Comments on: What crisis? http://www.jamieandrews.name/blog/2009/01/what-crisis/ Just another WordPress weblog Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:05:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: ralph http://www.jamieandrews.name/blog/2009/01/what-crisis/comment-page-1/#comment-48 ralph Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:08:37 +0000 http://www.dealingwiththeglobalcrisis.com/?p=65#comment-48 Hi. I think many of the posts and videos have been quite interesting. The recent post about terming the current economic situation a `crisis` and the use of `dealing with...` and `surviving the...` was particularly interesting to me because it echoes and overlaps with thoughts and discussions I have been having recently. One point I would like to make but understand its premise is unrealistic is this; that by its very nature terming anything a crisis has the problem of causing pessimism. And this in itself can be the problem. This is particularly true for such intangible concepts as global trade and business confidence. The way news stories work however means it is impossible for me to expect journalists to avoid reporting on the situation in a frank way and in many cases a sensationalist way. I do like the spin of this websites `dealing with...` title however. I think the use of `crisis` is important both within the conventional market economy paradigm and that of those proposing a progressive change away from a capitalist growth model. Within the conventional market paradigm we have businesses which are clearly still profitable falling hugely in share price because everyone`s selling like mad to avoid making even bigger losses in the future when the fact is they can still make money. Apple have money, Dell has money etc they are not going any where but it`s sell sell. So things get worse on paper and it takes up evermore column inches until it snowballs further and it becomes a bigger crisis. Then at the other end of the spectrum where you have people proposing a system not so obsessed with accumulation and growth because these things haven`t delivered anymore happiness. Their efforts are being scuppered because at every turn it is regarded as a crisis with no other solution than, more shopping to return to the status quo. Its not being seen as a possibility to just for once maybe just for a change not maybe move up to a Porsche or a 4x4 that you can`t actually afford that you have to borrow money for that your not going to pay back before you upgrade again in 3 years time on part exchange etc. (British people are barely any happier than they were during WW2 and that was from surveys before the `crisis`.) So really I am saying continual exaggeration/pessimistic predictions exacerbate problems for both camps really. Which is really quite pessimistic of me really. Don`t panic Hi. I think many of the posts and videos have been quite interesting. The recent post about terming the current economic situation a `crisis` and the use of `dealing with…` and `surviving the…` was particularly interesting to me because it echoes and overlaps with thoughts and discussions I have been having recently. One point I would like to make but understand its premise is unrealistic is this; that by its very nature terming anything a crisis has the problem of causing pessimism. And this in itself can be the problem. This is particularly true for such intangible concepts as global trade and business confidence.
The way news stories work however means it is impossible for me to expect journalists to avoid reporting on the situation in a frank way and in many cases a sensationalist way. I do like the spin of this websites `dealing with…` title however.
I think the use of `crisis` is important both within the conventional market economy paradigm and that of those proposing a progressive change away from a capitalist growth model.
Within the conventional market paradigm we have businesses which are clearly still profitable falling hugely in share price because everyone`s selling like mad to avoid making even bigger losses in the future when the fact is they can still make money. Apple have money, Dell has money etc they are not going any where but it`s sell sell. So things get worse on paper and it takes up evermore column inches until it snowballs further and it becomes a bigger crisis.

Then at the other end of the spectrum where you have people proposing a system not so obsessed with accumulation and growth because these things haven`t delivered anymore happiness. Their efforts are being scuppered because at every turn it is regarded as a crisis with no other solution than, more shopping to return to the status quo. Its not being seen as a possibility to just for once maybe just for a change not maybe move up to a Porsche or a 4×4 that you can`t actually afford that you have to borrow money for that your not going to pay back before you upgrade again in 3 years time on part exchange etc.
(British people are barely any happier than they were during WW2 and that was from surveys before the `crisis`.)
So really I am saying continual exaggeration/pessimistic predictions exacerbate problems for both camps really. Which is really quite pessimistic of me really.

Don`t panic

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