*****************

*****************

*****************

GREECE ISDEMOCRACY

Under the EU’s solidarity provisions, from 2010 onwards, Greece received EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans totaling €240 billion

FEDERATIONS economic crisis in e.u. 1

FEDERATIONS tsipras 2

UNIONE EUROPEA - ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΗ ΕΝΩΣΗ - EUROPEAN UNION

**********

Power inbalance in the EU ( European Union ), is leading to anti-German sentiment, failing cohesion, and the danger of EU breakdown.

There are lessons to be learned by the European Union (EU) from the ancient greek federations.

What is the exact meaning of solidarity and its relation to the federation’s responsibility towards its members?

The term “Union” seems to indicate an ideal, the goal of the EU to become a true federation, which it has not yet achieved.

The ancient greek federations, like the modern ones, were based on solidarity, trust and a perception of common interest.

Since 2000, particularly within the European Monetary Union (EMU), the EU appears in praxis to have been governed by its stronger members, especially Germany, which impose their will and the mix of policy measures they deem appropriate without taking into account sufficiently (some would say not at all) the interests of the smaller and economically weaker member-states.

This power imbalance has led to a similar reaction by the citizens of the EU’s less robust member-states (Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal), who perceive that policy measures are being imposed on them which they have never approved and which operate against their own interests. Increasingly, these member-states see a lack of solidarity and a democratic deficit. This imposition of power by a stronger over weaker member-states is leading in the long run to anti-German sentiment, failing cohesion and the danger of EU breakdown. Recent developments such as the immigration problem, with the reaction of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), the erection of frontier walls or fences within the EU, and Brexit are indications of these trends.

How can such trends be reversed?

In the modern EU, the major positions of authority, including the President, the “foreign minister” and the President of the EU Commission, are appointed after negotiations between member governments and are not open to all EU citizens. The only elected body is the European Parliament, which has the least consequence of any of the EU’s federal institutions. Is it any wonder, then, that European citizens feel mistrustful of their federal government?

It is a clear case of EU authorities “deciding for us without us.”

We believe that EU leaders can learn from ancient greek federations, just as the American founding fathers did. ( including John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, were aware of this through their readings of Polybius, Plutarch and Livy, as attested by the Federalist Papers ).

We propose that the EU’s main positions (including President of the EU as well as President and Members of the EU Commission) should be open to all citizens and filled through European elections. As a second step toward greater democratization, we propose the introduction of popular initiatives leading to obligatory referenda with binding outcomes at the European level, based on the model of certain modern federations and countries, including Switzerland, Uruguay, New Zealand, some US states (including California), German federal states and many European cities (e.g., Vienna).

Combined, these two steps would give European citizens a greater feeling of participation in a common European future. We reject the argument that these citizens are still too immature to be burdened with such decision-making. This is a dangerous and deeply anti-democratic argument, because it implies that EU citizens, unable to make correct choices, cannot be trusted with the election of candidates. If so, why democracy at all? On the contrary, we believe that increased participation educates citizens politically – as it did in ancient democracies and federations and as it does so again today in some political systems – and makes them feel as though they have a stake in their common European political future.

**********

**********

**********

AND HERE ... STARTS THE COMPLETE ARTICLE !!

Zeus chasing a fleeing maiden. Detail of a red-figure lekythos decorated by a Boeotian vase painter (424 BC, Archaeological Museum of Thebes).

Boeotians, Achaeans and Europeans

Just like direct democracy, the idea of federations emerged in ancient Greece. What can we learn from looking at how these alliances worked?

Nicholas Kyriazis | September 13th, 2016

It is well known and generally accepted that direct democracy emerged in ancient Greece at the end of the 6th c. BC. Ancient historical sources mention at least 18 democratic city-states by the beginning of the 5th c. BC. What is less known is that the idea of federations also emerged in ancient Greece (they were already present during the 5th c. BC); most notably the Boeotian Federation but also others, including the Chalkidean (in Macedonia), Aetolian (in Central Greece) and Achaean (in the Peloponnese). Many of the American “founding fathers,” including John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, were aware of this through their readings of Polybius, Plutarch and Livy, as attested by the Federalist Papers.

The Boeotian Federation, comprised of 11 regions containing about 31 city-states, featured a number of federal institutions. At the city-state level, there were local “parliaments” which consisted of three or four “committees” charged with various administrative tasks. This organizational model was later revived in the late medieval era by the Old Swiss Confederacy at the end of the 13th c. and continued by the United Provinces (Dutch Republic) from the end of the 16th c. to the end of the 18th c. The Dutch federation consisted of seven Provinces, including about 52 semi-independent cities.

