Autore: Peter Herrmann's Blog

Dr. Peter Herrmann is a sociologist of German origin -- well, he was, before moving forward, being now ..., well, some say: social philosopher, permanently crossing borders between arts, economics, jurisprudence, philosophy, political science and .., yes, still sociology ... and having lost many links to the origins as fasr as nationality is concerned, trying to imagine that there is no border ...

What an end?

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation, works, projects, publications

There are and will be many declarations, statements and analyses on the outcome of the negotiations against Greece. Hamlet came to my mind – how thought of suicide, and I titled
The sad victory of injusticeThere had been much written about the EU and the core character of the project – the debate not least of the so-called European Social Model. I also contributed myself, for instance under the tile: 
The European Social Model – Chimera or Core of the EU?

If there had been anything like it, (not alone) the German government death-sentenced it’d other now!

Instead of fundamentally reconsidering the path, taking a new approach to centre the project on people’s and peoples’ everyday’s life, instead of moving towards radical rethinking growth and thinking about the economic side on a possible end of the crisis of the productive system (see here and here , instead of fundamentally acknowledging precarity as matter of

The Silent Revolution Reaching Society 

allowing

Outlining a New Analytical Perspective 

(forthcoming) and rethinking

Social Policy Development in the International Context

and looking at the question of

Social Investment or a New Social Treatise? (forthcoming)

the institutions dealt a deathblow to Greece and in general to what some saw as European idea: solidarity, justice, democracy and solidarity. 

History will name the murderers of Europeans and Europe!

Indeed,

A senior official in the room believed that Germany was now the country that appeared to be acting in bad faith — no longer the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras. 

Indeed, as Alexis said,

Greece needs radical reforms in favor of social forces, and against the oligarchy that have led to the country’s current state. And this commitment to this new effort begins tomorrow.

We all need such reforms – this we should strive for it together!!

The sad victory of injustice

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation, quotes

Hamlet’s thoughts come to mind

…To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether ‘tis Nobler in the mind to suffer

The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,

Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep

No more; and by a sleep, to say we end

The Heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks

That Flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep,

To sleep, perchance to Dream; aye, there’s the rub,

For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause. There’s the respect

That makes Calamity of so long life:

For who would bear the Whips and Scorns of time,

The Oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s Contumely,

The pangs of despised Love, the Law’s delay,

The insolence of Office, and the Spurns

Though instead of his proposals it is now even more the time to take up the weapons against those who dealt the deathblow to the European project.

Two tales from academia

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in academic life - living in academia, thoughts on life and its philosophy

Did you know that thanks to your librarian, you and your colleagues have access to hundreds of highly downloaded and cited articles, all available on the award-winning SAGE Journals platform?

An advertisement came with this content by mail from SAGE (ah could have been any other of these DIY-grandeurs (not as spammy as offers from Ivory coast but not containing more substance.

Valery comes to my mind, a librarian I really admired for her excellent work – she fearlessly faced the flood of

highly downloaded and cited articles

and still found the really interesting ones, barely known, this not (often) cited, but allowing true excitement when reading and thinking further …. 

————

We never find the entire truth … but part of it is written at least in the preface

As Levitt sees it, economics is a science with excellent tools for gaining answers but a serious shortage of interesting questions.

Not sure if the book is as exiting as it is promised in the prefaced “Explanatory Note” – but I am sure that I like to ask questions, and apply then the tools, instead to doing the thing the other way round.
Looking at academia I am wondering if denying the right to ask questions, forcing us to go the other way around, may be about denying a fundamental right ?

There is more than Greece in the decision

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation, general

I am currently attending a social policy conference in Tianjin, the overall all topic”New Orientation in the Socioeconomic New Normal.

The situation in Greece is a more than worrying shadow over it. The leaders of “the institutions”, self-appointed, are crashing with their style of negotiations a project that claims to stand for peace and social progress. The Greek crisis shows from the very beginning that the interest of those leaders is against the people not only of Greece. Economic potentials are destroyed and democratically elects governments are forced to work against genuine interests.

I only can hope that the referendum will succeed with a No as result, showing that people are not ready to accept a coup d’état-like strategy that results in further breaches of human rights at the very core of Europe.

The “new normal” has to serve the people, instead can of the people being sacrificed for the elites.
WELL, BIT STRANGE – ACTUALLY PUBLISHED AFTER I WANTED IT TO BE PUBLISHED, I.E. AFTER GREECE AND DEMOCRACY REBUKED THE OCCUPANTS. STILL AND PERHAPS EVEN MORE VALID NOW

Now we can hope for Europe again

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation

From Paul’s blog

July 5, 2015Greece: can’t pay, won’t pay
The outcome of the Greek referendum indicates strong support for the its government. The decision is being construed by some commentators as the prelude to Greece leaving the Euro, and possibly the European Union. It doesn’t have to be either.

First, the Euro. Greece can use the Euro for as long as it wants to, and no-one in Europe has the power to stop it. The Euro is a tradeable currency. Greece might be forced off away from the decision making processes about the Euro, but that’s already happened. It can’t be stopped from trading in it.

It has, at least up to now, been stopped from printing Euros – that’s done in Germany. What would happen, though, if Greek banks were to print their own versions of Euros, in the same way as Scottish banks print off their own versions of pounds? Other Euro members wouldn’t like it, but the sky will not fall in. People couldn’t be required to accept Greek Euro notes abroad, as Scottish notes don’t have to be accepted in England, but money is money; if people accept it, it will be used. Besides, most money isn’t dealt in cash; the real issue is whether the banks behave as if the money is there. That would, of course, all be against the rules of the Eurozone: but I think we’re past that.

The second big issue is the debt. Here, the position is plain as a pikestaff: the debt is not going to be paid. Greece’s European creditors have behaved very badly, as if moral rules applied only to debtors, not to creditors; but beyond that, the programme for austerity they have been insisting on is economically illiterate. Greece cannot cut its way out of a its present position. The main question is whether the default will be orderly or disorderly.

Effectively, the Greek government holds all the cards. Beware of tangling with people who have nothing to lose. They can’t be thrown out of the Euro, they can’t be forced to leave the EU and they will get debt relief. It’s time for the EU to cede with good grace.

No to austerity

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation

Elsewhere and in EUrope alike — The One Percent
The one percent being rich is one side of the coin;

the same one percent making poor is the other side of the same coin.

Hunger is just one side of austerity.

Doing a little bit of maths, we easily see that we would not even have to make the one percent poor in order to make the many not living in poverty anymore. We all know the figures, though at times a reminder may be useful

Not just Greece

da Peter Herrmann's Blog, posted in contemporary socio-economic situation, thoughts on life and its philosophy

I am currently attending a social policy conference in Tianjin, the overall all topic”New Orientation in the Socioeconomic New Normal.

The situation in Greece is a more than worrying shadow over it. The leaders of “the institutions”, self-appointed, are crashing with their style of negotiations a project that claims to stand for peace and social progress. The Greek crisis shows from the very beginning that the interest of those leaders is against the people not only of Greece. Economic potentials are destroyed and democratically elects governments are forced to work against genuine interests.

I only can hope that the referendum will succeed with a No as result, showing that people are not ready to accept a coup d’état-like strategy that results in further breaches of human rights at the very core of Europe.

The “new normal” has to serve the people, instead can of the people being sacrificed for the elites.