Up In The Air

So, it’s still up in the air…

I highly doubt that something would come out of the G8 meeting, well G7 actually since Vladimir Putin was too busy to attend. As such it’s my belief that organizations like G8, G20, G2, G3, APEC, ASEAN and others only function when the times are good. In bad times, just like the present one, everyone is for themselves. Welcome to the G-Zero world. Ian Bremmer of Eurasia group coined the term G-Zero, where in the influence of US in the foreign policy will decline thanks to its internal issues of unemployment and fragile economy and the developing nations are not rich or mature enough to take the added responsibility of maintaining the world order. Not that I like the unipolar world lead by any one country but given the two choices I will definitely want US to lead the political and economic world. Only because US is a mature democracy and secondly, I think world leaders, both elected and selected, behave when big daddy is in the room.

Coming to the current issue on hand, even after German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s statement before the G8 summit on Greece, I still believe that Greece will always be a part of Euro; it might declare bankruptcy but will remain part of Euro. No, I can’t provide any guarantee for my statement. The first lesson I learned in my ‘Intro to International Relations’ class was There is no Morality or Surety in Polity. The only reason Greece has still survived is not because of any love from IMF or EU but because even if Greece goes bankrupt they will still be on the hook for billions of euros. Not to mention the diplomatic loss of breaking up the Eurozone. On Greece’s part, as I had suggested before, they should start taking advantage of what they already have and leverage off it. One is Greek yogurt and the second is the fabulous weather. I know yogurt idea sounds funny, but it can help a nation emerge from the deep crisis (I sent an email to Fareed Zakaria about this idea…no reply yet!!). Greece should also take advantage of the warm weather and launch tourism on a massive scale.

Plato’s republic of 10.5 million earns around $27,000 per year. I am sure if they all come together they can pay off the debt of $250B within this decade and draw a new future for the next generation.

Amen to that