DEBTS? WHOSE DEBTS?

By one of many

[This short article published on www.nachdenkseiten.de is translated from the German on the Internet, http://www.streitzuege.org/2011/schulden-wessen-schulden.]

For months, the so-called debt crisis has been pounded into our heads. Day after day Greece was rapidly transformed into a bogeyman. “Look at Greece! See what happens when people live beyond their means!” The barrage of questions seeks agreement on further austerity programs and social cuts. “Whoever does not tighten his belt will soon be like the Greeks.” The average income losses there in 2010 were 1-2 months wages. Thus the demented logic will be: cuts as in Greece threaten whoever is not satisfied with future cuts for financing the system. Either you save or you save.

The austerity course suffered by the good real economy is criticized: whoever saves reduces demand and the sales possibilities of our corporations and enterprises. Should I buy pants every week only because the market is full of pants? Where state economic policy snatches butter from the bread, its supposed critics want to transform us into more efficient consumer machines. For some, we are cost factors and for other demand factors. For both, we are not persons who could use our intelligence to arrange our world for cozy all-round pleasure.

Should we sue for the satisfaction of our needs or make “demands”? Should we beg the political authorities to be good and think of us one time and not always only of the banks? Who can believe in all seriousness “the responsible” will change their mind when we take to the streets with our demands or – how terrible! – smash a few window panes? What would it be like to see reality in Cyclops’ eye for a change and accept the simple fact that we ourselves are responsible? We keep the madness going that we call “the economy,” not bankers or even politicians. How can this be? This economy moves in its framework with our “demands” when we do nothing against the status quo. Give to us, not the banks we hear childishly from the loudspeakers.

The protest against the banks recently gained approval from the highest posts. This is not astonishing. As long as we point to scapegoats with our finger, we will have to endure “agreement” from the uninvited side. A great coalition from far left to far right can easily be forged against the banks and for the so-called real economy – as a few decades ago when we defended “creative” against “accumulating” capital and followed the chancellor at that time into war and genocide. Applause from the wrong side is always the most unmistakable sign that we are on the wrong way.

What do you propose? the writer hears the reader ask. Make a clean sweep of false ideas, put an end to the search for scapegoats in your own head and in conversations with others. Perhaps it will then dawn on us how we could build our society against the fruitless gossip about state debts and the financial crisis of the world according to the motto: from each according to his abilities and to each according to his needs.

RELATED LINKS:

15 trillion dollar debt, November 16, 2011

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Video: Keith Olberman on Mayor Bloomberg, November 15, 2011, 8 min.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoG9PmdGaT8&feature=player_embedded#t=18s

Video: Keith Olberman on Occupy Wall Street, November 15, 2011, 3 min.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiLHoSx1Boc&feature=player_embedded#t=3s

www.submedia.tv