Difficulties in the markets for Spain, a slippery slope towards a bailout,
austerity, protests and social unrest, we have seen this movie before. Here is
my a guide for how to deal with the situation.
An ancient Greek guide for Spanish and other PIIGS who wish to deal
effectively with the crisis
1. Dealing in private with the pain and anxiety caused by the market turmoil
and/or frequent visits of the Troika and their impossible demands (for how to
deal in public see other points below): Draw from Stoicism. Stoics
strived to be free of suffering and through exercise of reason achieve peace of
mind - meant in the ancient sense of having "clear judgment" – as well as
maintain equanimity in the face of life's highs and lows.
2. Dealing with “nice” comments about your morality: Use Aristotelian or
Chryssipian logic. Convince yourself with sound deductive syllogisms that
the rubbish posted around the world about your country & culture is the
result of incorrect induction and reckless stereotyping (one pig does this, two
pigs do this, therefore all pigs do this).
3. Dealing with the unethical behaviour of political and economic elites in
your country and the abroad: Adopt Socratic dialectic and ethics in
public life. Socrates was renowned for his relentless questioning of authorities
and public figures, which was aimed not to humiliate individuals (yeah sure –
never swallowed this at school) but to discover truth with a view to achieving
the “good life” for everyone.
4. Dealing with seemingly endless half-baked attempts to re-establish
financial stability: Recall Zenon’s paradoxes especially the one of
Achilles and the Tortoise. If the Tortoise is given advantage in the race,
Achilles will never reach her because by the time he has reached the last
position, the Tortoise will always have moved a bit further.
5. Dealing with debt slavery: Recall σεισάχθεια (seisachtheia), Prior
to Solon (5th cent BC) Athenians practiced debt enslavement: a citizen
incapable of paying his debts became "enslaved" to the creditor. This issue
primarily concerned peasants working leased land belonging to rich landowners
and unable to pay their rents. In theory, those enslaved would be liberated when
their original debts were repaid. Solon put an end to it with the σεισάχθεια /
seisachtheia, liberation of debts, which prevented all claim to the person by
the debtor.
6. Finally, if you fail to bring about the much desired relief or political
change with the above measures why not go for a Roman style “Spartacus
slave revolt” and then establish “Epicurean philosophical communes” all
over the Med. They survived for hundreds of years in antiquity and provided
peace and happiness to millions.
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