Each Boeotian region was represented at the federal level by a “boeotarch” who was that region’s political and military leader. The 11 boeotarchs were elected for a period of one year by the citizens’ assemblies of the city-states in each region. Any abuse of this one-year term of office by a boeotarch was punishable by death. The meeting place of the boeotarchs was Thebes, the federal capital, and its citadel, the Kadmeia. The Federation was, on the whole, successful, because it functioned as acounter-force to the power of both neighboring Athens during the 5th c. BC (as a major ally of Sparta and the Peloponnesian League) and to that of Sparta (as an ally of Athens) during the 4th c. BC. But it had a serious internal flaw: among its constituent city-states, Thebes was too powerful. This strong disparity of power stemmed mainly from Thebes’ large population, and thus from its military and economic-political strength. Consequently, the Boeotian Federation became de facto a Theban sovereignty – a development similar to the Delian League becoming an Athenian empire.

“What is the exact meaning of solidarity and its relation to the federation’s responsibility towards its members?”

Silver didrachm of the Boeotian Koinon, with the head of Dionysus on the reverse (ca. 510 BC, Numismatic Museum, Athens).

© NUMISMATIC MUSEUM OF ATHENS/MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES FUND/EPHORATE OF BOEOTIA

“The ancient federations, like the modern ones, were based on solidarity, trust and a perception of common interest.”

Thebes demonstrated that it would not tolerate other city-states not following its lead, and would not accept the defection of any city-states that might wish to leave the federation, something seen also in the American Civil War. Secession without conflict was not an option for Boetian city-states, just as it was not for the 19th c. American Confederate States. Thebes destroyed Plataea, for example, which did not want to participate in the federation because it was always a staunch ally of Athens – fighting with the Athenians at Marathon in 490 BC, and later at Thespiai and Orchomenos, the latter being the only Boeotian city strong enough to challenge Theban hegemony.

In the long run, this policy proved catastrophic. When Thebes revolted against Macedonian occupation in 335 BC, it did so without support, because none of its supposed Boeotian allies wished to fall again under Theban hegemony, preferring instead the more distant Macedonia. Some Boeotian city-states even activelyparticipated in the war against Thebes and in its besiegement by the Macedonians. The result was the destruction of the Theban city-state by Alexander the Great. Other Greek federations – the Aetolian and Achaean, but also a revived Boetian federation during the 3rd c. BC – learned their lesson and strove to be fully democratic, preserving the equality of all their members.

Are there lessons to be learned by the European Union (EU) from the ancient federations? What is the exact meaning of solidarity and its relation to the federation’s responsibility towards its members? The term “Union” seems to indicate an ideal, the goal of the EU to become a true federation, which it has not yet achieved.

The ancient federations, like the modern ones, were based on solidarity, trust and a perception of common interest. Since 2000, particularly within the European Monetary Union (EMU), the EU appears in praxis to have been governed by its stronger members, especially Germany, which impose their will and the mix of policy measures they deem appropriate without taking into account sufficiently (some would say not at all) the interests of the smaller and economically weakermember-states, just as Thebes did to its own detriment more than two millennia ago.

This power imbalance has led to a similar reaction by the citizens of the EU’s less robust member-states (Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal), who perceive that policy measures are being imposed on them which they have never approved and which operate against their own interests. Increasingly, these member-states see alack of solidarity and a democratic deficit. As in the ancient example, this imposition of power by a stronger over weaker member-states is leading in the long run to anti-German sentiment, failing cohesion and the danger of EU breakdown. Recent developments such as the immigration problem, with the reaction of theVisegrad Group (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), the erection of frontier walls or fences within the EU, and Brexit are indications of these trends.

Silver coin (triovolo) of the Aetolian Alliance, with the head of Aetolia or Atalante on the obverse (ca. 220-189 BC, Numismatic Museum, Athens).

© NUMISMATIC MUSEUM OF ATHENS/MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES FUND/EPHORATE OF BOEOTIA

“Today’s federations offer comparable examples of federal-level mistakes affecting member-states.”

How can such trends be reversed? Let us illustrate through an age-old case how solidarity was understood by the ancient federations, and what lessons we may draw today from this understanding.

Polybius records that the federal Achaean administration offered tax immunity for three years to its member-state of Messene, so as to help the city’s economy recover after the serious damage inflicted on its infrastructure by the so-called Social War of 220–217 BC, when the Achaean Federation was engaged in warfare with the neighboring Aetolian Federation.

