That exceptional measures should be taken in exceptional situations is pure common sense. And the State of Emergency is a regime that can be declared by the government of a country in special situations. It is a temporary mechanism contemplated in the constitutions of countries in the event that a government determines that an extraordinary situation exists, such as a natural catastrophe, serious disturbance of internal order, foreign war or any other danger considered sufficiently serious, in order to deal with it adequately. A state of emergency usually involves the suspension or restriction of certain fundamental rights, and implies temporariness, until the exceptional situation is regularised. It is also known as a state of alarm, siege or emergency.
Having defined the concept, it should escape anyone with sufficient knowledge of economics that the situation we are experiencing in the periphery of the Eurozone is tremendously exceptional. So much so that the very unity of the Eurozone, the integrity of the Euro, the solvency of the banks, the sovereignty of the countries, the solvency of the States and social peace, as well as the Welfare State, to give just a few examples, are at risk. If the current economic situation in the European periphery does not merit a temporary declaration of alarm or exception, then let God come down and see. The problem is that it is up to the rulers, i.e. the politicians, to see it, that they are not more economically illiterate because they are not trained. And of course, what happens happens happens. Therefore, we are sailing -zozobramos- in the middle of a perfect storm on a sea of financial exceptionality, without even having ordered the activation of the emergency protocol, which is what it is there for. That's what an unconscious crew with no seafaring training is all about.
Trade unions have historically been very necessary. They have, as their name suggests, defended the working class since after the beginning of the industrial revolution. As early as 1824 England recognised a trade union as a forerunner of the trade union rights. And the world of labour would be much worse off today without their struggle to improve the welfare of the working class (which has become the indispensable middle class through generations of prosperity and growth) by moderating the profits of the bosses. But therein lies the key: Their struggle becomes meaningless when there are no employer benefits to moderate.. And today the business fabric of the European periphery, in short the economy of these countries, is in a state of exceptional collapse. Never have the PIGS had their hands tied in determining their monetary policy; never have their economies had to suffer from an expensive currency that lethally stifles business competitiveness; never have they had such an insolvent and leveraged financial (banking) system; never have these states been so indebted; never have these countries been so incapable of maintaining public spending (even if only to the extent that they are unable to do so); never have these countries been so unable to maintain public spending (even if only to the extent that they are unable to do so); Never have these countries been so incapable of maintaining public spending (even with more debt), because in the face of their manifest insolvency the markets have turned their backs on them; never has an economic crisis destroyed so many jobs; never has the future well-being of their children been less than the current well-being of their parents; and we could go on with a long list of examples of our extreme and exceptional situation.
Those of you who know me well know that I am not a lover of rights cuts or authoritarian regulations and prohibitions. But with the state of our economy - and that of Greece, Portugal, Italy, etc. - we cannot afford trade union actions to stoke the fires of social protest. Society already has enough to face with the misery that is already knocking at its door, without being made to believe that its welfare is being denied to it by the employers or the government, and that it can recover it if it takes to the streets. We do ourselves a disservice if we do not make society aware that this time it is not a question of an unfair distribution of wealth, but of an exceptional and generalised decrease in wealth.
The current scenario is not one of working class oppression at the expense of exacerbated bosses' profits. The scenario we are facing does not have a rich enemy, as in the past, to press for a fairer distribution of its goods. And therefore the current scenario is not solved by more decibels of protest and less productivity. The enemy to fight against is the economic crisis. An enemy that is leaving the working class on the streets, including the massive middle class that has taken so many years to create, and which is so necessary for the future of the European Union. State Welfare. But it is also hitting employers hard, not by putting them out of business, but by destroying their companies and their capacity to generate jobs and wealth for society. This enemy called the Economic Crisis, which is raging against the affluent developed world, and especially against the weakest of the litter, is destroying our business fabric - the basis of economic prosperity - with a virulence never seen before in peacetime. And we face this enemy handicapped by the fact that we have surrendered our ability to decide monetary policy. Because the weapons we have are lent to us by our neighbours who are in a better economic situation (Germany), and are therefore not adapted to our war needs but to theirs.
If the political class - the governments - had had the financial and economic education that they scandalously lack, decisions would have been taken in a better direction and much earlier. It has taken precious time to replace Berlusconi with a technocratic government, which is nothing more than a euphemism for a government with knowledge of economics. And unfortunately it is only an exception among the rest of the periphery, which is still governed by politicians. If those in power were financially competent, they would have realised more and better that the situation in the periphery of the Eurozone is absolutely exceptional. And as such, it needs exceptional measures, which is what they are there for.
It is vitally important that trade unions are able to see the economic reality. Faced with such an exceptional situation, they must use their influence to make working society aware that we must unite with the traditional enemy to face a new and fearsome common enemy: the economic and financial crisis. A crisis that is global, but one that is particularly fierce in the European periphery, due to circumstances with which we are all familiar. But if trade union leaders, paradoxically with no economic training whatsoever, are not capable of understanding the magnitude of the problem, and of assuming their duty as lobby If trade unions remain anchored in their fight against corporate abuses in the current scenario, it means that they have missed the point. If the trade unions are still stuck in their fight against corporate abuses in the current scenario, it means that they have not understood anything. Not only that, but their actions are extremely damaging to the economy's chances of recovery.
This crisis cannot be overcome by general strike on 29M (29 March) or with protests against the labour reform. The only way out alive is through sacrifices that our generation has never known. Unfortunately, the welfare state is history. The social rights with which we have lived through the last few years of economic prosperity have a price that we can no longer afford, and therefore no longer exist for us. Unjust, yes. Real, too. In the ranking of justice and social welfare of our planet, the peripheral countries of Europe have fallen a few places. Whether deserved or not - which is debatable - the sooner we become aware of this, the sooner we can strive to work and produce more for less. Only in this way, and after many years of constant and successful sacrifice, will we be able to regain - perhaps for our children - the longed-for social welfare. But for the time being we have to deal with a state of economic emergency. And if the trade unions are still in the Welfare State Matrix and insist on rowing in the opposite direction, we should temporarily and exceptionally remove them from the public arena, in order to be able to give as soon as possible the raw red pill to our society.
It is foolish not to recognise the necessary and laudable historical work of trade unions, in times of economic boom, to balance social justice. But in times of this deep crisis and massive destruction of wealth, their role, enemies and priorities must change radically. Otherwise, in a sad paradox, they will be co-responsible for further economic agony and more acute and prolonged social suffering. In today's world, economic ignorance in times of crisis is extremely dangerous, both in the political class and in society in general.