The values of wisdom and stamina and the danger of too financial times

My 12 weeks in the UK, NL, BEL, FRA, ITA were full of hard knocks. Tweeted much re that. So have the 2 weeks (back) in GRE. It has been a hard 7 days because I thought there was something wrong with my health. Turns out I am fine but I keep the lessons learned! We tend to think we are like companies, ie we live in perpetuity. Being aware every day that we are not, leads to better life management, ime.

Since the 17th I keep a daily ledger of all my daily expenses. Good discipline. My mom did same til she was 81! Some think that success in life is maximizing revenues. It is also, if not more, to manage/minimize cost (of living for persons/households).

Today I heard that another one of my bosses (good and bad times) in the 1990s passed away, this one this week. I shall miss him too.

Some years ago a friend accused me that I care too much about old people compared to young ones. Not true. I care much for both. But I feel that in this hard day and age, society has somewhat abandoned old people. I think old people, 80s+ are very cool and interesting. I also think that old people are very cute and lovely humans. And full of memories and wisdom to share with us.

My generation used to complain that old(er) people held the power (in biz, politics, the job market, etc). Now power seems to have shifted to those in their 30s. Nowadays the stamina of the 30plus decision makers has largely replaced in market value the wisdom of the 50plus of past decades. Both are bad trends

Why both are bad trends? Because IMO there shld be a healthy mix, Plus today's trend not good news for humans in general!  The current high market value for stamina reflects a de-humanization of work and the economy in general.  Are we headed towards IRobot humans?

My MBA with heavy electives in Finance does not prevent me from considering our times as too financial. A new type of middle ages.

About the Universe and its "conspiracies"

Sorry folks, but the Universe does not conspire for or against you when you really want something. So resist the (understandable) temptation to think so, when things are going well or badly. It's too convenient, among other things.

Reminds me of a scene in "The Day After" when a woman who sees the nuke mushroom says something like (was ages ago, in the 80s when I watched this TV movie): Does that mean my appointment with my hair dresser for tomorrow is off?

My cost of doing nothing on Nov 19

Tomorrow, after quite some time, I can afford to do nothing and have it cost me only 13 euros (my all inclusive rent divided by 30), 13 instead of 60, 82, 70, and especially 80 or 100 or in some cases 150! Oh yes, hotel rooms cost, around Europe. That will contribute to my rest - peace of mind while doing nothing. Dolce far niente, right?

A dentist, a marathon thinker and a philosoph reminder!

I have let my teeth go, for years now, when I was taking daily care of a sick, bedridden relative. After those three years, my teeth that suffered a lot from the abandon, but did I really care, my mother had just died. More teeth left until a few months ago 2 in front, upper jaw! That shook me, I looked like a seal! I did not have time to take care of that though even then. Then I was off to the NW Europe endevour. Until today, after one postponed appointment due to exhaustion last Thursday (yes, I had scheduled that one the minute I stepped on Greek ground in Patras!). By 4 pm I had 2 fewer broken teeth (extracted) and some 7-8 to go,. Yes, I think I am getting a good old style denture, No implants, no partial dentures using my 3 remaining teeth on the upper jaw. I heard that option. But I want a clean solution. After all, both my late mother and my  uncle had dentures by the time they were 45. I am 50 and I want to have to remove my denture to clean it every night (now they put it back on, my dentist said), as a reminder that a) life is not perfect and b) life is not  forever.

Oh come on, you did not expect a philosophical twist at the end?
Why on earth would I have engaged you in a story about teeth then? Not that vane!

NP Live Blog - November 6: Omabaland

To follow the flow, start from the bottom and read up:

Afternoon:

Obama-Romney:
What happens if there is a tie? Extra time or penalties?
Nothing to fear but Romney being President.
America will come "roaring back"? With a Chinese engine?


Morning: EU: The euro's credibility was built on an in-credible inflation minimization dogma that pushed the euro skyhigh. Hence the resulting vertigo.

Governing Dynamics: Capital is vagabond and homeless, so are companies, services and products. Can humans do it, though?

Governing Dynamics - Competitiveness: Only the homeless will survive?

Systemics and Dynamics Live NP Blog, October 31, 2012

Read bottom up to follow the flow:

Evening:

Euro crisis/Troika:
I thought memorandums were supposed to be brief, not as brief as executive summaries, but brief.