For some reason that the ancient sources do not sufficiently explain, the federal army was not ready in time to defend Messene, as was the federation’s obligation and responsibility. Consequently, Messene had to hire the services of mercenariesto increase its own military force, and to pay them through its own financial means. The federation’s government, elected by the assembly of its citizens, the supreme decision–making body, accepted that they had failed to fulfill their obligations and responsibilities under the solidarity provision towards Messene. Thus, they decided that the federation owed compensation to Messene; this took the form of federal tax immunity for three years. Polybius (Hist. 24.2.3; 23.15.1–3) describes the characteristic doctrine that the Achaean federal administration adopted: “…that the destruction of the territory of Messene [would] harm the Achaeans [as a whole] no less than the Messenians”.

Under the EU’s solidarity provisions, from 2010 onwards, Greece received EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans totaling €240 billion

© Cartoon by Andrzej Krauze/Guardian News & Media

Today’s federations offer comparable examples of federal-level mistakes affecting member-states. Under the EU’s solidarity provisions, from 2010 onwards, Greece received EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans totaling €240 billion in order to avoid bankruptcy and to repay its debts. The loans were linked to certain policy measures specified in EU memoranda. The problem, however, was that the policy measures were wrongly specified and wrongly applied, due to a mistaken estimation of the negative multiplier, i.e., the effect on GDP from cuts in public spending. The actual multiplier was almost double the one calculated by the IMF, leading to a much deeper recession than originally estimated. This mistake was recognized both by the IMF’s chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, and IMF director Christine Lagarde, who publicly apologized. The question raised here (for the first time, as far as we know), inspired by the ancient, analogous case of Messene, is whether the EU, being responsible for damage done to one of its member-states due to its own (and not the member’s) mistake, is liable to provide compensation.

The order of magnitude of that damage can be estimated: the difference between the multipliers being double, the recession of the Greek economy in 2010-2011 was actually -10% of GDP, as opposed to the wrongly estimated -5% of GDP. Taking into account that Greece’s GDP in 2009 was €230 billion, the difference of 5% amounts to a magnitude of damage, due to the application of the wrong policy measures package, of about 11 to 12 billion euros. Has Greece the right to claim compensation for this damage, which was done to its economy through an EU/IMF mistake? We suggest this is an important point that should be taken into account during negotiations for the alleviation of Greece’s debt.

Another issue that diminishes the perception by EU citizens that their common interests are being served is the EU’s substantial democratic deficit. The EU represents the least democratic political body among both ancient and contemporary federations, as measured by the participation level of its citizens in decision-making.

“Unlike the ancient Greek federations, in the modern EU, the major positions of authority are appointed after negotiations between member governments and are not open to all EU citizens.”

Unlike the ancient Greek federations mentioned above – where all institutional positions (including the “general” who was the political and military leader, the finance ministers and the officials (vouletai) responsible for preparing the agendas for the discussions in the national assemblies) were filled through direct democratic procedures – in the modern EU, the major positions of authority, including the President, the “foreign minister” and the President of the EU Commission, are appointed after negotiations between member governments and are not open to all EU citizens. The only elected body is the European Parliament, which has the least consequence of any of the EU’s federal institutions. Is it any wonder, then, that European citizens feel mistrustful of their federal government? It is a clear case of EU authorities “deciding for us without us.”

We believe that EU leaders can learn from ancient federations, just as the American founding fathers did. We propose that the EU’s main positions (including President of the EU as well as President and Members of the EU Commission) should be open to all citizens and filled through European elections. As a second step towardgreater democratization, we propose the introduction of popular initiatives leading to obligatory referenda with binding outcomes at the European level, based on the model of certain modern federations and countries, including Switzerland, Uruguay, New Zealand, some US states (including California), German federal states and many European cities (e.g., Vienna).

Combined, these two steps would give European citizens a greater feeling of participation in a common European future. We reject the argument that these citizens are still too immature to be burdened with such decision-making. This is a dangerous and deeply anti-democratic argument, because it implies that EU citizens, unable to make correct choices, cannot be trusted with the election of candidates. If so, why democracy at all? On the contrary, we believe that increased participation educates citizens politically – as it did in ancient democracies and federations and as it does so again today in some political systems – and makes them feel as though they have a stake in their common European political future.

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

and/or ...

2016-12-27 EUROPE OF TWO NARRATIVES,

by Greece Finance Minister - Euclid Tsakalotos

===

European institutions are not the home of rational debate that influences outcomes. But if the rules-are-rules narrative is not replaced it will lead to the break up of the Union.

Greece's Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos addresses lawmakers during a parliamentary session in Athens, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016. Paimages/Yorgos Karahalis. All rights reserved.

===Everybody, it seems, is concerned about the rise of the radical right. In Europe this concern is tied to a recognition that the EU and the Eurozone face growing centrifugal forces. But any coherent response is crippled by the fact that there are two, almost diametrically opposed, narratives on this phenomenon.

