We are driving through Spanish countryside, with its clusters of abandoned, broken down, windowless buildings of all sizes that look bombed out.
After two nights with little sleep and finally being in Europe, I can’t say this isn’t messing with my head.
It’s very sad. I keep thinking, “you people don’t have a war going on. What’s your excuse?”
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“What’s your excuse?”
Austerity, besides putting public goods into private hands (primary goal) is about destroying (constructive) initiative.
“Why try to get a job if the company will go out of business in a month?”
“Why get an education if I won’t be able to get a job?”
“Why clean things up if it’s just going to get dirty again.”
“The government is a bunch of thieves so it’s okay if I steal too!”
I don’t think enough attention is paid to austerity as a method for inducing learned helplessness and/or anti-social attitudes.
This is so true. The attitude towards having children in Spain, for example, is that it’s SO COMPLICATED. What’s all that complicated they can never explain. They just make big scary eyes at you.
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Australia is the model. 5 big cities and a whole lot of empty space.
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“big cities and a whole lot of empty space”
Exactly the scenario the conspiracy crazies 10 or so years ago were saying was the goal. But they were just crazy, right?……. right?
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There was a series of art/exploitation photos done about dying small towns in SA during the 80s. 10 years ago this stuff would have been considered ancient history.
https://www.rogerballen.com/dorps/
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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