The Limits Of Democracy.

Democracy, like all forms of government, has limits. No one has an absolute right to do what they want and so absolute freedom has to be curtailed by law. These laws are made by those we vote into power to represent us and they are expected to frame laws that are both fair and acceptable to the majority. So much for the theory - the reality, as we are coming to know to our cost, is very different. In Greece that reality has made a mockery of the democratic process as that unhappy country is forced to destroy itself by outsiders whose only aim is to protect their money. Today a Greek journalist, Kostas Vaxevanis, has been arrested for daring to publish a list of rich and influential Greek businessmen and politicians who are avoiding paying their taxes. He has been arrested for an invasion of privacy while the influential businessmen and politicans are innocent of any crime. They are only innocent, of course, because the laws of Greece have been framed by those same influential businessmen and politicians. In Britain we would not go so far and tax avoiders are regularly "outed" by the press. Unfortunately our laws, too, are framed by the wealthy and influential and tax avoiders are likewise regarded as innocent of any crime. Worse yet our government regularly takes "donations" from rich supporters who hope, often with good cause, that they can "influence" the framing of our laws. So the question we have to ask ourselves is this - how can our elected representatives represent us when they are being paid to represent someone else? Democracy? It would be a good idea.

The Turkeys Vote For Christmas

It is not often that you get to see an entire nation committ collective suicide but that is the effective result of the Greek elections. After a sustained attack by the banks who want the money they recklessly gambled away back and by European leaders more interested in their own careers than the welfare of their people, the Greeks cannot bring themselves to be rid of the Euro. They have clung to it like a child clings to its mother's skirts. They have been blackmailed, lied to and bullied unmercifully and, as Antonus Samaras said, "have decided to stay anchored to the Euro." Why anyone drowning would refuse to let go of an anchor is beyond understanding, but any real alternative was carefully hidden from sight. And there is an alternative as Iceland has amply demonstrated. It is possible to say "no" to the banks, arrest their directors and even impeach the politicians who have conspired with them to line their own pockets at everyone else's expense. After two years of dire predictions as to what would happen to Iceland if they didn't do as they were told, they have cast off the dead hand of the banks who are now queuing up to knock on that country's door and begging to be allowed to do business there once again. The world has been through 30 years of sheer economic insanity and, when the wheels came off, all our politicians could do was insist on more of the same. And, like sheep, most people have gone along with it. Entire countries have voted for austerity, inequality and poverty, frightened by two-faced politicians intent on protecting their own wealth and privileges. Some like France, however, have not. The stage is now set for a titanic struggle between the stupid and selfish on one hand and those with a better vision on the other. What happens next is up to us.

Lagarde Parades Double Standards.

Nothing could demonstrate the double standards practised by world leaders under the influence of the neoliberal economic thesis than Christine Lagarde's outburst against the Greeks. Writing on her Facebook account she said that she had more sympathy for Africans than for Greeks who should pay their taxes and shut up. It is "payback time" for Greece she said gleefully, suggesting that the austerity measures imposed on the country are some sort of punishment. Like most ordinary working people in the world ordinary working Greeks have no choice about paying tax. Choosing not to pay tax is solely the preserve of the rich who benefit from tax systems that deliberately allow loopholes that can be exploited by anyone rich enough to retain the services of a battery of accountants. Dodging tax when you are an ordinary person is a dangerous course that can and does end in a prison sentence. Dodging tax when you are rich is a lucrative income stream that is often rewarded with medals, honours and increased influence. Lagarde has now revealed the utter arrogance of the new super-class that has sprung into existence across the globe. Utterly selfish, greedy, irresponsible and without any sympathy for those not rich enough to share the rarified atmosphere of their world, these are the people who see it as their divine right to order the lives of the rest of us. If austerity is called for then, perhaps, it should start with those who have too much rather than those who have too little. There is, however, no sign that this is happening. Fatcats started this crisis and it is the fatcats that are ordering events to make sure they get fatter at our expense. The Greeks should take note of this outburst and walk away from the "deal" they are being offered. They should do what Iceland has done - tell the banks to shove it, arrest their political leaders and bankers who led them into this mess, get out of the Euro and tell the Germans to clear up the mess that they so eagerly promoted when it suited them.