The social narrative, which is mostly, but of course not exclusively, to be found in Southern Europe and on the Left of the political spectrum, argues that Europe is failing a large number of its citizens. Not only did they face the brunt of the crisis, but they have no confidence that they will participate in any recovery. European institutions are stuck in a pre-crisis time zone when the major problems were perceived to be inflation and fiscal irresponsibility.

The result is not only that we are stuck with the most independent of central banks, fixated on the inflation risk, but also a Growth and Stability Pact which acts as a permanent straightjacket. Within the Eurozone matters are worse still. Having relinquished the devaluation option, monetary union has not come up with adequate substitutes in the form of fiscal transfers or other policy instruments.

Europe faces a problem of low growth, high unemployment, and deteriorating infrastructure and social welfare. It needs to be cooperating but on a development agenda which needs a different economic and financial architecture. Without such an agenda, one which can incorporate the concerns of citizens about wages, pensions and benefits, the social narrative concludes that right-wing populists will continue to gain ground as they appeal to the material needs of the centre-left’s and centre-right’s social base.

The rules-are-rules narrative takes a very different view. It is found mostly in the North, and on the right, but again there are exceptions; notably, in this case, those on the centre-Left (does anybody remember the “Third Way”?) who are still smitten with the Blair, Schröder and Simitis framework.

The argument here is that the EU is based on rules and that changing those rules every so often can only undermine the credibility of the European Union and the Euro. Moreover citizens of the North are tired of “bailing-out” those in the South that either cannot or are unwilling to abide by the rules. There are limits to solidarity and any further weakening of the rules provides grist to the mill of the populists.

Thus, the argument goes, to address, for instance, financial instability we should reduce risks before engaging in sharing any remaining risks. The way to address the social problem is to carry on with fiscal orthodoxy, carry out structural reforms and improve competitiveness. European-wide investment initiatives can help, there can be some further pooling of resources for expenditures that are for the good of all (refugees for instance), but fiscal transfers are out.

The rules-are-rules agenda will sooner or later lead to the break up of Europe.

In short Europe can be saved as a unified whole (or some parts of it can?), if all member states become more like Germany. If they don’t, then populist, and centrifugal, forces will grow within the North and undermine the European ideal.

It would be naïve to think that the underlying differences could be resolved completely at the level of rational argument. For of course the balance of power between the proponents of the narratives is most unequal. But that surely is the point.

If Europe does not have a public space for such deliberations, and if European institutions have a tendency to eschew rational debate, then what confidence can ordinary citizens have in the outcome? How can fear and uncertainty, the underpinnings of right-wing populism, be addressed? And this is where the narratives are not to be treated as equal.

For the social narrative has a lot of intellectual support, and not just from economists, for its critique of the monetary union that has evolved in Europe, and for the accompanying and devastating effects of austerity, and growing social and regional disparities.

But, more importantly, it addresses the fears of those turning to the radical right, by proposing a shift in agenda and suggesting reform of existing priorities. It understands the role of xenophobia in radical right-wing politics, but considers that such problems cannot be addressed without alleviating the fear and uncertainty that feeds the cultural agenda of the Right.

As Thomas Frank argued, in his book on the politics of Kansas politics, the ability of the radical right to mobilize the social base of the progressive block is predicated on that block not mobilizing its own base on priorities that challenge the neoliberal order.

Rules-are-rules, on the other hand, promises just more of the same. The basis of confidence of why this should lead to different outcomes in the future, than it has done in the past, is far from clear.

The following year will show whether one, or other, of the two narratives will prevail, or whether there than can be a real effort to go beyond a dialogue of the deaf and and converge on a new narrative.

The success of the European project can only be based on two of the three possibilities of the previous sentence. In short, the rules-are-rules agenda will sooner or later lead to the break up of Europe.

About the author

Euclid Tsakalotos is Finance Minister of Greece.

===

===

===

ΔΙΕΘΝΗΣ ΟΙΚΟΝΟΜΙΑ

2018-05-15 Το ΔΝΤ συνιστά στη Γερμανία να αυξήσει τις επενδύσεις της

Στην ετήσια έκθεσή του για την κατάσταση της γερμανικής οικονομίας το ΔΝΤ επαινεί την κυβέρνηση της χώρας για την «εντυπωσιακή οικονομική επίδοση» που έχει επιτύχει τα προηγούμενα χρόνια. Ωστόσο, επισημαίνει τον χαμηλό ρυθμό αύξησης των μισθών.

