Louis de Saussure blog

La mort d’un chanteur de rap athénien de 34 ans, poignardé au cœur dans un guet-apens fasciste au sortir d’un soir comme les autre, un soir de match au café du coin, avec sa copine et des amis, pouvait, devait, soulever le cœur de l’opinion européenne. Il y avait de quoi s’y attendre, tant ce couteau évoque immédiatement d’autres rues sombres inspirant cette terreur d’exécution sommaire qui précède et porte les dictatures, les guerres et les exterminations. Il n’en fut pas grand chose, hors des rues d’Athènes où le foule a manifesté sous l’œil d’une police ambiguë – et peut-être complaisante ou infiltrée -, et brisé les vitres du parti fasciste Aube dorée . Chez nous ? Quelques banderoles ont  bien été déployées dans quelques grandes villes européennes, mais, somme toute, on ne fit guère de foin. Pavlos Fyssas Angela Merkel déclarait le 23 septembre, installée dans sa réélection, que « nous ne devons pas relâcher la pression pour l’achèvement de...

On parle ces jours-ci de la "Rentrée de l'économie". Comprenez: la reprise des activités à 100% des entreprises, institutions financières, industries, après la période plus calme de l'été.  Je suis toujours surpris par l'usage (récent, du moins dans toutes les bouches, quelques années tout au plus) du mot "économie" pour désigner spécifiquement les acteurs privés de l'économie: banques, industries, entreprises. On parle ainsi de ce qu'attend l'économie, de ce que l'économie souhaite, etc.  L'économie, au sens propre, est le fonctionnement matériel des sociétés. Ce n'est ni quelqu'un ni un groupe particulier d'acteurs ou d'institutions. Il n'y a aucune "rentrée de l'économie" au sens réel du terme. Nous sommes tous partie prenante de l'économie. La ménagère aussi est dans l'économie. Le service public est dans l'économie. L'accroissement de l'écart entre les plus riches et...

One more thing I don't understand: Europe is a kind of super-state; it dictates its choices to, for example, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland. And others. It would be so nice if it were for the well-being of everyone in fairness. But imagine that we were speaking of the UK and Northumbria instead of Europe and Greece. Or of France and Marseilles. That the government in Paris would force the city of Marseilles into sudden economic "austerity" (catastrophe) with as a result kids looking for food in garbage cans after school, and all the misery, while Paris people would get the most of their recovering the tended money? Or that the government in London imposes that Cornwall suddenly gets totally poor with no public service and a huge employment because of a decision by the British government? They would call it a tribute by an occupying power, rather than help from the ones above and friends around. Well - that's what happening out there in Greece, Portugal, Spain...

Representatives of the 'Troïka' (European Commission; IMF; European Central Bank): There are a few things I don't understand and I wish you could explain them to me. I keep reading decisions like this last one today (a day in which public TV was stopped in Greece): " The Troika opened the backdoor for a wage below 586 euros by issuing a ministerial decision, cancelling the definition of the minimum salary by law, as it was initially provided by the decision of the Ministerial Council of the Ministry of Labor. In a meeting which was held at the Ministry on June 12" (Greek Reporter).  As makers of decisions bearing direct impact on people’s lives, it is your duty to take a few minutes to answer and explain these decisions to me and all of us. After all, if we are in a democracy, we the people are responsible for the election of the people in power who give missions to you, and you need to respond of the fairness and quality of your decisions. We need to kn...

Be afraid about your future: the western world has lived for decades in an unrealistic way, thinking it could afford the cost of social benefits, health care, unemployment protection, family allocations for children, etc., but this was just like luxury things bought by spending inexistent money or taking taxes which impaired the otherwise flourishing economy. Paying for those in need was a mistake which drove the whole economy to an unprecedented crisis to such an extent that now everyone has to pay for the huge debts accumulated by the States. Greece is the best example: Greeks, and many Europeans, have been 'living above their means'. Here is - of course as a caricature - the kind of arguments one finds easily as explanations for the bad economic situation taking place in Europe (see a more elaborated list here ). In the UK, the conservative government calls the crisis a 'budget crisis' and basically targets as responsible the former labour policy, accused of b...