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Greece

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Clarissa

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Tsipras kicked out of his government the ministers who opposed the agreement. It turns out he’s much smarter than I thought. Contrary to the opinions of the childish anti-EUers, failure to reach an agreement would have been an absolute catastrophe for Greece.

Tsipras is finally doing the right thing, and now Greece has a hope for the future. Of course, things would have been easier without the fiasco of the referendum but it’s better to see the light of reason late than never.

What’s curious is how many infantile people  (Ian Walsh is a great example) project their childhood trauma on Greece. They describe the EU as if it were a strict, controlling, even abusive parent and cheer for Greece to effectuate a liberation from this oppressive mandate that they never managed to achieve on their own. And when it turns out that this will not happen, they feel the rage that’s amplified by the realization that once again their hopes of liberation have been dashed.

6 responses to “Greece”

  1. Shakti Avatar
    Shakti

    Tsipras is finally doing the right thing, and now Greece has a hope for the future.
    What particular hope do you see for the future and in what time frame? They seem fucked either way.

    If I’m Greek and I haven’t already left and I have any ability whatsoever to leave, I’m leaving the country to go elsewhere. Not only is the currency shot, people are just going to get crazier and crazier, bouncing around like pin balls, gyrating from one government to the next. If you have any tiny bit of security relative to your neighbors you are a target. The stress of living on tips in another country seems pacific compared to this.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      Greece needs to conduct profound structural reforms. They have to be conducted no matter what because the current model is unsustainable. We conducted much much more profound reforms back in the FSU, and everybody is perfectly fine. Unfortunately, we failed to accompany the reforms with an eradication of corruption and that was our tragic mistake whose results we are all seeing right now. But Greece and Spain are at such an enormously better starting point that they will definitely manage to do it. The sooner they accept that the previous model cannot exist any longer, the better. In Spain, this is a very clear and massive realization. In Greece, not yet.

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      1. Shakti Avatar
        Shakti

        Greece needs to conduct profound structural reforms. They have to be conducted no matter what because the current model is unsustainable
        All true.

        We conducted much much more profound reforms back in the FSU, and everybody is perfectly fine. Unfortunately, we failed to accompany the reforms with an eradication of corruption and that was our tragic mistake whose results we are all seeing right now.
        Reforms without getting rid of corruption are nothing, and as you’ve said the major, major problem is the corruption riddling the Greek society from top to bottom, which is inseparable from its financial problems. I don’t see the time frame for conducting the reforms and getting rid of corruption within a lifetime. If I’m young and Greek and can leave, why wait 20+ years (I’m going from the official end of the Soviet Union) to experience a reformed country? The Spanish Uber driver you mentioned sure isn’t going to wait for Spain’s reforms to work, massive realization or not and he’s 42. I’d expect the outflow of young Greeks to continue.

        .

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        1. Clarissa Avatar
          Clarissa

          As we say, a holy place never stays empty. 🙂 If these people leave, new ones will come. Greece is still enormously rich compared to most of the world. There is no likelihood that the space will remain empty.

          People from corrupt societies often become extremely law-abiding in other environments, so maybe this is the only way for Greeks to get rid of the mentality of corruption.

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  2. Z Avatar
    Z

    EU in general is structured to create this kind of situation, though. And I have rarely seen austerity / privatization bring any kind of good end.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      “EU in general is structured to create this kind of situation, though.”

      • This anti-EU propaganda is part of the right-wing’s favorite points. I’m surprised to see that it speaks to you so much.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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