The worst is over, is the official incantation. In reality, only the horizon of perception has shrunk. People no longer want to think in terms of cyclical periods (let alone historical ones), but only in monthly figures. The subject of structural interrelations on the world market and in the relation between the state and the economy is also frowned upon. All that is required are supposedly successful reports on individual companies and economic sectors. But it is no use burying one’s head in the sand. The “Greek case” has brought it to light that the crisis worm is now gnawing away at state finances, hardly surprisingly. The first de facto insolvency of an important EU state is a portent for further developments. Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and, of course, Eastern Europe are not the only candidates for the next wobbles. There are whispers that the financial situation of the capitalist centers of the U.S., Great Britain, France and Germany could also come to a dramatic head. The consequences of the unprecedented rescue packages and stimulus programs, which were supposed to stimulate and simulate a return to growth, threaten to rebound on the financial system and the economy in the short and medium term.
The EU wants to cover up the cracks in the woodwork by putting the Greek state budget under curatorship. Drastic austerity measures are to be enforced from quarter to quarter. In this already troubled country, this amounts to the collapse of the social systems and the domestic economy. If an example is made here, one can predict what will come sooner or later to all central countries within as well as outside the EU (including the Chinese miracle economy). In the FRG, the tightening of the health insurance contribution screw is only a small foretaste. A new wave of the dismantling of state social systems and infrastructures would combine with the wave of corporate bankruptcies and the impending wave of layoffs. Greece can be the forerunner in this respect as well.
At the same time, the euro area is heading for a test of endurance. It is turning out to be an illusion that the artificial construct of the euro, which was created in the course of globalization competition on the basis of completely different national levels of accumulation and productivity, could rise to become the new world currency. The emergency brake on Greek finances highlights how fragile the European monetary system really is. In their predicament, the EU states are resorting to crude means to curb the long-tolerated tax havens in their ranks. An agitated discussion on Germany’s First Television about the recent “bank raid on Switzerland” speaks volumes. After Steinbrück, Schäuble would like to empty the Swiss vaults all the more. In view of the mountains of debt on the order of trillions of euros, the state “bank raid,” which is likely to bring in 200 million at best, can only be described as an act of desperation. However, this also reveals the contradictions in the national and international legal system. On this point, the problems are now being played out in the flesh, so to speak. The global economic crisis is far from over. After the financial markets, public finances are the next catalyst for economic destabilization, in which the general devaluation of capital is gradually taking hold.
Originally published in Neues Deutschland on 02/05/2010
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