So the
increased suffering in Greece has started. Is anybody celebrating this great
triumph of the strong over the weak? Some are, and all on account of the
chimera of an idea that the Euro is a unifying force in Europe. No it isn’t.
It’s never been and the cracks are showing more than ever now.
Definition of
‘chimera’
kʌɪˈmɪərə,kɪ
- (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female
monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail;
- a thing which is hoped for but is illusory
or impossible to achieve.
"the
economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera".
Synonyms: illusion, fantasy,
delusion, dream, fancy, figment of the imagination, will-‘o-the-wisp, phantom,
mirage, ignis fatuus.
In Homer’s
time, the Chimera was an omen predicting storms, shipwrecks, volcanoes and
other natural disasters. I guess you could classify the Greek situation as a
natural disaster in that those who have caused it are following their natural
bent. Cruelty.
You wouldn’t
have thought so when the concept of the euro first took shape. The vision behind
it was unity but in reality it was forged by people who don’t grasp that the fundamental
and operative principle of unity is equality. So the euro is predicated on the
powerful bending the weaker to their will. It’s not a sustainable social model,
as history keeps showing and will always show and it sure ain’t about unity.
The bullies
who have authored this Greek tragedy and forced austerity not only on the
Greeks but on so many others either don’t understand or don’t want to that
economics is about human beings who react when pushed beyond their capacity to
bear suffering.
Ironically,
given that Germany pushes everybody around because it’s so [allegedly]
economically powerful, its ‘economic strength’ is tenuous.
On the
surface, it looked like a miracle of job creation a few years ago. But that
miracle was the result of right-wing driven wage restraint and labor market
reform which led to an explosion of low-wage jobs. Surprise, surprise. In 2012
some workers were getting less than 1 euro an hour. Even now, with the minimum
wage signed into law in 2015—forced on Angela Merkel’s party by left-wing
coalition party she had to align with because some of her electorate was tired
of being exploited—companies can create ‘mini-jobs’ and pay whatever wage they
want.
So no real
solution was offered to those who sought a better quality life. That’s a
short-term and, in the light of history, perfectly idiotic way of responding to
what is definitely a crisis.
The ‘miracle’
has resulted in the German middle class slipping further and further down the
ladder into the poorer class. When the middle class gets paid too little it
loses its purchasing power and taxes drop. Even if the country relies on
exports they’re manufactured by real live human beings, who ultimately wake up
to the fact that they’re being exploited.
Last night I
watched HardTalk try to get a word in edgeways with Stathis Kouvelakis, a
member of Syriza’s central committee. His outrage at and articulacy about the
way Greece has been hammered were a pleasure to watch. He pointed out what
anybody with any sense is saying now; that Greece’s economy has been
slaughtered by austerity, and that is the reason for its indebtedness now. He
was furious and rightfully so, when he said that the Greek parliament was given
one day to read through a thousand-page document listing the troika’s austerity
demands.
Kouvelakis
believes that Tsipras shouldn’t have conceded, because the Greek people have
already spoken; they don’t want more austerity. Personally I understand why he
did it; it’s one thing to vote no to austerity; it’s another to live with the
consequences of refusing the troika’s terms. Dead if you do, dead if you don’t,
though.
I don’t
believe this story is over. Greece won’t be able to pay the next round of debt
because the austerity measures are even worse than they were before. Here’s
another definition that the troika and the European economists should take note
of:
Stupidity:
doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome.
I feel deeply
for Greeks and for Alex Tsipras, who I believe is an honorable man chained to a
post in hell because he wants to do the best for his people and he’s got to
choose between two hideous options. I know Greece would suffer tremendously if
they exited the Euro but they’re already suffering and they’re going to suffer
more anyway. Wouldn’t it be better for that suffering to at least result in
them having control over their own destiny again?
