Middle Earth is of course all of us (or at least
99 percent of us), and the part most in danger of being overrun by Sauron these
days is Europe. In the quest for the One
Currency that will rule all others, the lives of millions are being ruined
(Greece), countries are threatened with breaking apart (Spain now, possibly
Italy later), governments destabilized (The Netherlands), and all Europe is
covered with the growing smog of uncertainty. But it goes well beyond the Euro issue. Bonn and Goldman Sachs and economics departments
everywhere long ago accepted “economic determinism”, Marx’s view that economics
itself is the one ring that controls all others; but in their vision, that economics
is limited essentially to the relations between goods and services that we call
a market. Financiers and economists seek
to enact their vision as a laissez-faire free market capitalism that controls all
things, yet is responsible only for their own prosperity. In
defense of “economic principles”, austerity regimens are imposed that blight
the continent. People die so that they
may have bonuses.
Marx never shared the financiers’ vision, for he
claimed to be a student of Aristotle, and Aristotle knew better. It was Aristotle who coined the term that we
know as “economics” (he also coined the term “middle class” and to him it was a
designation of honor); Aristotle’s economics was the art of managing a
household. In it, he included both the
relations between people and the relations between goods (that we call
markets.) Of the two, people and goods,
people deserved the higher consideration, and their relations involved far more
than finances. One doesn’t discard a
sick child because the price of medicine cuts into profits.
Capitalism proved long ago that, used wisely, it
can contribute mightily to prosperity.
But so also can health, good education, a sense of community, respect
for the needs of fellow citizens, and all those other things that together
create our mutual “household.” Capitalism
is a useful tool that can have many variations and contribute strongly to the
health of society, or to its detriment. It
is the vision of free-market capitalism as The One Ring which must be possessed
that generates the blight on all our relationships. In Lord
of the Rings, Nazguls are wraiths on horseback, bound to Sauron’s
service, who once were men, overwhelmed by their own greedy quest for the one
ring that controls all others. Some of
our financial leaders need to look in the mirror.Europe’s leadership needs to recognize that healing the EU involves far more than only the health of markets. Some already do, but far too few. The Germans, in particular, still remain caught up in the view that only market issues matter. Considering the damage that view has already wrought, they have a more rather than lesser obligation to other European nations to contribute to the healing. If you break it, you own it. Yes, the markets need to be worked on, but so do many other things. Germany should be in Spain and Greece today, providing relief services and finding ways to alleviate the suffering before winter sets in. They need also to work together with other European nations to find a modus vivendi which does not require all countries to follow the rules of German markets. That may require abandonment or modification of the role of the Euro as counterproductive to real European union. The motto of the EU is United in Diversity; that needs to be practiced. Otherwise, this period will be remembered mainly as the third misguided attempt in the last century by Germany to control the destiny of Europe at other nations’ expense.
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