There seem to be 2 divergent views re the effect of Sandy on US economy: a) disruption of the recovery b) growth stimulus effect by money spend on the damages, multiplied by a greater than 1.0 factor. As per electoral effects, some think it may prove beneficial for Obama and Dems if seems presidential in his dealing with Sandy effects is deemed effective. Or could backfire. Will it also restore some faith of people in "government" and make collective esprit (eg health care) more popular. Guess we shall see.

Early morning:

EU/Euro/econ/fin crises:
Many admire the Iceland "model" of dealing with it. But they should recall it has a population of 320,000, a total area of 103,000 km2 out there in the Atlantic and a volcano!

More philosophical:
The problem with parents raising their kids with prince/princess aka noble values is that unless they also give them a Principauté, they are in for a rough ride in the "streets" of life.

Philosophical:
Hard times for "princes" and "princesses" (not the real ones, the other ones). Also hard for vagabonds, though. Unless in warmer climates.

Jobs/Career:
For decades now, searching for a job had become a job. In recent years, it has become a career.

Systemics and Dynamics Live NP Blog, October 29, 2012

Please read from the bottom up to follow the flow:

Schauble says EU needs the UK at Oxford:
Or Schauble simply playing "good cop" on the UK to Merkel's "bad cop" on the UK? The reverse roles compared to Greece, that is! lol
Maybe Schauble's call on the UK to stay in EU = sign EU getting unstuck between German exceptionalism and UK Euroscepticism?
So Schauble is playing "bad cop" on Greece and "good cop" on the UK? lol Oct 29, 2012
In reference to Schauble's EU call to the UK today, read my 2005 analysis: Britain and the heart of Europe http://t.co/P4jge3ty
Re UK in Eu read "The EU and the UK in a prisoner's dilemma!" in my: How many countries committed "economic suicide" http://t.co/5ycd7VxB
Or a desperate call for help on how to deal with a feasibly emerging ESP+ITA plus FRA (?) "alliance" in EU/Euro matters? #SchaubleNeedsUK
An admission EU doesnt speak Cauder's German? RT @ReutersWorld Germany's Schaeuble tells skeptical UK "EU needs you" http://t.co/AuqM74tq
Seems to me GER needs UK to debate FRA ideas RT @ReutersWorld: Germany's Schaeuble tells skeptical UK "EU needs you" http://t.co/AuqM74tq

Italy and EU:
When Italy became a country in the 1870s, the North imposed its laws + policies on the South. The effects linger. Lessons for EU - Eurozone?

Capitalism:
Matthew 19:24 and related passages directly contradict Calvinist predeternination. Imho.

On direct vs rep democracy:
So you think the concept of elected reps of the ppl and civil soc orgs with time and staff to KNOW the draft laws can be replaced? By what?
U think direct democracy, IRL or on the Net, is easy? Was it not for slaves work, u think Ancient Athenians wld have enuff time 4 politics?

Greece:
My main "take" on Greece is that no one's take, including mine, is accurate. That's Greece. Un-takeable. That's my main take on Greece.

Centrism:
When will the main parties in the US, UK, etc converge to the center in ideas + policies and compete in their ability to implement them?

On humanity in 2012:
The main disease that is turning so many of us into real zombies is greed. Oct 29, 2012
Does it take Natural disasters or will it take a comet from outer space threat for ppl to realise we all humans and shld stick together?

Why so difficult?
Why is it so difficult for so many to realise the difference between speculative and entrepreneurial risk? Even Sarkozy did!
People in at least The West know the ratrace is ravaging them. Instead of calling it off they want everyone in to suffer like they do? Why
Why is it so difficult for so many Europeans to realise that austerity and crash of GDP does not foster growth?
Why is it so difficult for so many American voters to realise the need for a public option in health insurance?
Why so difficult for many to realise a balance of individualism + collectivism, instead of 1 of the 2, is best? Not simplistic enuff 4 them?
It's ideologies tht focus on the individual or collective instead of balance of the 2 that unbalance the world
I guess Nature is reminding American voters who's the real boss and why allegiance between humans a good thing! Will they get the msg? And vote for the Dems?

Greece:
What is the worse that can happen Nov 16?

