'While the crisis may not have changed the parents much, it has clearly changed their children. "Many are still searching for a savior in politics, someone who fill feed them," says Karantza.'<blockquote>'It was the old rules of the game that led Greece into the crisis. The political class may have set the rules, but almost everyone adhered to them. Now the game is over, and there is no money left for
fakelaki and
rousfeti, corruption and nepotism, two basic principles of Greek political life until now.
Suddenly there is room for those who want to set up new rules, and who want change and more cooperation. Some 3,000 initiatives were established throughout Greece in the last three years. They all have the same goal: to do things better than before. There are food cooperatives, community gardens, social pharmacies and neighborhood assistance programs for the poor.
"For decades, all that mattered to us was a BMW outside the door and a Miele washing machine in the bathroom," says Andreas Roumeliotis, a former journalist who has summed up the efforts of young Greek civil society in a new book called "I Can Do It Without the Euro." The title is not a reference to a return of the drachma, but to the notion that Greece is a rich nation, even without BMWs, because it is a fertile country.
..
While the crisis may not have changed the parents much, it has clearly changed their children. "Many are still searching for a savior in politics, someone who fill feed them," says Karantza.
She has often thought of leaving her country. Until recently, Karantza shared her office with two fashion designers. One is now living in Los Angeles and the other is in Berlin. "There are so many opportunities here to change something," she says. "We can't leave."
The two women are launching their new project in the fall. This time their focus is not on cities, but on the national government.
They are planning a constitution convention of sorts, which they call Politeia 2.0. They encourage anyone who wants something new for Greece to participate. Giorgos Vichas, the cardiologist, has already agreed to be part of it.
They really do want to change the rules of the game.'
- Julia Amalia Heyer,
People Power: Young Greeks Team Up to Combat Crisis, August 13, 2013</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
'..prolonged Credit inflation remade the global financial landscape..''..It should be obvious that the earlier the crisis is allowed to play out, the less painful it will be. The one thing that we cannot possibly expect to get is an 'eternal boom'.
- Acting Man,
Parade of the Inflationists – or A World Gone Mad, August 14, 2013</blockquote>