When the anti-system is the system

There are so many absurdities in Greece, and we have put up with them for so long that we think they are normal. When we see the world through a distorting lens, it is natural that we cannot identify the problem, nor solve it. On the contrary, we use our delusions to judge each other. Every election campaign highlights this weakness in all its miserable glory.

Our inability to shape a common position against illegality, our acceptance of corruption, inequality, and excessive hostility towards each other mean that we cannot separate truth from lies, an election program from political fraud. 

The national bankruptcy is owed, to a great extent, to a mentality that actions do not have consequences, as long as we can demand (and achieve) a “political solution.” In other words, if we have the right support, or the necessary leverage, we can borrow without thought of the result, seeing as we can just keep on borrowing to cover our needs, as successive governments did. And if we find ourselves in trouble, we can simply demand that the debt be written off, as the SYRIZA government did, with the result that we all know.

Now, again, we see debt and empty promises growing, as the parties understand that without these they have no hope in elections. 

And when a party creates an artificial reality regarding itself and its rivals, it will find it very difficult to propose real solutions to problems. Some governments have tried to present solutions, others have simply pretended to do so. The result is that citizens cannot have faith in what they see.

If in some countries there is a “system,” this is a combination of institutions, procedures and traditions which understands society’s identity and its unwritten rules. In difficult times, it tries to maintain balances and proposes a steady course. This might not always be healthy (as the system may not adapt adequately to the changing needs of the time), but it does provide a reference point even to those who want to change it.

In our microcosm, the continual attacks on common sense and the clashes without real reason are aimed simply at encouraging supporters and eliminating rivals. Our “system” is the never-ending onslaught on the collective interest.