Depression and Democracy is the title of Krugman’s column in the New York Times today. I know little about the Hungarian political party known as Fidesz, but beyond that, what Krugman wrote was dead right as far as it went. Democracy is under threat.
…the gravity of European political developments isn’t widely understood.
First of all, the crisis of the euro is killing the European dream. The shared currency, which was supposed to bind nations together, has instead created an atmosphere of bitter acrimony.
…a Europe-wide recession now looks likely
Europeans [are] furious at what is perceived, fairly or unfairly (or actually a bit of both), as a heavy-handed exercise of German power.
Nobody familiar with Europe’s history can look at this resurgence of hostility without feeling a shiver.
The ecojournalist doesn’t hesitate to use the H word either. Krugman never was known for his political correctness, if you will pardon the pun.
…ominous political trends shouldn’t be dismissed just because there’s no Hitler in sight.
Now we must delve into uncertain territory, what the author thinks but doesn’t say. Just which movement on the current scene does he think a figure like H best represents? Krugman limits his remarks in the article to political parties in Europe. Speaking domestically, would it be the Occupy movement or the Tea Party?
Spokesfolks from the left see the problems; they just don’t see the causes so they come to the wrong conclusions about the solutions. They are looking at the malaise through a window when they should be using a mirror.
RANDOM THOTS 