[The
Telegraph, U.K.]
El Pais, Uruguay
Hope for a Global
'New Deal' and a Leader of 'Vision'
"We hope then that after the
tremor passes, the international technocratic system, comprised of the World
Bank, the IMF, the U.N., etc., find a visionary leader who can propose a
balanced way out of this - not by addressing the Dow Jones or the NASDAQ, but
the real flesh and bone human element, with all that this entails."
EDITORIAL By Sebastián Da Silva
Translated By Liz Essary
October 10, 2008
Uruguay
- El Pais - Original Article (Spanish)
Apparently, from what little
we know, the causes and consequences of this mega financial crisis are very
similar to those that caused the stock market crash of 1929. At the time, the
post war bonanza seemed like it would never end, speculators threw a party for
profit without toil, consumption went on that was far beyond reason, and to top
it all off, banks gave credit left and right without the proper controls.
When the alarm went off, the
bubble burst into a thousand pieces, leaving in its wake the victims and a loss
of wealth that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The pendulum theory of
history brings us back to this moment, in which many of these circumstances
have been repeated. And so far, no one knows the depths of the disaster. What
is clear is that in the past 30 days, the world has been losing 12 percent of
its wealth every week, there is no mechanism for injecting confidence into the
markets, and despite the billions that central banks have been pumping out
every day, credit is nonexistent.
In this context, we can
listen all we want to economic analysts make sensible explanations about the
short term. But there exists a bit of data that cannot be ignored: When stock
markets crumble, the riches of the world disappear in the blink of an eye,
wiped out without a trace of what was there the day before. Therefore, the
world is poorer, and for the developing or Third World, the horizon has changed
for the worse.
The only difference we can see
[between the Great Depression] and what has transpired since the middle of the
last century, is none other than the number of people who inhabit this planet
and the vital needs that this growing population has. In any event, confronting
today's problems requires coordinated action, or as they like to say nowadays,
a globalization of decision-making.
For this reason,
if the crisis of '29 was resolved by applying the ideas of John Maynard Keynes 
in that "New Deal "
- which was nothing more than granting the state a more commanding regulatory
role to direct spending and investment to alleviate the situation - the same
should be attempted now, although this time it should be done globally, because
clearly, the consequences of this new reality are planetary in scope.
The global population has to
continue to eat and the stocks of food are nil. People depend on various
sources of energy to live and reserves are scarce.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In order to develop in a
world where commercial exchange and credit are the oxygen of business, the
economy needs investment to develop.
We hope then that after the
tremor passes, the international technocratic system, comprised of the World
Bank, the IMF, the U.N., etc., will find a visionary leader who can propose a
balanced way out of this crisis - not by addressing the Dow Jones or the
NASDAQ, but that real flesh and bone human element, with all that this entails.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Because unquestionably, much
of the responsibility for this debacle falls on the men who plunged us into
debt - and who, without being held responsible in any way at all, created this
situation which incredibly, Uruguay may be well-positioned to weather.
CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH
VERSION
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US October 14, 11:59pm]
