U.N. Study: Austerity Measures Pushing World Economy Toward Disaster

Dr. Michael LaitmanIn the News (From huffingtonpost.com): “The pursuit of austerity measures and deficit cuts is pushing the world economy toward disaster in a misguided attempt to please global financial markets, the annual report of the United Nations economic think tank UNCTAD said on Tuesday.

“‘The message here is very pragmatic: we need to reverse our course quickly,’ said UNCTAD Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi.

“The current policies were a disaster, said Flassbeck, head of the globalization and development strategies division at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, and a former deputy finance minister in Germany.

“‘If interests rates everywhere are zero, and if governments stick to the policy of not only keeping fiscal deficits where they are but retrenching, cutting public expenditure, then we will end up in permanent recession,’ he said.

“‘Unemployment depends very much on demand. And if you have no demand then you need government to step in with a huge program for stimulating the economy….’

“‘Let’s not fool ourselves. This is a realistic scenario for the whole developed world, if we do not understand the lessons now, and really quickly, because we do not have other instruments any more,’ Flassbeck told a news conference to launch this year’s report.”

My Comment: But nobody knows what we should learn from it, what conclusions we should draw, and what exactly we should do. Yet, they nevertheless do not want to listen….

Indeed, according to sound reason and the theory of egoistic capitalistic development of the past, one should save and think only of oneself. But on what theoretical basis should anyone listen to: Don’t save, think of all others?  We are approaching 2012, and judging from the letters I receive, many are panicking, fearing that the horrible predictions will come true.

But in reality, we only need to change our outlook to what is happening, to see that it is not a crisis, not cause for despair, but a thoughtful plan of nature to develop man. We need to accept what is happening now like a classroom exercise we must do to change ourselves in order to pass the high school examinations and enter adult life—new, harmonious, and good.
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