The headline above appeared in yesterday’s newspapers. It makes me think of a James Bond figure arriving as the clock ticks down, and saving the world by shooting the bad guys. (45 minutes to disarm the Weapons of Mass Destruction.) Sadly, this approach may not be helpful on this occasion.
Tory MP Douglas Carswell has said that the break-up of the Euro is inevitable. This may or may not be so. The pros and cons of the Euro (and indeed of the EU and Britain’s participation in it) have long been debated. I am struck, however, by what Carswell said next.
He said: “Adding debt to countries simply makes them even more impoverished. ... I hope eurozone leaders will begin the process to allow countries to default on their debts.”
This seems reasonable and humane. It is also what the Jubilee Debt Campaign has been saying for 15 years about our dealings with the world’s poorest (and most indebted) nations. If Greece is in a financial pickle, what about Liberia?
(The Jubilee campaign takes its name from a set of commandments in Leviticus. Debts were to be cancelled, slaves set free, and land restored to those who had lost it. These laws reflect a care for the poor which is evident on every page of the Jewish Scriptures, and bear careful reading: by churches claiming to believe the Bible, and by nations claiming the Bible as part of their heritage.)
Countries in the developing world are paying many times more in interest on their debts than they ever receive in “aid”. We are also able to bully them into adopting our favourite economic policies. The debt and the bullying contribute to frustration and instability in regions of the world where we might prefer to see peace. (They also incidentally contribute to starvation.)
Countries in the developing world are paying many times more in interest on their debts than they ever receive in “aid”. We are also able to bully them into adopting our favourite economic policies. The debt and the bullying contribute to frustration and instability in regions of the world where we might prefer to see peace. (They also incidentally contribute to starvation.)
And, as we are discovering, the economic policies themselves turn out to be of dubious value.
Let's get our priorities right. Save the Euro, by all means. Yippee. But let's get serious about debt cancellation. I don't often agree with Tory MPs: but it is surely time "to allow countries to default on their debts".
Let's get our priorities right. Save the Euro, by all means. Yippee. But let's get serious about debt cancellation. I don't often agree with Tory MPs: but it is surely time "to allow countries to default on their debts".
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