I belong to the post war generation (aka the notorious baby boomers, if only just) who grew up in admiration of the age of reason, of the enlightenment, and perhaps more relevant Keynesian Economics and Nye Bevan’s creation of the NHS out of the debris and bomb sites of London.
Heady stuff that. Anything, we were told even approaching 10% unemployment was anathema and something never to be repeated. Because it was that kind of thing that brought about Adolf Hitler and his German Nazi Party. All this was Received Wisdom. Not in a dogmatic way, but in the way of the progress of medicine say, where blood letting is no longer used because it has been empirically proved that instead of curing, it ultimately kills the patient.
Today, however, in Europe, we are slap bang back into an Age of Unreason and quasi religious dogmatism when it comes to Economics. And to paraphrase Marx, whether we like it or not, Economics is politics and determines how we live and whether we sink or swim as society, as nations and, yes, as a global entity perhaps above all.
Today the powers that be or the “deciders” as George W. Bush famously dubbed himself, appear to have all been sucked up by a crazy religious dogma. The crisis created by deregulation of the global financial system and the “Greed is Good” dogma, has made mush of their collective little mind.
At the moment Greece is being forced into further and even more vicious austerity measures. An austerity that will not only completely ruin the Greek economy but perhaps even demolish the Greek state. Now, though there is no way those force feeding the Greek government with this poison do not know this, they continue to insist on it with religious fanaticism.
A sort of witch’s trial going on here. We shall throw the wench into the water with her hands tied. If she floats and avoids death this way it means she is a witch and will therefore be burnt at the stake. If, however, she sinks and drowns it will mean she is innocent and not a witch. She will not be burnt at the stake. But she will already be quite dead from drowning.
And this is exactly what goes under the name of the troika are doing to Greece. Why? Well, because what I have dubbed Nonsense Economics for so long, is really not even that. It is Vampire Economics. It is as if medicine had receded centuries back, to blood letting.
The so called “policy” being forced on Greece has already drained the economy of billions and thrown it into free fall. But since the “cure” prescribed has not only not worked, but has sent the patent into the intensive care unit, the doctors/deciders think that the only thing they can do is apply more of the same medicine. And not only that, but in a far greater dose. A lethal dose.
This latest austerity package to be voted in by the Greek Parliament this week, is tantamount to the vampire sucking out the very last dregs of blood from the moribund corpse he has at his disposal. So an Economics that can do nothing other than suck the very life blood out of an economy can only be described as Vampire Economics. An Economics, that we know from history, will only lead to tragedy. And soon.
Professor Varoufakis has a very interesting piece describing this so called policy and proposing not only viable but sensible alternatives.
Unfortunately the Greek lackeys supposedly governing the Greek state are just as imbued with this Vampire Economics that it has a mantra: Nobody has proposed anything else! Or a Greek version of the abhorrent Thatcherite TINA (there is no alternative). Mind you, they do not even bother to listen to any alternatives. Again much like Thatcher who was convinced that she alone was right. A tragedy in itself.
But this is, of course, complete and utter nonsense, not only because there are alternatives (and Professor Varoufakis proposes a very good one) but also because it is implied that the “policy” they are imposing is, itself, a viable alternative, even if a harsh one, when in reality it is nothing of the sort.
In fact, to stick to the medical terms, this last brilliant brain wave being put the Greek Parliament for a vote, is tantamount to pulling out the life support mechanism form the moribund corpse in intensive care that is Greece.
May God forgive them for their sins! Because the people won’t! (Since we are in religious mode)