ΕΤΙΚΕΤΕΣ:ΔΝΤ, Γερμανία

Συστάσεις προς τη γερμανική κυβέρνηση να αυξήσει τις επενδύσεις και τους μισθούς, ώστε να ενισχύσει την εσωτερική ζήτηση και να περιορίσει το τεράστιο πλεόνασμα τρεχουσών συναλλαγών, απηύθυνε χθες το ΔΝΤ, συμπίπτοντας με τον Γάλλο πρόεδρο Εμανουέλ Μακρόν, που είχε μιλήσει την περασμένη εβδομάδα για «φετιχισμό» της Γερμανίας σε σχέση με τα πλεονάσματα. Το ΔΝΤ στην ετήσια έκθεσή του για την κατάσταση της γερμανικής οικονομίας επαινεί την κυβέρνηση της χώρας για την «εντυπωσιακή οικονομική επίδοση» που έχει επιτύχει τα προηγούμενα χρόνια. Οι οικονομολόγοι του Ταμείου τονίζουν ότι νοικοκυριά και επιχειρήσεις διαθέτουν ισχυρή οικονομική βάση, ενώ το δημόσιο χρέος της Γερμανίας περιορίζεται «εντυπωσιακά» ως ποσοστό του ΑΕΠ, ωστόσο το ΔΝΤ επισημαίνει το χαμηλό ύψος του πληθωρισμού και τον χαμηλό αλλά αυξανόμενο ρυθμό αύξησης των μισθών. Το δημοσιονομικό πλεόνασμα της γερμανικής κυβέρνησης αυξήθηκε στο 1,3% του ΑΕΠ το 2017 και είναι το υψηλότερο από την εποχή της επανένωσης της Γερμανίας. Αντιθέτως, οι δημόσιες επενδύσεις αυξήθηκαν μόλις κατά 0,1% του ΑΕΠ και το πλεόνασμα του ισοζυγίου τρεχουσών συναλλαγών παραμένει στο «πολύ υψηλό επίπεδο»του 8% του ΑΕΠ. Τόσο η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή όσο και το ΔΝΤ και οι ΗΠΑ επικρίνουν εδώ και χρόνια τη γερμανική κυβέρνηση για το πολύ υψηλό πλεόνασμα, καλώντας το Βερολίνο να ενισχύσει την εσωτερική ζήτηση, μέσω της μεγαλύτερης αύξησης των μισθών και της αύξησης των επενδύσεων.

Η πάγια απάντηση του Βερολίνου είναι ότι δεν μπορεί να κάτι τίποτα γι’ αυτό και πως το πολύ μεγάλο πλεόνασμα οφείλεται, ουσιαστικά, στην ανταγωνιστικότητα και στην ποιότητα των γερμανικών εξαγωγών. Σύμφωνα με τον προϋπολογισμό που είχε παρουσιάσει προ δύο εβδομάδων ο Ολαφ Σολτς, οι επενδύσεις ως ποσοστό του ΑΕΠ θα ενισχυθούν ελαφρώς το 2018-2019 και θα αρχίσουν να μειώνονται από το 2020. Το ΔΝΤ δεν έχει πεισθεί από τα γερμανικά επιχειρήματα και στις συστάσεις που απευθύνει προς το Βερολίνο λέει ότι η κυβέρνηση θα πρέπει να χρησιμοποιήσει «το ευρύ περιθώριο (που έχει) εντός των δημοσιονομικών κανόνων», ώστε να ενισχύσει περαιτέρω τις δημόσιες επενδύσεις σε έργα υποδομής και στην παιδεία. Για του λόγου το αληθές, η Γερμανία είχε το 2017 επενδύσεις (δημόσιες και ιδιωτικές) ύψους περίπου 20% του ΑΕΠ, δηλαδή ελάχιστα χαμηλότερες από τον μέσο όρο της Ευρωζώνης και ελάχιστα υψηλότερες από τον μέσο όρο της Ε.Ε. των «28», σύμφωνα με τα στοιχεία που δημοσίευσε χθες η Ευρωπαϊκή Στατιστική Υπηρεσία. Την περίοδο 2007-2017, η Γερμανία ενίσχυσε το ύψος του συνόλου των επενδύσεων μόλις κατά 0,2% του ΑΕΠ, ενώ γενικότερα στην Ευρωζώνη το ύψος του μειώθηκε από το 23,2% του ΑΕΠ το 2007 στο 20,5% του ΑΕΠ το 2017. Ο λόγος που η Γερμανία αρνείται να αυξήσει τις επενδύσεις για χάρη των πολιτών της παραμένει μυστήριο. Υπάρχει το ζήτημα με το λεγόμενο «φρένο χρέους» που εισήγαγε στο γερμανικό σύνταγμα η Αγκελα Μέρκελ στο απόγειο της κρίσης δημοσίου χρέους της Ευρωζώνης, ωστόσο κανείς δεν ανάγκασε τους Γερμανούς πολιτικούς να το υιοθετήσουν. Η εκτίμηση του Γάλλου προέδρου περί «φετιχισμού» της Γερμανίας με το δημοσιονομικό και εμπορικό πλεόνασμα θεωρείται γενικότερα σωστή.

