Economics as Religion (AFL-CIO blog on Greece) --Socialist Progressives Group

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http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Global-Action/Economics-as-Religion

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But, beyond fiscal austerity, the IMF and the EC insist that Greece cannot get on the right track unless it institutes “structural” reforms to its economy. Here, the IMF and EC mean creating an unfettered capitalist state. Greece must weaken its collective bargaining structures; lower its labor standards and wages, so that the Greek people must be forced to bow to the will of the market. This is borne of a view that the Greeks are profligates who must be taught the value of hard work and repay their debts. More importantly, this sacrifice of the Greek people is necessary to discourage people in Spain, Portugal and Ireland from staging similar revolts against the neo-liberal order demanding a different reconciling with the debt crisis.

This is religion, because the IMF’s own current research says that inequality hurts economic growth. And, further, it is the IMF’s own current research that says that unions, in particular, are vital to combating inequality. Taking actions based on faith in the unseen and not on empirical evidence is the definition of religion or superstition.

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In the U.S. we must take the side of Greece in this fight. It is in our interest, as the immediate problem of the instability this is causing is a rising dollar that will hurt U.S. exports and jobs. And, we can never be sure of the interrelated nature of financial collapses since so much of the banking sector remains in the shadows; with global derivatives trading at values greater than global output.

More importantly, we must also revolt against this economic order. It is the same order that saved JP Morgan Chase, but let Detroit and now Puerto Rico fail. It is the same religion that would sacrifice the earnings of American students with rising student debt and de-invest in public higher education. It is the same religion that would sacrifice American jobs and labor standards and back the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We must see these as the same struggle to restore sanity and purpose to role of government and its servant, the economy.

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[Maedhros]

1. Bruce Cockburn referred to this as "so-called 'developed' nations' idolatry of ideology"

in reference to how we shove our economic models down the throats of third world countries.

See here:

[Cheese Sandwich]

2. This should have hundreds of recs

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3. The title isn't very catchy, maybe that's it?

All in with Chris Hayes had a great spot on Greece last night too:

http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/the-real-story-behind-greeces-debt-crisis-473939011904

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4. You need clickbait titles to get anywhere on the internet

10 Shocking Ways the Capitalist System is Slowly Killing You

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6. Is The Capitalist Economy Making Your Thighs Fat?

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7. Good!

You're a natural.

[socialist_n_TN]

5. I would call it ideology rather than religion, but....

potato; potahto. Objective reality has nothing to do with the positions either one of them takes. K & R.

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8. I thought the religion comparison was kind of shaky too.

But I thought they broke down the basic conflict pretty well. People who are calling for even moar austerity are ignoring some pretty horrible facts.

[socialist_n_TN]

9. Yep. And they ignore those facts because the facts don't fit the idea........

To ideologues any facts that contradict the idea are ignored.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. I've got a couple of minutes and I think it's worth the time for an aside.......

about that ideology or religion thing. There IS a difference and there are similarities between the two and when you confuse the two you do a disservice, mostly to religion. Religion is based on faith. And faith is belief without proof, but more than that, it's belief without the possibility of EVER having proof. Science won't take on religion because there's no way you can test for "God", ergo it's not an area that's suitable for scientific research.

Ideology, OTOH, CAN be tested. The belief structure is akin to faith, but it's a belief in an idea that CAN be scientifically tested, at least as far as you can actually test sociological ideas. And that's the difference. When someone says they believe in God and you don't, there's no way to actually settle this difference scientifically. But with ideologies, there are tests you can make and inferences and conclusions that you can draw from actual data.

So that's why this article IS shaky on the conclusion that neo-liberalism is like a religion. It's an ideology because data can be tested.