#GFC2 Challenges & Solutions
@Frances_coppola wrote in her recent blog http://coppolacomment.blogspot.com/2011/10/fear-that-paralyses.html
that ‘Fear is probably our biggest enemy at the moment”. She rightly
cautioned against doom mongering that could become a self fulfilling
prophecy and highlighted how some commentators who should know much
better, are making highly questionable assertions in pursuit of
particular ideological goals.
This is not fear itself but it is an attempt to use fear to
manipulate viewpoints and seek a particular type of outcome based on
pre-conceived cookie-cutter notions.
From my point of view I find the idea that government should
nationalise the banks horrific as there seems to be absolutely no
concept in the minds of the protagonists that this would be subject to
all the old sins of greed, cronyism and fraud.
Equally laughable is the ‘free’ market zero-regulation school of
thinking which thinks it is possible for orgnaisations founded on an
ethic of profit-above-all-else to effectively self regulate. Just as
laughable is the idea that competition in a tiny oilgopoly of mega-banks
will drive efficient operation.
Against this background most of the folks contributing and discussing
on #gfc2 have been pretty clear and refreshingly honest about the
international finance system, the levels of fraud & corruption
involved in it and the fact that it has in many ways become a
pathological threat to the societies which host it.
At the same time in the past 4 – 5 months of participating and
observing I haven’t seen a fatalistic negativity or , as some have
claimed, any pleasure in being right about what was / is happening.
On the contrary I HAVE seen a lot of genuinely helpful analyses and ideas about what could be done surface.
This includes looking at ways of breaking up banks such that
systemically essential services like clearing and payments can be
distributed across a network of providers or possibly bought into public
domain as part of Critical National Infrastructure.
However that removal of systemic monopoly from a few big players is
done doesn’t matter. What matters is that it is done. Then if a private
banking institution fails, hard luck it fails (given of course that
regulatory requirements for depositor protection are in place, as they
are). There is no longer the blackmail leverage of systemic necessity
for banks to fall back on.
This casts another light on the kind of panic and fear mongering
going on. It is in the interests of huge banks for people to be
convinced that if they fail then tomorrow is doomsday.
No it isn’t. As Frances and I have discussed, practically speaking it
isn’t that hard to split out and maintain systemically essential
functions like payments.
In fact it might just be a really good opportunity to re-assess the
position of those functions and whether there IS a case for
nationalisation or indeed (my preference) opening up the market to a
much wider range of competition by considering ways of mitigating
barriers to market entry.
Another key point to emerge and to be repeated again and again is the
utter injustice of privatising profits among a tiny minority and then
socialising losses to ordinary people. And be in no doubt that bailing
out e.g. Greece is just another bank bailout by proxy (BBBP).
These are just a couple of the ideas that have been surfaced on
#GFC2. I thought them worth highlighting in order to point out how
concerned I’m sure most of us are to find genuine, workable and humane
solutions to a crisis rather than try to leverage fear in pursuit of
ideological goals.
Does that mean there’#s no room for ideological or political debate
in relation to #gfc2? well that would be bl**dy stupid wouldn’t it?
Actually the levels of genuine debate (as opposed to infantile
name-calling) are great. But that is utterly different to attempting to
leverage a desperate situation and the insecurity and worry it creates
to further any dogma. To do that strikes me as being as immoral and
despicable as the frequently fraudulent and constantly immoral and
unethical behaviour of a tiny powerful cabal of vested interest that has
bought us (once more) to the brink of this abyss.
Note: I have referenced Frances’ thinking and writing here but the opinions and conclusions expressed are my own.
I hope #GFC2 continues to attract no-bullshit, incisive analysis and
justified outrage along with attempts to seek for genuine workable
solutions. I think the fact that we can now have such a forum is a major
cause for celebration in itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment