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Showing posts from July, 2012

The illusion of the self-regulating society through the deregulated market

by system failure At the end of 1992, just days after Clinton ’s election as president of the US , Alan Greenspan, head of the Federal Reserve at that time, went to see the new president. The famous economist and supporter of the neoliberal economy of deregulation, warned Clinton to withdraw his campaign promises for social reform, because, as he claimed, the deficit reached a dangerously high level. Greenspan told Clinton that he should cut government spending, so that interest rates would go down and the markets would boom. He believed that markets would transform America , not politics. It was the beginning of the full deregulated market for the US and the world. The rise of computers during 90s, brought a new idea, that machines could create a stable world without the need of political intervention. Economists and bankers viewed the world as a giant economic system that now prevailed against all western governments. They believed that the way for a global economic stab

Searching for new middle class tanks and the role of federalization

by system failure Since the beginning of the current crisis, Germany tried to present it as a Greek problem, in order to hide the responsibilities of the banks and the big capital, and the fact that Germany itself is gaining from this crisis. The propagandistic role of the mainstream German media – and also large portion of the Greek media - of mass consumption on this, is well known.    Until now, the middle class in the European periphery, was playing the role of the “safety pillow” between the lower class of the very poor and the upper class of the superrich. Through a false – as we see clearly now – wealth and a culture of overconsumption, with the neoliberal way of the gambling economy, bubble economy and banking loan, middle class became the vast majority of the population in western countries generally. But today, the middle class itself, is characterized by a multilevel structure, with groups of citizens who often have conflicting interests that emerge on the surf

SOMETHING YOU... FORGOT DEAR EUROPEAN LEADERS

by system failure The vast majority of the mainstream media in Greece and abroad, tried to present the decisions of the recent European summit as a victory of the countries of the periphery – with Italy and Spain leading – against countries of the “hard core” in the eurozone. For this of course, helped also the “opium of the people”, football, where Italy’s victory over Germany in the semifinal of the European Championship, with the goals of Mario Balotelli, coincided – incidentally(?) – with the “victory” of the other Mario, Monti, against tough Mrs. Merkel. Plenty of symbolism and coincidences for mass consumption.      But the basic agreement, which was advertised extensively, and refers to the direct recapitalization of the banks by the European support mechanisms, is nothing but another victory of the bankers against European people who suffer from the extensive and continuous cuts in pensions and wages. That is, if for example the bankrupt banks are large