subject: What Have We Learnt From the Financial Calamity Which Almost Bankrupted the World [print this page] What Have We Learnt From the Financial Calamity Which Almost Bankrupted the World
Many more individuals would have lost their savings and their homes, many more businesses would have gone to the wall and the supply chains which keep each and every one of us fed and clothed on a daily basis would have broken down irreparably. In other words our generation narrowly avoided a swift return to a dark age of homelessness, starvation and disease. So, thanking God for our earthly salvation, how do we now show that we have learnt the lessons of the past? By returning to the very same system of financial operation that led to the near disaster in the first place!
It's business as usual in the financial world; big salaries, big bonuses, mega deals between giant corporations, and big plans for future economic growth. All eyes are back on the stock market indices, currency fluctuations, and big company manoeuvres. If anything we have become even more resilient to bad news. We have learnt to take in our stride the collapse of major enterprises (flyglobespan, 17.12.09), the threat of industrial action (Royal Mail, British Airways) and the anger of protesters (Copenhagen Climate Conference). These are all just minor irritations on the road to the billion dollar dreamland, where everyone can enjoy the fruits of a utopian capitalist economy. In the meantime we have put away billions of dollars of debt for repayment at some time in the future. So what happens if we need another bailout the next time the news is so bad it cannot be ignored? What happens when we need billions more to fight the next big ideological war? How much more financial pressure can the world endure?
I am disappointed that nothing seems to have changed. No provision has been made to avoid the next big bubble, which in the manner of markets is sure to be bigger and more unstable than any that have gone before. We continue to build our towers of Babel, following prophets such as Murdoch and Cowell who are motivated only by the continued expansion of their own enterprises. Most of us seek a peaceful world, where brothers and sisters can live alongside each other without bombs and without killings. We seek the understanding of enlightened minds to restore the mental balance of communities who have become accustomed to finding solace in conflict. The stratagems of self-obsessed businessmen have a direct negative impact on the well being of ordinary people. A society geared mercilessly towards profit wears away the spiritual connections of its citizens. While providing entertainment through new technology and mass media we empty people's pockets and fill their heads with idle hopes and foolish dreams which can never become real. Post financial crash we had an opportunity to change priorities and begin to restore ordinary human contacts. Instead, I fear greed is even more voracious than ever.
What have we learnt from the crisis of the past two years? I have learnt there is not a single individual in the world powerful enough to stop the machine which continues to grow, overheat and devour the environment which keeps it sustained. But I have also learnt that our Lord God has given us everything we need to lead a happy life, even while our vain endeavours and ugly ambitions continue to threaten the earthly paradise He created for us.
Milton Johanides is a retired businessman, church elder, writer and artist. He has been featured on BBC TVs Songs of Praise, owned numerous art galleries and once ran an award winning picture framing business in Scotland. The views expressed in these articles are his own. email: miltonjohanides@yahoo.co.uk
