By Marshall Auerback This post first appeared on Truthdig The euro is “celebrating” its 20th anniversary this month, but they aren’t popping corks across the continent. Except, perhaps, with the notable exception of delusional Eurocrats such as Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission,
Well, I'm an economist, not a psychiatrist, so I don't care to speculate on the "moral sentiment". But in the past I have commented on this: it is sometime the case that in countries with relatively weak political institutions historically euro membership is seen as entrenching democracy and good governance. This is a sentiment that I see particularly in countries like Greece, Spain, and Italy. But at what point does the "political insurance" provided by the euro prove too costly in social terms? And isn't there a certain (dare I say it), immorality attached to policies to safeguard a currency at such great social cost, particularly to the young?
...and what about the ‘moral sentiment’ of the people? How can an interpretation/explanation be put forward without an explanation of the how+why they -the people- continue to bare the weight?
Well, I'm an economist, not a psychiatrist, so I don't care to speculate on the "moral sentiment". But in the past I have commented on this: it is sometime the case that in countries with relatively weak political institutions historically euro membership is seen as entrenching democracy and good governance. This is a sentiment that I see particularly in countries like Greece, Spain, and Italy. But at what point does the "political insurance" provided by the euro prove too costly in social terms? And isn't there a certain (dare I say it), immorality attached to policies to safeguard a currency at such great social cost, particularly to the young?
...and what about the ‘moral sentiment’ of the people? How can an interpretation/explanation be put forward without an explanation of the how+why they -the people- continue to bare the weight?