We in the west tend to think that myth is a naive attempt to understand nature. That’s untrue and not sufficiently generous to those who came before us. Myth is not a failed theory of the universe; it’s a brilliantly successful technology for changing it.
What is the world? It is of course the stars, the Earth, the weather, life, and all the things that are out there. But we do not perceive these things directly, nor do they affect us. What affects us comes through our senses, and the way we perceive is as much a product of our embodied senses and our mind as it is a representation of the true disposition of things. Our perceptions are shaped by the ideas we already hold.
As soon as our ancestral apes became intelligent enough to affect the world, seeking to make it more hospitable to their vulnerable existence, two paths were open. They could make tools, draw predictions, and try to alter the physical world immediately around them, or they could alter their own minds so that their experience would be less harsh, more hopeful, more meaningful, fanciful and interesting, and even less bound to the actual sensations of cold and hunger that the body sometimes offered. The ability to alter the human experience of the world through the communication of ideas is myth.
The core problem is that the Greek economy is unproductive in structure and ethos.
Greece will probably have to default against the debt market, if not now then later.
It would be better if the EU dealt with the issue instead, by taking over and restructuring some debt.
The EU should probably create a framework to deal with national solvency in a consolidated way.
Fortunately the Greek economy has poor coupling, and could be protected temporarily by price controls.
In the long run the solution is to make Greece more productive by fixing exactly that – creating high coupling of innovative firms with the international economy. The best way to do that is probably to create international economic zones, which work in English by Western rules.
I wrote this an for a while there was no example of the attitude that I advocate to security. Then the Norwegian massacre occurred and the Norwegian people responded by standing for more freedom, more openness, more democracy. That’s what I mean when I say that a society must strive for the minimum of security that it needs, not the maximum it can have.
Suppose that you’re a young member of a family – a fairly traditional family – and one day dad says: “You know, the world has become a really dangerous place. In order to keep you safe we have to install bullet-proof windows and 24-hour security”.
What do you make of that? Well, there are four explanations.
Dad is a hero. He’s a judge in a high-profile corruption case. You need the protection for noble reasons, and you need courage.
You live in a really rough neighbourhood and need the protection just because the family is well off, which is sad and cause for thought.
Dad has his priorities misplaced. Maybe he’s too afraid of other people, or maybe he needs to care for the family more in other ways.
Dad is a gangster. He knows just why there may be bricks or bullets coming through the window and, in order to continue being a gangster, he needs to arrange security.
If dad is your government, especially the government of the United States, I think the last explanation is most likely.
You’re in a gangster family. It may look cosy and civilized at home, and dad may be treating you and mom very well, but on another part of the neighborhood dad’s goons are breaking the arms of anyone who tries to develop in a socialist way (Vietnam), sell its oil to the wrong people (Iraq), or simply stand up and defy the racket (Serbia).
That may cause bricks, or even bullets, co come flying through the window. That’s why you need Homeland Security. The honorable TSA who protects you in good faith, and the high-tech scanner, are there so that dad can continue being a gangster while having a normal family life. Domestic security is a moral hazard.
Fascists are like rats. Once you see them rally in the public square you're left knowing that they are hiding in the surrounding buildings, and there's little you can do about it.
2010-04-30
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