Zygmunt Bauman on The Economic Crisis
April 4th, 2009 by SocProf and tagged economics, Social Theory
Via Carlos Serra,
Crise financeira é resultado de sistema suicida – Radio Nederland, a emissora internacional e independente da Holanda – Português via kwout
Roughly translated, Bauman does not see any serious attempt to develop a global solution to the crisis. Instead, he see a tendency to revive protectionism, which globalization was supposed to have killed. The British Prime Minister said recently "British jobs for British workers". The G20 has met in London. Seventeen have already introduced protectionist measures. And they are gathering in London to discuss joint measures that can be applied to all countries. In all, Bauman is pessimistic regarding the measures to fight the crisis.
Mostly, that is because Bauman believes that the central problem of the crisis will not be discussed during the summit. According to him, the source of the problem is the importance of credit in the global financial system. Debt has become a major source of profits, so, why not turn everything into debt products?
In the G20 summit, the negotiations will revolve around the amount necessary to reactivate the economy. The idea is to return to normalcy in the banking system but it is precisely the normal functioning of the system that is at the origin of the crisis. So, now, the treasuries of several countries must invest trillions of dollars to return to the same situation that created the problem. And indeed, this crisis reveals the resounding success of the deliberate strategy of turning everything into debt.
Bauman concludes that it is necessary to go to the source of the problem and change the way society is organized. And for him, that means a cultural revolution. The era of "enjoy now, pay later" over.(and not just for homeowners). For Bauman, that system was suicidal to start with.
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