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Published on Friday, February 24, 2012 by The Real News Network
On the Brink: Fiscal Austerity Threatens a Global Recession
Dr. Heiner Flassbeck, Director, Division on Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD: European austerity policies past the point of no return, driving global economy towards deep and lengthy recession
© 2012 The Real News Network
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Show AllI love Real News, but this isn't news (it is of course, well done piece. By this I mean that most critics of neoclassical economics predicted this and the critics have been, once again, ignored and proven correct). Lets be clear, neoclassical economics has dominated the economics profession for decades now. Their theories have no basis in reality. The assumptions needed for the theories to work are unrealistic and absurd. Their ideas on why the Great Depression happened, on private debt, on how markets work, on human nature, on economic history, on environmental and ecological issues, are beyond illogical. The reason why we are screwed is because the people creating economic policy have no idea how the real economy works and have no interest in learning from their mistakes or re-thinking their pet theories. They keep on applying the economics that they were taught and it hasn't dawned on them yet that THEIR damn policies have caused this mess and are making the situation worse. They have no solutions because the economic problems we are facing requires them to think in radically different ways than neoclassical economics and they are incapable of doing that. In the end, while many of these economists do this for ideological reasons there is also a self serving component to all of this. They are paid well by interests who benefit from these policies to be useful idiots and they will put lipstick on a pig till the end of time as long as the checks keep on coming. We could analyze how insane this is and talk about specific issues or ideas, but what is the point? It doesn't even need to be argued. Why these economists push for so irrational and destructive policies is the real issue and that needs to be confronted head on. We need to Occupy the economics departments across the country (and world) more than anything.
For those in the .1% the economic policies are working as designed and they are perfectly logical. The.1% does not need for the 99.9% to thrive. The destruction of the economy just means more assets through foreclosure and privatization of public assets. The .1% will continue to increase their power and control through this crisis. If 3/4 of the population is destroyed by their deeds, and demand for goods is depleted, it doesn't matter to them because they hold the real assets. The more the 99.9% loose the better they feel and the more in control they believe themselves to be.
It is time for the 99.9% to stop our in fighting and empower ourselves to establish governance of, by, and for the people.
Rather than privatize the public needs to take over the assets of the private banks, publicize and forgive all debt. With a fresh start and a public banking system, we can establish a viable governance system that does governs for the wellbeing of people and the planet.
You are right, Wilbert. It’s hardly news that after decades of talk about the need for sustainable development, we humans continue to have a poor track record when it comes to achieving sustainable results. How can we implement change while up against the overwhelming current of business as usual? It will take a new perspective, new approaches and different means of leadership.
Scholars note that the phrase “emperor’s new clothes” describes a common situation where “weavers” of official policy insist that the value of their labor be recognized apart from the physical reality of the moment, and has become a standard metaphor for anything that smacks of pretentiousness, pomposity, social hypocrisy, collective denial, or hollow ostentatiousness.
The Emperor Has No Clothes
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/09/state-world-economy-emporer-clothes/
While today’s existing global power structure continues to try to conduct business as usual and insist that the economy is in good standing, there is no question that existing systems are unsustainable. The economic value of all of our assets and resources are at stake, and dealing with the symptoms of the problem rather than their root causes, while delaying the consequences and numbing the public to their real effects, only exacerbates the inevitable results.
Sustainable Land Development Initiative