Το ΔΝΤ συνιστά επίσης στην κυβέρνηση Μέρκελ να προχωρήσει σε γενναίες μεταρρυθμίσεις, τομέα στον οποίον η Γερμανίδα καγκελάριος δεν έχει να επιδείξει κάτι αξιοσημείωτο. Οι βραχυπρόθεσμες θετικές οικονομικές προοπτικές της Γερμανίας αποτελούν ευκαιρία ώστε η χώρα να ενισχύσει τις επενδύσεις της, με τελικό στόχο την αύξηση της παραγωγικότητας, του εργατικού δυναμικού και της μακροπρόθεσμης δυνητικής ανάπτυξης, τονίζει το ΔΝΤ. Στον τομέα των συντάξεων, το Ταμείο συνιστά στο Βερολίνο να αυξήσει το όριο ηλικίας συνταξιοδότησης, ενώ στο θέμα της φορολογίας προτείνει μείωση του συνδυασμένου ύψους φόρων και εισφορών για εργαζομένους και εργοδότες. Καλεί, τέλος, το Βερολίνο να ενισχύσει τον ανταγωνισμό στον κλάδο των υπηρεσιών, ώστε να αυξηθούν η παραγωγικότητα και οι ιδιωτικές επενδύσεις.

==

for more information please visit the following web page

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

http://www.kathimerini.gr/964296/article/oikonomia/die8nhs-oikonomia/to-dnt-synista-sth-germania-na-ay3hsei-tis-ependyseis-ths

==========

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

and/or ...

Youtube Video and Transcript for "Government Explained"

==========

Government Explained and Law without Government - 5 videos

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrk7CP_4yI0&list=PLH99V1T9pDs41DtrDdYocBeVE3H5Fkn6y

===

and / or ...

Government Explained

Man Against The State

Published on Mar 7, 2012

An inquisitive alien visits the planet to check on our progress as a species, and gets into a conversation with the first person he meets. The alien discovers that we live under the rule of a thing called "government", and wants to understand more about what "government" is, what it does, and why it exists.

duration 09:27 minutes

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUS1m5MSt9k&feature=youtu.be

==========

Government Explained 2: The Special Piece of Paper

Man Against The State

Published on Oct 14, 2012

Continuing from where the first video ended, the human now tries to explain to the alien the concept of "countries", the difference between a democracy and a republic, and the purpose of a Constitution.

duration 09:28 minutes

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhSqzANQvbk

==========

==========

==========

Transcript for Government Explained

==========

==========

==========

Transcript for Government Explained 2: The Special Piece of Paper

Sunday, 14 October 2012

Alien: So tell me more about your ‘leaders’. Who is the current leader of your species and where are they leading you?

Human: We don’t have just one leader for the whole world. The world is divided into countries, and each country has a leader of its own, and a government of its own.

Alien: You don’t have one government that rules the whole planet?

Human: No, this planet is really big and there are billions of people on it. The world is divided up, because people in different places want different kinds of leaders and governments.

Alien: How many countries are there?

Human: A couple of hundred, I think.

Alien: So there are millions of people per country?

Human: Yes, or hundreds of millions, in some of them.

Alien: And all the people in a country live under one single government?

Human: There can be layers of government, but there’s only one government in each country. That is how it works.

Alien: But you can have multiple governments on the same planet?

Human: Yes and its better that way. If you had single government for the whole planet and it turned tyrannical, there’d be nowhere to escape to and no one to oppose it. And I wouldn’t want to be ruled by a bunch of people living thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet. It’s better having government more local, because then it’s more accountable.

Alien: How far is it from here to where the rulers of this country live?

Human: The capital of this country is hundreds of miles from here.

Alien: So you don’t want to be ruled by a bunch of people living thousands of miles away, but you don’t mind being ruled by a bunch of people living hundreds of miles away?

Human: That’s just how it is, I guess.

Alien: Why don’t you and your neighbours set up your own country here, so you can keep a close eye on what the individuals acting as your government are doing?

Human: I don’t think our government would allow us to do that.

Alien: So you have these countries, some big and some small, and the individuals living in each country separately choose which people are going to be their politicians and as act as government of that country?