Mantra:
Rationalize, Simplify, Economize. A good mantra for 2012?

Sandy:
Who names storms and hurricanes? After ex-GFs? For revenge?

Merkel:
Merkel has been conducting Ein Experiment on 330 million. She leads the way. But remember Das Experiment movie? Did she ever watch it? Oct 29, 2012

Pop Cult:
Walking Nationless: A new TV series coming soon to a European TV station near you! 500,000,000 wandering aimlessly.
Walking Jobless. A horror drama series coming soon! Oh my, the jobless disease that taken over their minds! #media

Centrism:
I am a geek and my audience is people and decision makers (biz, pol) of moderate but progressive/innovative mentality in Europe. US, world.

Libertarianism:
Other than than, no one really bothers me, even libertarians or nationalist or anti-EUers. as long as they are not in my T/L.
Libertarianism is as unrealistic as communism. Only works when one alone on an island. Liberal Democrat: is another thing.
In short: Rand is as irrelevant as Marx. Had enough of libertarians when I ran with a libdem (I thought) party in Euro-1999.

US of E:
My support for a US of Europe is not ideological, it is practical (and constructively critical). Why? I lived in a US (of A) for 5.5 yrs! Oct 29, 2012

EU and the SMEs:
A real EU single market would have led to pan-EU niche markets for SMEs. But not a real single mkt yet, is it? #Marketing

PIGS and EU Animal Farm:
Are we on the verge of experiencing a rise of the PIGS (+FRA) in EU/Euro politics/decision making? Just askin. Reading signs?

Mark his words or not?
Rajoy: Spain, Italy Back Greece Remaining In Euro "one down will be all down.

Systemics:
The biggest "fights" people have are not with other ppl but group-think as well as systemics and dynamics. Much harder than person-on-person. And karate won't do.

From USSR to the EU to ....:
From good bye Lenin to good bye Merkel?

EU:
Athens in the Delos Allaince, Germany in the Eurozone or EU. Compare and contrast!

Memories:
Memories were meant to fade for a reason (from one of my poems)

Tolerating vs embracing Diversity

The key is not to tolerate diversity.

The key is to embrace it and treat it as an asset.

How many countries or societies do that, though?

What do the liberals and the Leninists have in common?

What do the liberals and the Leninists have in common, in iterms of ideology?

Their distaste for private monopolies & cartels. But whereas liberals think that they can be avoided via competition, anti-monopoly and antitrust legislation, Leninists prefer the state ownership model, for monopolies and business in general!

Personal liberty is a noble goal but ...

A comment on the occasion of Ryan's entry in the race (and his budgets):

Personal liberty is a noble goal but cannot act as an excuse for social non-empathy and lack of human solidarity.

All in (centrist) moderation?

Some say that the political center has no ideology. Well, for one, "all in moderation" is a key centrist philosophy, made in Ancient Greece.

Moderation, or if you prefer, a balance, between individualism (as opposed to the libertarians) and collectivism (as opposed to socialists and of course, communism).

Moderation between austerity and Keynesianism.

Moderation - balance in regulation and legislation. No zero state (libertarians) but not over-legislation, over-regulation and red-tape labyrinth (statists).

No worship or dogmatic attachment to either a) the public or b) the private sector. To each their own, depending on the structure of the industry/sector/economic activity.

Understanding that neither the markets nor the state are "wise".

How many political parties in Europe would be define as centrist based on the above? Which?

Capitalism: My definition

Capitalism is the system where people make money out of money, by lending or investing it and where te most crucial resource for starting and operating a business is financial (monetary) capital.

The transition from manufacturing and other industry to services as well as intellectual (largely non-tangible, non-material) products was supposed to gradually decrease the importance of financial capital in starting and operating a business (services or intellectual products such as music, books/ideas etc) and increase the importance of labour-human capital and the grey matter.

For many reasons, this has not happened. I have and will continue to tweet and blog on the reasons (eg here). In this post I want to emphasize that the extra-time that Capitalism as I defined it has got has produced some  really weird dynamics. Is the strategic option for the US and the EU to save and even regain manufacturing from Japan, China et al, or to learn how to live in a post-industrial era (at least for the "West")?

Agoromania?

