Article in the U.K. Telegraph saying that EU Finance Minister Olli Rehn should resign because it was his austerity push that created mass unemployment and misery in Greece.
Well if you ask me, Olli Rehn shouldn't resign, he should be tried for crimes against humanity. And that goes for all the other austerity pushers like like Reinhart and Rogoff, Pete Peterson, Paul Ryan, Simpson/Bowels, and the rest. Their policies have caused widespread human suffering, mass unemployment, the veritable collapse of states, poverty and, indeed, the wasting of an entire generation along with their futures.
I submit that these people should be arrested and tried for crimes against humanity and if found guilty, should face the stiffest penalty without any possibility for leniency.
9 comments:
Can an ideology effectively be confronted or do we have to confront people like Mike does here with Rehn.... people who seem to subscribe to some sort of adverse ideology?
I don't think one can confront an "ideology" such as 'neo-liberalism' or whatever...
We (people) have to confront people... sorry but I dont see how one can effectively confront 'an ideology'... I just dont think it can be done successfully...
Sorry, but for now seems like we have to confront people not their ideologies...
rsp,
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB) [bold added]
Matt, I view history more as the clash of ideas with humans as the originators of the ideas and also the proxies of the ideologies. Thus, in the conflict among the various individuals aligned in opposing groups, we see the "proxy wars" among ideologies, as well as which idea succeed for a time on the historical stage and which don't.
These ideas may in turn be proxies for more basic drives, as some argue, rather rather than ends in themselves. That is another debate.
But what we see in politics, for instance, is people aligned with each other in terms of basic agreement and against others with whom they are in basic disagreement. When I say "basic," I mean engaged in a zero-sum game to the degree that one ideology excluded others. To the degree that there may be agreement, there can be compromise and even alliance.
But the why of the agreement and disagreement is ordinarily ideational. It's not just a matter of competing kinship groups, or alliances of convenience seeking to extend territory and resources, or other such things that motivate primate groups, although that may be involved, too.
Humans are, however, loathe to admit that their motives are "bestial," and they cloak them, therefore, in complex ideas and lofty ideals that are the veneer of culture and civilization, even while engaging in brutish behavior that other animals seldom or never do individually or in concert.
But I submit that some of the dynamic is purely ideational also, and a lot of it is embedded in different worldviews, giving it a normative and performative character. These worldviews are the manifestation of lifestyles, and ideas are then forthcoming in justification and celebration of these lifestyles.
However, when all is said and done, much of the context can be reduced to a struggle over power and control of others and the environment, just as in primate groups. Humans are far removed from other primates evolutionarily ("nature" and also wrt to development ("nurture").
But the roots of our ancestry are still with us and visible to those who know how to look. This is strong constraint on the species raising its level of consciousness rapidly.
There is a huge evolutionary drag to overcome and that takes time involving ages of development. While I am basically a radical, I also realize that it not possible for the species to leapfrog over evolutionary obstacles. They must be worked through.
Ideas and their dynamic in social interaction are part of that. Through this dynamic humans test their boundaries, sometimes making progress and at other times suffering setbacks. But overall history is the story of progress toward greater universality cognitively, volitionally and affectively.
Between the drag of an evolutionary past and the possibility of a unrealized future the battle of ideologies is conducted through the various proxy wars involving individuals over which lifestyle and worldview will prevail.
Perhaps to your point F., I didn't say we need to stone them and bash their heads in with rocks a la the OT methodologies , I said we need to confront them...
Paul to Timothy: 'expose, rebuke and entreat....'.
We need to confront/rebuke all of these people, not their ideology.
It seems like all we can do.... How do you confront/rebuke an ideology?
RSP,
This is exactly the kind of talk that was going on in my country. Should communism be declared criminal? No, communism is a really nice idea.
It didn't work just like austerity.
AEP: "Mr Rehn is a decent man, with an impossible task, carrying responsibility without power. The politicians of the northern EMU states and the ECB are chiefly to blame."
The word 'authority' conspicuously missing here from AEP...
Then he goes on: "The truth is that the Troika’s ideology of “expansionary fiscal contraction” is bunk, and doubly dangerous when compounded by tight money."
The 'tight money' part is 'bunk' too, a bit of the monetarist in AEP peeking out here...
Lending follows the fiscal lead... they cannot be controlled separately... banks will not risk capital unless incomes are rising first, income rises in the system via the govt authorities injecting more balances into the non-govt for public provision... once incomes are rising THEN the bank "money" no longer remains "tight"...
rsp,
"Should communism be declared criminal?"
This isn't the same as holding gatekeepers in the public trust accountable...
What these bastards are doing is equivalent to withholding oxygen, food or water to force the population to bend to their will...
It is coercion that approaches torture or slavery.
So they need to be dealt with as torturers or slaveholders.
The Justice isn't about ideology. We shouldn't go after to people because they celebrate St. Patricks day by having a few pints. We go after them when they turn their actions into harm: when they drink and drive. We don't care that you like to drink, what your religion is, or what holiday you celebrate, we care when you threaten society with your vehicle.
Folks like Rehn or Rogoff/Reinhart don't just hold beliefs they turned those beliefs into actions that directly caused harm. It doesn't take much imagination to think of civil and criminal charges for their actions. R&R could have to give up book and speaking profits to injured parties that suffered as a consequence of their faked, mistaken, overstated, (how ever you want to characterize their dishonesty) results. They could be charged for lying to congress, for example.
Rehn and the troika are much easier: remove them from power. They are in power and appointed positions because they had popular support among their peers. They aren't popular anymore. Goodbye!
We need to confront/rebuke all of these people, not their ideology. Matt Franko
Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for negating the Word of God (Scripture) with their own traditions. How many churches have been/are guilty of that same thing?
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