lyncht's blog

The time has come for a new way of thinking about the Euro-crisis. Europe’s current state is clearly part of a much broader re-orientation of the global economy and may present more of an opportunity than people realize.  Capitalism, as practiced, has inherent flaws. Most contributors to this blog could recite them so I will not belabor.

The real leadership challenge is linking the borrowing against the future which gotten us to this point to the reality that the future cannot be like the past.

As a newcomer to the European experience, the public, political, pundit and policy communities reactions to the various sovereign debt crises of the past year have been quite fascinating to observe.

First, let me say that the advantages of the European Experiment were always ones that attracted me. The notion of liquid borders and labour mobility and the degree to which European integration reduced the chances for armed conflcit in the European sphere were clear advantages. Opportunities for collaboration and cooperation seemed more abundant and easier to achieve. 

Recently, the summary newsletter "Hungary Around the Clock" reported on a plan by the Government of Hungary to,

"...reduce Hungary’s number of colleges and universities and put them and schools under state management, prime ministerial spokesman Péter Szijjártó told Magyar Hírlap on Monday. University students will sign contracts to stay in Hungary, he added. (MH p.3)".

It is not clear how this program would work in practice.

In Weber's " The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism", he identifies several historical variants of capitalism at the start of the book. While Weber goes on to characterize one specific model of capitalism and its ethic, his original typology suggested that other types of capitalism based on different ethical systems were not only possible but had occurred at different times in history.

Colin Leys writing in the September 8, 2011 issue of the Guardian laments that Britain's political elite "...no longer care whether they are carrying out the wishes of the electorate". Mr. Leys is writing about the way in which the coalition government led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg has taken on major NHS reforms although having promised in the last election that no such thing would occur. 

Presumably Mr. Cameron's and Mr. Clegg's standard reply to Mr.