Agoromania: So ir does not matter how well a company or economy performs per se, but only (how ell) compared to (market or analysts' expectations?

O tempora!

(Agoromania, part of Agorocracy)

Never mind Social Media and Finance. The value of Strategy and Philosophy in 2012.

Philosophy talks about enlightenment and wisdom.

Strategy talks, in effect, on awareness of the external (environment) and the internal (to the company).

Know thyself and understand the word. Then you are in sync with the universe and at peace.

In the era of social media (monetization, SEO, likes, friending, etc) and finance (CDSs, etc), it is the real economy that still the real economy. Of course the real economy pf 2012 cannot rely on construction (see problems with real estate bubbles in the US, Ireland, Spain) or traditional manufacturing.

But, my point, in this note is, that Strategy and Philosophy, albeit not buzz words of the times, are crucial tools in surviving and prospering in these times, or at least, being "happy" or content (for persons and for organisations, including corporations).

PS. The above does not mean that Finance and Social Media are or should be unimportant. Simply puts them in the right perspective and speaks out on the value of Strategy and of Philosophy in biz, politics and life in general,

Bonds and chains!

"The things you own wind up owning you" is my most memorable line from "The Fight Club" film and one of the most pertinent philosophical quotes of our era, in my opinion.

It does not apply to material goods only though, it seems to apply to financial ones as well. In other words we do not only become chains to things but bonds etc as well.

Food for thought!
(Does it apply to intellectual property, for example?)

Is Ordoliberalism the key to understanding a) the German or b) the Merkel way in Euro-economics

A very interesting article by Ulrike Guérot and Sebastian Dullien, "Why Berlin is fixed on a German solution to the eurozone crisis', in The Guardian on March 2.

The authors refer to Ordoliberalism and inter alia argue that: "..Crucially, its importance in German thought also suggests that a change in government in the next general election in 2013 is unlikely to change Berlin's approach to the big issues" and "These central tenets that lay out how to run an economy are largely an article of faith across Germany. Even the Greens have strong support for ordoliberalism".

To be honest, I had never heard of the term and I was and still am one of the critics of the ECB inflation policy in much of the 2000s that led to a Euro worth 1.3, 1.4 or even 1.5 USD and suffocating, IMHO, a large part the Eurozone's firms while benefiting greatly Eurozone imports from China, USA, even UK. And I do blame a German obsession, driven by Weimar Inflation traumas as well as JC Trichet's inflation minimisation philosophy.

I am also not a fan of the independence of central banks for reaaons that, it seems run 180 contrary to the Ordoliberalist philosophy (see below).

But I have also argued that the ideology that drives economic thinking in the Eurozone if not the whole EU nowadays has its foundations on a neo-conservative philosophy/ideology that is not German but shared by many of the current conservative governments in the EU/EZ, especially but not limited by any means to the Dutch one. In other words, that the problem behind Euro-austerity mania is not Germany per se, but German, Dutch and other economic neocons. And that Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" book (see a Wikipedia article on the book) is quite relevant to this austerity - neocon thinking.

In their Guardian article, Ulrike Guérot and Sebastian Dullien, in effect argue that there is a German way of thinking, Ordoliberalism, that drives German Euro-policy inter alia, and that it is a German not only a Merkel or CDU/CSU-FDP only philosophy.

I need to find out a lot more about this Ordoliberalism before I can comment on that.

As the Wikipedia article on Ordoliberalism suggests:

a) "Ordoliberalism is a German variant of neoliberalism[1] that emphasises the need for the state to ensure that the free market produces results close to its theoretical potential"

b) "Ordoliberal ideals (with modifications) drove the creation of the post-World War II German social market economy and its attendant Wirtschaftswunder"

but that:

c) "Since the 1960s ordoliberal influence on economics and jurisprudence has significantly diminished"

So are there fans of Ordoliberalism in Germany in 2012?

In his article "The eurozone will pay a high price for Germany's economic narcissism" in the Guardian (Jan 6, 2012) Hans Kundnahi suggests that:

"Merkel's economic advisers are deeply influenced by ordoliberal ideas – particularly on the role of the European Central Bank. To them, the role of a central bank is above all to maintain price stability – and thus promote growth only indirectly – rather than intervening to expand the money supply as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England have done in the past few years.


