No Point in Complaining that Credit Crisis ‘Isn’t Our Fault’: O Globo of Brazil
October 8th, 2008
By WILLIAM KERN
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‘THE RETURN OF FAITH’
[Het Parool, The Netherlands]
With finger-pointing over the global financial crisis rapidly spreading, William Waack of Brazil’s O Globo warns that developing countries are in no way shielded from the effects - and that blaming others won’t do a thing to help Brazil or the world emerge from the hole they are in.
Waack writes in part:
“‘Contagion’ suggests that it might be possible to prevent the “disease,” as long as the potential victim remains isolated from the source of infection (in this case, the American economy). That’s pure nonsense, and it’s dangerous, because it overshadows what must be done and delays the adoption of protective measures. … We can dispense with the notion of ‘decoupling.’”
Waack then takes on those who are taking pleasure in America’s pain:
“The more advanced and competitive a national economic system is, the more it will be affected by the crisis. Therefore, it’s Brazil the exporter and innovator which is connected with the global economy that will face the worst consequences. And it is that modern country - industry, agro-business, services and competitive exporters of mineral commodities - that have ensured our prosperity so far. … Schadenfreude, a German word that has been adopted by the Anglo-Saxon press, means to take pleasure in the misfortune of others. The New York Times this Thursday pointed out the fact that many Latin American leaders, among them Chávez [Venezuela], Morales[Bolivia], Correa [Ecuador], Kirchner [Argentina] and Lula [Brazil], allowed themselves be get carried away with schadenfreude in regard to the crisis in the United States. And now, they’re getting carried away with fear. ”
By William Waack
Translated By Brandi Miller
October 3, 2008
Brazil - O Globo - Original Article (Portuguese)
In the chronology of the current global crisis, this Thursday (Oct. 2) will probably go down in history as the day it became quite clear that the catastrophe in the financial system also got hold of the so-called real economy - and rapidly spread from the United States and Europe to Asia and emerging countries, among them Brazil.
It is common to use the term “contagion” to describe the process by which successive economies contract, by virtue of negative expectations and due to the collapse of the global credit system. But “contagion” suggests that it might be possible to prevent the “disease,” as long as the potential victim remains isolated from the source of infection (in this case, the American economy).
That’s pure nonsense, and it’s dangerous, because it overshadows what must be done and delays the adoption of protective measures. Do you want a recent example of how a recession of global proportions affected even participants of a system believed to a rival capitalism? The oil shocks of 1973 and 1979, which brought tremendous damage to Western economies, also devastated trade between the Soviet satellite countries with the capitalist world.
READ ON AT WORLDMEETS.US, along with continuing translated and English-language foreign press coverage of the unfolding financial crisis.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Foreign Policy, Cold War, Newspapers, Alternative Energy Resources, Wall Street, Columnists, Left-Wing, Satire, Infrastructure, Stephen Colbert, Federal Reserve, Infrastructure, Stephen Colbert, NAFTA, Capitalism, Philosophy, Holidays, Hugo Chavez, Legislation, Political Cartoons, Science, Math, Technology, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Comedy & Humor, Domestic Programs, Energy, Latin America (Central/South), Corporations, Social Commentary, Foreign Politics, Taxes, Cartoon Commentary, George W. Bush, Americas - N & S, Business. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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