Opinion Sur
Pressured by those who lead the European Union, political forces
ruling several European countries have adopted a course of severe
adjustment. They burden their people with the cost of errors
generated by a process based on economic concentration and financial
speculation. They do not acknowledge that both sovereign and consumers
over-indebtedness were inevitable, or at the very least predictable,
resulting from that concentrating way of functioning. The counter part
of concentration is inequity expressing itself in economic terms as
acute demand segmentation and the inability of medium and lower income
sectors to maintain with legitimate incomes the quality of life they
have achieved. This gap was faced through financing that
successfully manages to disguise though not solve the lack of ability
to pay. Meanwhile concentrated incomes sought to increase their
accumulation pace even more through unbridled financial speculation.
In addition, an immense flow of resources was dedicated to financing
politicians, think tanks and large media linked or serving the
interests of privileged sectors. Society was stunned by an extremely
hard imposition of ideas, values and policies that cleared the way for
concentration and the consequent crisis.
Today, despite the ruthless adjustment implemented, voices in Spain
rise saying public accounts are still going through a rough patch and
that recession might deepen. And, what is more alarming, they claim
that ‘if markets strike powerfully again, it is possible that
resorting to an external bailout will become necessary in the summer’.
What is that about ‘markets’ striking entire countries as to preserve
and reproduce privileges? Those ‘markets’ have nothing to do with the
notion of a market regulated by the State in its role of guardian of
the general wellbeing and where millions of voices and decisions come
together in order to determine what, where, when and how what serves
people and the planet is produced. Those other ‘striking markets’ are
driven and managed by a handful of people aiming to obtain forever
insatiable profits; it is not their responsibility, they argue, to
ensure dignified life standards for great majorities nor is it to
preserve the environment even when their functioning directly attempts
against people and the planet. Europe cannot, it would be extremely
dangerous, give in and submit to those forces.
Of course it is necessary to adjust the prevailing course and change
the way of functioning. Imbalances are tremendous and unsustainable
but it would be suicidal to restore the order that led to the crisis.
The challenge lies in effectively and consistently transforming the
economic dynamic, reinforce social cohesion and dismantling the
privileges that ‘strike’, divert and sterilize the
possibility of giving way to a new and improved Europe.
Cordial greeting,
The Editors.