Human: Yes, although not everyone is lucky enough to live in a country where we get to choose our leaders. A lot of countries have kings or dictators or warlords running their government. People in un-democratic countries don’t get to choose their leaders.

Alien: So you consider yourself lucky because you live under a democratic government, where you, along with millions of other people, get to vote, and whoever gets the highest number of votes becomes leader of the government, the gang that tells you what to do and robs you.

Human: Yes. But there’s more to it than that. Democracy isn’t the only thing that’s great about the government of this country. In fact, democracy itself is not an ideal system at all – everyone knows that. With a pure democracy, the majority rules, because the politicians do whatever the majority of people want them to do, and this can be a problem for minorities. We know this. The real reason why we’re lucky in this country is that our government is not a pure democracy, but a republic. With a republic, minority rights are protected against the tyranny of the majority.

Alien: How?

Human: Our rights are listed in our Constitution, the document that established our government. It lays out how government is supposed to work. It says what government is allowed to do, and what it isn’t allowed to do.

Alien: What does it say government is allowed to do?

Human: Government is allowed to collect taxes for things like national defense...

Alien: Hold on - the Constitution says that government is allowed to collect taxes? So it says that the individuals who are acting as government are allowed to rob everyone else using threats of violence?

Human: Yes, but only to do good things.

Alien: Where did the Constitution come from?

Human: It was written by the Founders of this country, the people who first set up the government.

Alien: The first politicians of the country?

Human: Yes.

Alien: So a bunch of regular people just got together and wrote on a piece of paper that they’re allowed to rob everyone else, as long as they call themselves “government” and call their robbery “taxation”. Then because they have this special piece of paper, everyone just sits back and lets these guys rob them?

Human: You’re missing the point. The Founders wrote the Constitution to restrain government. They made sure there was a separation of powers, so there were checks and balances in the system. They did this to strictly limit the power, size and scope of government. They made a list of things the government can do and must do, and everything else the government can’t do. They even wrote about specific things that the government can’t do, like violating the inalienable rights of the people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Alien: OK. But I don’t see why the piece of paper is so important. I mean, hypothetically, what if the majority of the people want government to do something that the Constitution says government shouldn’t do? Couldn’t the people vote in politicians who promise to do it for them, regardless of what the Constitution says? How does having your rights listed on an old document help protect your rights today?

Human: Well if the politicians who get voted in want to pass unconstitutional legislation, then the third branch of government, the judicial, will step in and not let the legislation pass. The Founders recognised the problem of democracy, so they gave us a Supreme Court, and their role is check whether legislation is constitutional or not.

Alien: But the Supreme Court is itself part of the government?

Human: Yes. Politicians get voted into positions in the Executive and Legislative branches, but the Judicial branch is made up of judges. So if a majority supports the government violating the rights of a minority, the judges of the Supreme Court simply won’t let it happen.

Alien: Are these Supreme Court judges just regular humans?

Human: Yes.

Alien: So how does a regular human become a Supreme Court judge?

Human: They are appointed.

Alien: By who?

Human: The politicians.

Alien: But then what is to stop the democratically-elected politicians just appointing judges who will allow their popular but unconstitutional legislation to pass?

Human: Well, they just aren’t allowed to do that.

Alien: By who?

Human: By the constitution.

Alien: The piece of paper?

Human: Yes. I admit it’s not a perfect system. I suppose what you’re saying could happen.

Alien: Does the government of this country, which you consider yourself lucky to live under, ever do things its own Constitution explicitly forbids?

Human: Yeah, a lot of things actually. The government is a lot bigger now than it was when the Constitution was written. The politicians pay lip service to the Constitution, but they trample over our rights anyway.

Alien: What about the Supreme Court?!

Human: I guess that system hasn’t worked very well lately. Government does pass unconstitutional laws all the time. The separation of powers worked for a while though, it’s not a bad system!

Alien: Powers were separate? I thought you said that the powers were all in branches of the same government?

Human: Well yes. The branches of government are totally independent and separate from each other, except that they are all part of the same organisation and all funded by taxation. Alien: So when you said the system had checks and balances in it, you meant that the government would check itself, and balance itself?

Human: That was the idea.

Alien: So, let me get this straight, a long time ago a small bunch of regular humans had a meeting and created a document called a Constitution that said that they can rob everyone else – millions of people – using threats of violence to make everyone obey their rules and commands. But so that the masses of the people would let them get away with this robbery and slavery, that small bunch also promised in the same document that there were some things the government would never do, and they described a way to structure government so as to restrain it. But, over time, the promises have proven to be worthless, the restraints have proven to be useless, and government has grown significantly in size, power and scope, violating more and more of the rights of the people. It sounds to me that if the Constitution was written to constrain government, then it has been a complete failure.

