Olive Trees against Austerity

Here's a new video I just posted entitled "Olive Trees against Austerity."

In it, I explore some evidence from the world's ancient myths which shows us that the resources of a land are gifts from the gods to the people of that land -- we see this truth dramatized very clearly in the story of the contest between the god Poseidon and the goddess Athena to give gifts to the men and women of the Attic Peninsula (that contest is also discussed in a previous blog post entitled "Collaborators against the gods").

The most important resource given to any country, however, are the men and women whom the gods allow to be born into that land, and whose gifts (the myths clearly tell us) are given from the divine realm as well.

Thus, modern neoliberalism and its insistence upon fiscal "austerity" (seeking to remove the fiscal authority of elected governments to spend for the benefit of the people, and seeking to attack "budget deficits" by gutting spending, particularly on social programs, and raise taxes) disrespects and even squanders those gifts from the divine realm. Neoliberal austerity disrespects and squanders the gifts from the gods by creating unnecessary and completely preventable underemployment and outright unemployment -- which in effect throws the gifts of the gods in the gutter, tramples upon them, and spits on them.

With its insistence on fiscal austerity (which by definition demands higher taxes and lower spending, in order to reduce deficits), neoliberalism actually creates unemployment and underemployment. For a deeper discussion of how unemployment and underemployment are directly created by fiscal austerity (taxes too high and/or government fiscal spending too low), see the work of the pioneering economists of modern monetary theory ("MMT"), especially Warren Mosler (particularly the writings he makes available in the "mandatory readings" section of his website).

Another way that proponents of fiscal austerity dishonor and actually seek to deny the gifts given by the gods to the men and women of a land is through the privatization of that which rightfully belongs to the public. Fiscal austerity (with its focus on denying the ability of elected governments to exercise fiscal policy and spend on public infrastructure and the protection of the public domain) leads directly to the privatization of infrastructure and of the public domain, as Professor Michael P. Hudson has discussed in great depth in his many books and writings (see his website at michael-hudson.com).

Previous posts which have discussed the disastrous impact of neoliberalism, austerity, and the fact that these policies are directly related to a disregard for the truths demonstrated in the world's ancient myths include (among others):

• "Austerity is an affront to the gods"

• "Privatization vs the gods (and the people)"

• "We need to wake up and focus on neoliberalism"

• "Earth Day 2017: the choices of Midas and Solomon"

• "'Transforming everyone and everything into commodities': arguments that museums should sell off their art expose the self-devouring rot at the heart of neoliberalism"

• "Some lessons from King Midas, who discovered he could not eat gold"

• "The blessings of the gods, and the ways we cheat ourselves out of those blessings"

• "Thor and Utgarda-Loki -- and the lies we tell ourselves"

• "The antidote to censorship: 'Like public land, water, and the air itself, these frequencies are in the public domain'"

• "'All this has happened before': Professor Michael Hudson on neoliberalism, neo-feudalism, and the deliberate suppression of history"

• "This Labor Day, take a little time to listen to Michael Hudson, Warren Mosler, and Ellen Brown"

As always, please feel not only free but actively encouraged to share this video with those for whom it might be helpful.