic and communal. So in...
Public Goods, commodities and social contract
Are education or healthcare public goods or commodities? Should the State control education or healthcare, or should it allow market forces to set prices and utilize resources? Questions such as these seem to beg answers depending on the respondent’s political ideology. Socialists, or statists in general, would argue that they...