Greece Refuses To Fall On Its Sword.

Greek politicians have now completed the final round of their new national game OXI! (NO!) and have failed once again to offer themselves up for sacrifice at the Euro altar. A disorderly exit from the Euro now seems inevitable. Yet the head of the European Bank, Christine Lagarde, has spoken of her bemusement over the present crisis, telling us that she thought she had "covered all the possibilities." All the possibilities except the most obvious it would seem. And that, apparently, is the nub of the problem. Many European leaders, though there are less of them every day, just cannot accept that their most cherished economic theories are more or less bunk. Nor can they bring themselves to see the glaringly obvious truth that the system is now broken beyond repair. It does not need fixing - it needs replacing. Growing inequality is no longer acceptable and, if we are to believe that "we're all in this together," we want concrete proof that it is so. Rewarding the wealthy for yet another failure is no longer an option. And if the wealthy can't accept this then they should be allowed to emigrate to Mars or Pluto or wherever they feel their money can keep them safe.

Is The Euro Terminal?

In Greece the centre-right leader Antonis Samaras has found it impossible to create a coalition government based on austerity and staying within the Euro. In France the new President, Francois Hollande, has signalled that the compact with Germany will have to be renegotiated. Spain is fast approaching crisis as its industrial output slumps by another 7% and, in Italy, skepticism of the EU is growing apace. What does this all mean? It seems to indicate that the idea of a united Europe is fast coming unravelled. Not because it was a bad idea. Originally founded on two sound principles - preventing further European wars and creating a single market to increase wealth - it began to go downhill when the politicians forgot why it was created. They began to see it as a vehicle for their dreams and ambitions, a larger canvas on which they hoped to project an even larger image of themselves. The Euro was never necessary on strict economic criteria. It was only necessary for those politicians who saw the currency as a badge of honour and, as more and more European politicians saw it in those terms and clamoured for their countries to be included, it quickly lost its real purpose and was devalued even before it was launched. Now its continued existence and remaining within it has become a matter of pride for politicians who have been blinded by their own propaganda. Greece should and will probably leave the Euro, followed in quick succession by Spain and probably Italy. And if Hollande cannot get the Germans to change tack then France may well do the same. The Euro was a good idea ruined, like so many things, by the politicians - it will not be missed.

Europe Turns Left.

The French have thrown out Sarkozy, the Greeks have abandoned their traditional political parties and Iceland has prosecuted the bankers and politicians who destroyed their country. Angela Merkel immediately went on the attack deploying the "there's no alternative" argument for all she's worth. Meanwhile in Britain Cameron has licked his wounds after the bruising local elections and promised more of the same using simpler language so the peasants will understand better. Their message is the same - we have to pay our debts caused by the banking crisis to the banks otherwise its the end of the world. No, it will simply be the end of theirs. What is becoming increasingly clear - to anyone who isn't a politician at any rate - is that the financial system they love so much hasn't suffered a mild case of hiccups but a terminal heart-attack. It has been revealed for what it always was, a huge Ponzi scheme - not so much a financial system as a gravy train - and the victims of it have had enough. Time now for the politicians to do what they pride themselves on - catching the popular mood - and bloody-well do something about it instead of wringing their hands and thinking up catchy slogans. We don't want to hear "we're all in this together" or "there's no alternative." What we want to hear is that the people who were responsible for this mess - the bankers - have been detained, that the criminals have been apprehended, locked up and key thrown away. We want regulation, people put before profits and for the rich to realise that their wealth is a privilege not a right and that extraordinary rewards demand extraordinary responsibilities. This reporter agrees that austerity is demanded, but not for the poor - they've always had it, even during the "good" times. What we need now is austerity for the rich. They've revelled in increasing wealth for decades and now its time for them to pay their dues.