Quote from: Enemy of the State on June 26, 2012, 07:33 pmI know I might be in a small category with my opinion but I'll throw it out there anyway. I am currently reading a book about revolutions since 1776 forward. It doesn't include all revolutions but 6-7 of the majors. One thing that is obvious to me throughout is the position of the banks when change happens. Central banks in particular are extremely destructive to society and economies. Giving a small group of people the power to coin and distribute money allows them to control every aspect of that nation. 'Democracy' as a cornerstone of any nation is a washout. Democracy works best in small communities because of its propensity to be corrupted. I recommend a film called, "Life+Debt". It is about how Jamaica was reduced to a third world country by the IMF who usurped their trade agreements and gained control of their economy by importing foreign goods far below the local costs. This drove the locals out of business until all that was left was the foreign market.How does that apply to Greece? Greece is another example of the central banking control of fiat currencies that are manipulated at will without any relationship to productivity, commodities, or the job market. Look at Italy. They dissolved their government and replaced it with 'economists and ex-central bankers' that never represent the people they rule over. No country, government, or president is in control when the central bankers/Federal Reserve are the creators of currency. I wonder how it is that all of the ancient empires now find themselves bankrupt and insolvent? Spain, Greece, Egypt, Italy.Some awesome hardcore political tunes I listen to sometimes, Diabolic, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez. Kick it real. Just sayin......Hi EOTS,Some very interesting thoughts, many thanks!I agree that Greece's decision to throw the lot in with the Euro wasn't the wisest decision they made but they were brought down not due to a deficit between productivity, commodities and the job market but by rampant tax evasion and brazen wastage of public finances - this was the case when Greeks controlled their own economy and was also largely the case when the ECB took the reins.I take your point viz. Jamaica - some countries employ a practice known as protectionism to avoid the scenario you describe by taxing foreign imports. This often has negative effects on the economy as the price of local commodities increase accordingly. In certain cases as happened with oila and wheat in the US, the government were even artificially supporting the industry by buying them at elevated prices. The acronym WTF was never more appropriate than in this case.Incidentally some wily individuals have taken advantage of situations like these in the past by for example passing off cheap foreign oil as domestic oil and selling it at the local price - this is known as "Arbitrage" and is a very common practice in my line of work (I only wish I knew how to do it myself!)In times like these it is inevitable that some people will start to question whether it's right that the economy is so slated against the least productive members of society but I put it to you that we have seen the alternatives where governments have tried to place ownership of industry in the hands of the workers - cue mass starvation due to inept management of state farms, years long waiting lists for cars, shops regularly not stocking basic foodstuffs like fruit.To say that a given central bank is responsible for the misery caused by a poor economy is a little like saying mass starvation is caused by a lack of food - it's what's called a proximate cause i.e it doesn't tell you anything as to WHY there's no food. The answer in this case is piss poor management of the economy by a government trying to live well beyond its means. There only hope lies in implementing the austerity measures necessary for them to receive continued support from the ECB and knuckle down for the cold, dark night ahead!V.