Human: Well, the real problem is that people just don’t believe in the Constitution any more. The Constitution only works when people know what it says and why it’s important. If people just knew that, then they wouldn’t vote for politicians who violate it. An informed populace: that’s the only way to really restrain government.

Alien: Wait, you said you feel lucky because this country is a republic not a democracy, and a republic has these supposed “checks and balances” that prevent government from violating people’s rights, even when a majority wants to violate the rights of others. But now you’re telling me a republic can only work if people refrain from electing politicians who will violate the rights of others in the first place. That’s the same as a democracy. We’re back to where we started.

Human: I see your point.

Alien: Is there anywhere on the planet where government is, despite the imaginative labels, anything other than a gang of thieves and bullies?

Human: But there’d be chaos without government!

Alien: I’m sure that’s what they tell you…

==========

==========

==========

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

and

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

YOUTUBE VIDEO FOR THE 48 LAWS OF POWER BY ROBERT GREENE ANIMATED BOOK REVIEW AND FREE BOOK DOWNLOAD

and

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

Why We Should Psych Test Political Candidates - Psychopath Test ALL Policymakers

and

FOR MORE INFORMATION TO LEARN "Former Presidents Warn About the “Invisible Government” Running the United States"... PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB PAGE

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

https://sites.google.com/site/philosophygreekancient/former-presidents-warn-about-the-invisible-government-running-the-united-states

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

WEB RING

----------

and for more information, please switch to the same webpage in English -

( please using the right click of your mouse, and Open Link in Next Private Window, )

Philosophy Greek Ancient

----------

y para más información, cambie por favor a la misma página web enespañol -

(por favor usando el clic derecho de su ratón, y elvínculo abierto en la ventana privada siguiente,)

filosofía del griego clásico

----------

et pour plus d'information, commutez svp à la même page Web en français -

(svp utilisant le droit - clic de votre souris, et le lien ouvert dans la prochaine fenêtreprivée,)

Philosophie du grec ancien

----------

und zu mehr Information, schalten Sie bitte zur gleichen Webseite auf Deutsch -

(bitte unter Verwendung des Rechtsklicks Ihrer Maus und öffnen Sie Link im Folgenden privatenFenster,)

Philosophie altgriechische

----------

e per più informazioni, commuti prego alla stessa pagina Web in italiano -

(per favore facendo uso del cliccare con il pulsante destro del mouse del vostro mouse e delcollegamento aperto in finestra privata seguente,)

filosofia del greco antico

----------

e para mais informação, comute por favor ao mesmo Web page noportuguês -

(por favor usando o direito - clique de seu rato, e a relação aberta na janela privada seguinte,)

filosofia do grego clássico

----------

και για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, παρακαλώ μεταπηδήστε στην ίδιαιστοσελίδα στα ελληνικά -

( παρακαλώ χρησιμοποιώντας το δεξιό κλικ του mouse, ανοίξτε τον επόμενο σύνδεσμο

( ιστοσελίδα ) σε ξεχωριστό παράθυρο προς τα δεξιά, )

Φιλοσοφία Ελληνική Αρχαία στην Ελληνική Γλώσσα

----------

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

we WELCOME YOUR ADS, CLASSIFIEDS, ADVERTISING, CLASSIFIED ADS ...

OUR SITE IS YOUR PLACE ...

MAXIMIZE YOUR EXPOSURE BY USING THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SERVICES BELOW !

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT LOCATION FOR INTERNET ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION ?

Advertise your product or service using our WEB PAGE !

* All Traffic in our site consists of totally unique visitors for FULL CAMPAIGN PERIOD !

* You can DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS

* We offer wide selection of categories to select from ... including Business, Marketing, Shopping, Health, and much more !

* YOU CAN USE OUR SITE TO MARKET ALL OF YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES !

* OUR SITE IS THE MOST COST-EFFICIENT WAY TO REACH THE MASSES THAT HAS EVER EXISTED !

* TARGETED TRAFFIC TO YOUR SITE GUARANTEED !

PLEASE CONTACT OUR ADS ASSISTANT. email IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE :

braintumor2014@gmail.com

and please send a text message to my mobile phone 0030 6942686838

( 0030 is the international area code of Greece )

in order I connect into the INTERNET and to my www.gmail.com email account and to reply to your email, withing the next 24 hours.

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

*****************************************************

( English ) the StatCounter was installed on 2016-09-18, 18:00 p.m. GMT

( Greek ) ( Ελληνικά ) Ο μετρητής εγκαταστάθηκε την 18-09-2016 20:00 μ.μ. ώρα Ελλάδας

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

***************************************************************