Introduction to the Economic Crisis through an Unfiltered Gaze.

This weekend’s (Sept 8^th) Globe and Mail had a cover feature entitled, ‘The Big Stall.’ This referred of course, to the state of the Global Economy. In their business section which was dedicated to the feature, various analysts and commentator’s espoused the myriad views and solutions – both left and right - that have been perpetrated by many other media outlets since this crisis began over 4 years ago. For a cover story and planned week-long feature, it lacks any creativity and repeats what many already know.

You see, even the average lay-person can roughly understand these various treatments by now as they have been repeated ad nauseam since this crisis began. Statements and buzz-words such as ‘deficit-spending,’ ‘trickle-down economics,’ ‘austerity’ and many more have infiltrated the popular lexicon.

Something odd has happened though. Even though these solutions have been tabled, discussed and even implemented by both sides of the political spectrum the crisis persists well into its 5^th year. The self-correcting nature of the ‘market’ has not occurred with or without government intervention, huge bail-outs and other ‘classic’ solutions.

Even though nothing has truly improved, commentators are still spouting the same old tired rhetoric and solutions over and over and over again. “Keynesian spending here,” “tax cuts for the wealthy there,” and so on and so forth. Economists and politicians fight tooth and nail over these solutions but they, like the media seem to be missing the overall point which I will touch on in a bit. But before I close this introductory article, I would like to discuss history for a moment.

As observers and scholars of history know, there are water-shed moments. That is, there are moments in history so profound and important, that people can look back and point to a moment in time that began a rise or started a terrible fall or ushered in a new epoch in history. The Second Peloponnesian War, the rise and assassination of Julius Caesar, the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, the collapse of the Soviet Union and many more. Each of these were land-mark events that ended one era and ushered in another, economically, socially and politically. What historians understand is that time is ever-changing. Everything is doomed to rise to prominence and fall before being replaced by something else.

The point here is that perhaps we have reached a water-shed in history that future generations will look back on as the beginning of the end of an old era. You see, for the past 500 years western society has been used to one form of capitalism or the other be it the proto-capitalist mercantilism to the corporate/mixed economy we have today. Aside from a brief flirtation with Marxism and all that it entails in the 20^th century, we have been utilizing capitalism or its derivatives since the age of exploration began.

In this sense, it is not surprising that we cannot see what perhaps may lie right in front of us. No Empire, people or civilization probably ever saw or understood the reason for their decline until it rose up and toppled them from their perch. The reason for this is that we as humans appear to have an instinctual desire to protect and justify our current predicament. We solemnly defend that which we are comfortable with and seek solutions that are familiar and work within the context of our bubble. Does this not sound familiar to the current explanations and remedy’s given to get us out of this economic crisis?

This brings us full circle back to the point that the media, policy-makers and economists seems to be missing out on with regards to this crisis and it is a terrifying one for those who do not understand the flow of history. The point is thus; perhaps we have reached the end-game of Capitalism as a system itself. Our society has progressed so fast and so far in the past 100 years that perhaps we have out-grown capitalism and its various models. This economic crisis then is a crisis of Capitalism itself and not one of capitalisms inherent, ‘boom and bust’ cycles.

I will let everyone ponder that thought until my next instalment. In the coming weeks/months I will work diligently to prepare various topics that will attempt to encapsulate the many facets of this crisis as well as a variety of others. On Myriad Truths, I will discuss Marxism, austerity, demographic and technological changes, the crisis in Europe and many more. The reason for this is that I am quite frankly sick and tired of the same old rhetoric being pushed by the media and so-called experts left, right and center. The world needs new solutions to its problems and instead we re-tread the mistakes of the past. I will also dedicate certain articles to my brethren in Greece and focus on the many issues present there.

Finally, Myriad Truths, as the description above reads, is a website that will attempt to offer a different perspective on current events and global trends. By eschewing traditional political/social/economic ideology I aim to look beyond the tired rhetoric and misdirection offered by the media at large. Sometimes what I write may offend you but I beg of my readers to consider alternatives that perhaps they have not thought of before. I look at this world and I constantly ask myself, “Is this the best we can do? Did 4000 years of modern history lead us to this?” If you are satisfied with the way the world is Myriad Truths may not be the place for you.

Welcome and enjoy the ride, however long it lasts.