It used to bug my British parents that Germany's factories got rebuilt
out of the Marshall Plan deal while Britain's, that were also heavily
bombed, didn't. Think of the impact that must have had on the economic
competitiveness of the two countries for a long time. However, as a
means to avoid any repeat of the WWI reparations disaster (ie the rise
of the Third Reich) it probably was a good idea at the time. I'm with
Paul Krugman
<http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/opinion/paul-krugman-ending-greeces-bleeding.html?ref=opinion&_r=0>.
I wonder if Tsipiras would ever play a Putin card. Greece is a member of
NATO which presumably would remain unchanged with a Grexit but who knows
what economic commitments might ensue. However, it was suggested
(perhaps by Krugman) that Russia's economy may itself not be in a very
fit state to supply any meaningful benefit to Greece. But I don't think
the EU/US should get complacent over any of this.
Robert C
On 7/7/15 10:13 AM, Pamela McCorduck wrote:
Post World War II Germany was horrible for a couple of years with
exactly the kinds of problems you mention, Nick: penicillin could only
be had on the black market (i.e., from unscrupulous GIs); food was
scarce; labor was mostly women moving bricks from bombed buildings by
hand (die Trummelfrauen). Then came the Marshall Plan. But Thomas
Piketty has complained (to one of the major German newspapers
yesterday) that Germany was forgiven its debts in 1950, when it was
clear the country could never pay it off—only then came the
Wirtschaftswunder, the Economic Miracle.
Plenty of blame to go around here. And if Greece is unmoored from
Europe, you can see Putin moving in—naval bases, missiles, even. He’s
a nasty character to get into bed with, but when no one else offers
you a blanket...
On Jul 6, 2015, at 10:45 PM, Nick Thompson <nickthomp...@earthlink.net
<mailto:nickthomp...@earthlink.net>> wrote:
Marcus,
Perhaps! Everything I hear suggests that even tho withdrawals are
limited to 60 bucks a day, the Greek banks will go down this week.
Am I missing something? I assume that a lot of people are going to
starve, die of heat stroke in buildings that weren’t designed for no
air-conditioning, in hospitals that don’t have antibiotics, etc.
etc. I assume there will be a blossoming of far right and far left
parties. Rioting, and bloodshed? Why WOULDN’T there be? What do you
know that I don’t know?
Think of what might have happened in post WWII Germany without the
Marshall Plan.
N
Nicholas S. Thompson
Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Biology
Clark University
http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/
<http://home.earthlink.net/%7Enickthompson/naturaldesigns/>
*From:*Friam [mailto:friam-boun...@redfish.com]*On Behalf Of*Marcus
Daniels
*Sent:*Monday, July 06, 2015 11:16 PM
*To:*The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group
*Subject:*Re: [FRIAM] Greek Crisis & Philosophy
“Anybody who lived through wwII knows that a heap of trouble can
follow when a whole people is thrown to the dogs, as was the German
population after WWI. Or for that matter, the American South after
the Civil War. I am hoping for a positive response from the EU at
this point.”
Could Greece better grow its economy with autonomy? Is it the same
thing as being thrown to the dogs?
Marcus
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