Thus the former ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark – who called Eucken's book Principles of Economic Policy "a constant source of inspiration throughout my career" – resigned last September after it purchased Italian and Spanish government bonds. Bundesbank president Axel Weber quit last February for similar reasons. His successor, Jens Weidmann – formerly an adviser to Merkel – is equally opposed to the ECB's bond purchase programme."

So it does seem that OB is a dominant philosophy in the CB and Merkel camp today.

But is it (more widely) a German philosophy (affecting the whole country/political parties/Society, eg the Greens or SPD)? That is IMO the key question.

If indeed according to Stephen Padgett: "A central tenet of ordo-liberalism is a clearly defined division" of economic policy between the agents 1) monetary policy (the central bank) 2) fiscal policy (the government) and 3) macroeconomic policy (the social partners - employers and trade unions), and while I am in favour of collective bargaining for wages (yet it should be noted that Germany has no national horizontal minimum wage (unlike the USA and many EU member states, set either by government or the national social partners (Greece, NL)), only sectoral and other levels of collective bargaining), I can see a very wide rift between my POV and that of Ordo-liberalism's. A rift may actuially be an understatement, an "ocean" is more like it.

Why? Because I am of the opinion that economic policy must be comprehensive and thus formulated by a single source, ie the government. Otherwise, the costs of non or bad co-ordination between fiscal, monetary and macro-economic policies can be very high (see what is happening in Europe today). At least the US and UK central banks seem to be more "willing" to coordinate their monetary policies with government economic policy and that is better than nothing. Yet I still do not see the need for a central bank that is more than a mere department of the Ministry of Finance/Economy.

By trying to be a "restrained liberalism" as Hayek called Ordoliberalism, Ordoliberalism may have actually managed to become a model that is worse not only compared to middle of the road economic thinking but liberalism (libertarianism) as well! Worse than libertarianism or market anarchy? Is that possible? Well, there is good evidence it is!

I do see one positive element in Ordoliberalism: "The concern is that, if the state does not take active measures to foster competition, firms with monopoly (or oligopoly) power will emerge, which will not only subvert the advantages offered by the market economy, but also possibly undermine good government, since strong economic power can be transformed into political power". Because there is much more work to be done in the EU and Eurozone to make sure that competition works well and that there are not restrictive practices in the EU Single Market.

But the big questions, crucial for the future of the Eurozone and the EU, are: Is French, Spanish, Irish, Italian, Slovak et al thinking potentially compatible with Ordoliberalism? Can common ground be found? 


Or, alternatively, are there enough Ordoliberals in the rest of the Eurozone other than in Germany?


Is Ordoliberalism indeed going to be a driving or an infleuntial ideology in eg an SPD-Greens government coalition after the 2013 elections?


Much food for thought for those who care about the future of Europe.

PS. If Diogenes of Sinope was alive today, he would go live and critique the dominant way of thinking in Berlin, it seems (rather than NYC or LA or DC or London or Paris or Brussels). And he would have quite a challenge. Can one imagine a dialogue between Diogenes and Angela Merkel (by analogy to the one between Diogenes and Alexander the Great)?

Western culture pays very dearly...

Western culture pays very dearly for its need for measurability & "stability".

And it seems US is converging towards Europe in risk aversion

Logic 101

"Greece is", "Germany is:: It's logically faulty to treat a whole country as if it's a person.

Other logically faulty syllogisms: "Greeks are X", "Germans are Y".

One can say "some Greeks are X" or "some Germans are Y" or even "Many Greeks are" or "most Germans are Y" BUT a syllogism saying "(all) Greeks are X" or "(all) Germans are Y" is by nature faulty reasoning.

One can say that "Greeks (Germans or Brits or ..) tend to".

Thus

Greek are, Germans are, Greece is, Germany is, even for the economy of words, is FAULTY reasoning! but a syllogism that has more chances of non being faulty is eg: "Greeks tend to X (or be Y) more than Germans"

Libertarianism and Communism

Libertarianism is as dogmatic as Communism (was).

And, by the way, neither Marx nor Ayn Rand were right

Chatsworth Estate vs. trailer park vs. the Eurozone1

Systemics:

a) Chatsworth Estate

b) trailer park

c) Eurozone.

Compare and contrast.