More about Europe

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Those who found so much money to “rescue” the financial institutions that were to a large extent responsible for this current grave crisis, are now unable to find a few million to help Greece comply with the conditions likewise to a large extent imposed by the financial institutions, nor to clean up the environment, frenetically seeking funds that are less than the amount invested in weapons and military spending in 56 hours.


And they don’t dare close down the tax havens that give refuge to mafias, money laundering and trafficking in drugs and people... There are no clear movements toward multilateralism, while power continues to be centered in the plutocratic groups (G8 / G20) that have caused so much damage to our social, economic and environmental fabric on a worldwide scale.


They are once again buying and selling expensive war machinery... while Africa and other poor or impoverished countries continue to be ignored and exploited. They don’t dare replace NATO with their own defense system or to limit it to the North Atlantic... but without Europe having to relinquish its presence in the South Atlantic and in the Pacific (most importantly!) and without having the march to the drumbeat of our great ally. Friends, yes… subjects, no.


In other respects, without considering living standards or respect for human rights, the “globalizers” promoted the delocalization of production toward the East and a simultaneous delocalization of executives and a brain drain toward the West. The results are there for all to see.


Instead of daring to embrace a system based on sustainable global development, they insist that those who already live in the rich neighborhood of our global village should consume more. And the others can wait (but how long will they wait without rebelling?) until a few crumbs from the tables of abundance fall their way...


With the available knowledge and by reducing the immense daily military spending, together we could produce food for everyone, water for everyone, energy for everyone, housing for everyone... and we would be capable of improving health and the environmental conditions that we must bequeath to future generations.


Europe must not sink in a sea of bilateralism, between the United States– where only Obama’s outstanding character has, at least for the present, won out over the steely dense resistance of those who cling to the past, incapable of feeling a sense of solidarity toward those around them- and China, which has paradoxically been converted into the world’s factory by those who only seek short term profits. World democracy is the key: multilateralism. Europe must react quickly or in a few years it will have lost any possibility to assume a leadership role.


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