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it is not a depression. It is The Great Recession

According novels and movies, the rich committed suicide during the Great Depression of 29. Now the poor commit suicide.

by PerCLupi on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 06:30:24 AM EST
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Galbraith, The Great Crash, p.128:

In the United States, the suicide wave that followed the stock market crash is also a part of the legend of 1929. In fact, there was none.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 06:36:13 AM EST
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Yes. But the current rising wave of suicides in Europe is real. I think I have read something about this.

by PerCLupi on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 06:45:39 AM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (4.00 / 4)

Waves of suicides of rich people are comfortable myths to pretend that they share the fate of the poor, whose waves of suicide are always real: The Largest Wave of Suicides in History: Neo-Liberal Terrorism in India (Counterpunch, 12 February 2009)

The number of farmers who have committed suicide in India between 1997 and 2007 now stands at a staggering 182,936. Close to two-thirds of these suicides have occurred in five states (India has 28 states and seven union territories). The Big 5 - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh- account for just about a third of the country's population but two-thirds of farmers' suicides. The rate at which farmers are killing themselves in these states is far higher than suicide rates among non-farmers. Farm suicides have also been rising in some other states of the country.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 06:48:42 AM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (none / 0)

On April 22, Paul Krugman wrote in El País: "Last week, The New York Times reported on a phenomenon that seems to increasingly in Europe: the suicides "by the economic crisis" of people who kill themselves desperate because of unemployment and business failures. It was a heartbreaking story".

by PerCLupi on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 07:30:42 AM EST
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El País translates Krugman's NYT columns with a delay of a couple of days. In this case: Europe's Economic Suicide By PAUL KRUGMAN (April 15, 2012)

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 08:27:45 AM EST
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The "Great Recession" is the serious people's attempt (for 5 years now) to deny we're living a Depression. Whether Long, Great or Deep, we don't know yet.

guaranteed to evoke a violent reaction from police is to challenge their right to "define the situation." --- David Graeber citing Marc Cooper

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 06:45:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

With the responses on offer it will be The Long, Great and Deep Depression.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 10:13:17 AM EST
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But it is, for example, impossible to explain to many Germans that the amount of money German taxpayers have showered on their banks would bury Greece. They are as committed to a resentment narrative as American old people who want "the government to get its hands off medicare". They combine both a short sighted selfish desire to protect what they have with a predilection for simple explanations that the lazy, over-sexed, corrupt, Others are to blame.

by rootless2 on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 10:58:10 AM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (4.00 / 5)

Which of course is the political point of laundering those bailouts through the Greek "rescue" funds.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Thu Apr 26th, 2012 at 11:18:54 AM EST
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The fact that this isn't mentioned time after time in the economic news media is a huge outrage. Well, it's mentioned (and condemned) in the Financial Times all the time, but the proles don't seem to read that erstwhile publication.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Fri Apr 27th, 2012 at 05:56:40 AM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (none / 0)

Nationalism and racism. The engines of right wing power. Until right wing populism is defeated, there can be no progress.

by rootless2 on Fri Apr 27th, 2012 at 07:59:38 AM EST
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These are as common in the "left wing". I read constantly finnish left wing media and it's continious racism about the "lazy southeners."

by kjr63 on Fri Apr 27th, 2012 at 12:49:41 PM EST
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They see absolutely no fail in euro or banks or other political economic ideologies.

by kjr63 on Fri Apr 27th, 2012 at 12:53:27 PM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (4.00 / 4)

That is the core problem with 'left wing' organizations that have retreated to social issues only, conceding the economic field to conservatives. The conservatives have provided the language for economic issues and, not too surprising, it offers little opportunity to critique the existing system of wealth extraction or the predatory role of finance.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Fri Apr 27th, 2012 at 03:31:57 PM EST
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And for some reason basically all leftist activists care only about non-populist, or even anti-populist issues like LGBT, immigration, art people hate and generally identity politics stuff.

No one cares about labour union stuff, unemployment, economics, business cycle management, finance regulation, business/infratructure (evil!!!!!111) and not even really about equality in a serious way. Again, I hang out a lot with people like this (in spite of being an evil rightwinger), and it just makes me so sad.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Sat Apr 28th, 2012 at 08:34:42 AM EST
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Francis Fukuyama would have more accurately called his book The End of The Left. In the 1970s USA wingers like Pat Buchanan made an attack on the left on the basis of social issues and 'values' precisely because these issues divided the left from the majority of the population. Economic populism was the one issue that could have and still could pull back significant portions of that population, but it is anathema to most of the financial sector and the very wealthy, who have come since then to dominate politics through campaign contributions and through defining the field through owned think tanks and owned media.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Apr 28th, 2012 at 10:07:33 AM EST
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They honestly believe that housing market, banks and stock market create jobs. Their "social democracy" is only limited to begging "solidarity" from big money. The idea that labour and wages create jobs is to them completely alien.

by kjr63 on Sat Apr 28th, 2012 at 10:42:25 AM EST
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Re: LQD: DEPRESSION IS A CHOICE (none / 0)

Co-option in action!

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Apr 28th, 2012 at 11:33:30 AM EST
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