1789: Failures of The Republic

Judge the effectiveness of this particular government in regard to its actions and agendas.


Thesis: Governments during the French Revolution are often deemed ineffective due to the ignorance of the people's demands and the short-sightedness of their actions that often led to their demise.


Failure is not an option


Governments rise and fall, but their reigns are not as short as those in the French Revolution. What the world population had witnessed in this even is the fastest transition of governments in various forms, whether it would be the radicals or the indecisive moderates. In all forms of government preceding Napoleon's reign had significantly FAILED in their efforts of governance. The most explicite examples of such failures lie in the monarchy and Robespierre Committee of Public Safety.

A portrait of Marie Antoinette in her ridiculously extravagant clothing. Her spendings would increase France's deficit spendings, coining the title of "Madame Deficit"

A British cartoon during the revolution, portraying the Jacobins and the radicals around a guillotine.  The savagery of the characters and the scenery would be repulsive the viewers suggesting that this action must be stopped.

The Monarchy

The monarchy was utterly ineffective in managing the country. They would not give up their comforts to rescue the starving people in their country, and continued their extravagant lifestyles. The people in France were devastated by the winters, and most of the peasants now only survive by foraging for food, as the urban workers toil day and night to receive a wage that is not enough to buy even bread. The king, Louis XVI, was indecisive and others could manipulate him. For example, the nobles that were close to him were able to convince him to pass a law that reduced their taxes. This worsened the terrible condition the country was already in. The king did not act, and that in itself was a crime. By doing nothing, he let the social structure of the Ancien Regime abuse the third estate, which was 97% of the actual population. The heavy taxes fell upon the Bourgeoisie, the peasants and the urban artisans. While the middle class were able to survive, the peasants and laborers had to fight just to live. France was a nightmare, and it was all the monarch’s fault. King Louis also managed to anger the general populace more by being lenient with his wife, Marie Antoinette. She was free to do anything she wished. That meant that she spent her allowance on dresses, hair styling and gambling. As if that wasn’t enough, the king built her Le Petit Trianon. It was simply something that could not be forgiven. She was a foreigner, she spent money wastefully, and now the king had built her a miniature village with the money that could have been used to help the poor people. By now, the only people that would support the monarchy were the nobles and the high clergy. It was time that the people revolted against their king.


The Committee of Public Safety

The Committee of Public Safety was a 12-man collective dictatorship. They were ruthless, headed by the “Incorruptible” Maximilien Robespierre.

The problems that this administration faced is simply to quell the rebellions in all regions of France. In such a time, all other issues of governance are disregarded due to the anarchy that had hampered the government’s effort in improving the people’s living conditions. It is safe to say that the Jacobins had failed in all agendas as a government, including its primary objective to restore order in the society. A madman, Robespierre utilized legislations, tailored to kill anyone in his path. Paradoxically, such killings caused even more violence as the ancient proverb states: “violence only begets violence”. Robespierre’s utilized senseless violence, created even more counter revolutionaries for his administration to deal with. The administration had been defiant to the suggestions of its members, who begged for Robespierre to end the killings, yet he's placed even his closest associate, George Danton, at the guillotine for making such suggestions.


Futile attempts of reformations in the French culture and religion also made the government increasingly unpopular.


The Committee of Public safety proved to be an ineffective government in any role it took, and its aggression would be all in vain as the government would come to an abrupt end when Robespierre was trailed and executed for his crimes.

1789: The Government's Duties

How did the governments address problems within the state itself? Show evidence.


The Government’s Duties

The government’s job had been, and always will be to protect the rights of the people. Some government does this faithfully, providing its people with every right they can. Others are corrupted, and they oppress the people so that they themselves can gorge on the riches of the nation. The administration had not been very different in the French Revolution. 


Thesis: The different governments in the French Revolution dealt with the problems by the various means such as violence, propaganda and legislation.

“The government has no other end, but the preservation of property.”
-John Locke

The Monarch’s Ways

The King and the Queen of France had been very ignorant of their people. While they sat lazily in their palace, the citizens of France toiled away fruitlessly, trying to feed themselves and their family. The monarchy left a lot of be desired. They wasted the country’s wealth, and turn their backs on the struggle of the country. They couldn’t and wouldn’t deal with the problems of France. Their debts continued to build. Finally, the country was on the edge of financial collapse. The king finally agreed to call the Estate General, a meeting of the three estates. The third estate was adamant on making the other two estate pay more tax, but since they have only one vote, they always lost. The king also sided with the clergy and the nobles. After that, the people started to revolt. It was the beginning of the revolution. The angry people of Paris stormed the Bastille, and the fortress fell. Then, they marched on to Versailles to take on the king. They gave him a choice: move to Paris or die. He chose to go back to Paris, and with that, the rule of the indecisive and ignorant king ended.

“He did not have the qualities of a man born to be a leader. He was timid and lacked self confidence.”
- Statement about Louis XVI by a noble member of the Parlement

Robespierre’s Methods

During the French Revolution, people with new and extreme ideas emerged. These people were called the Radicals. The leader of these men was a man named Robespierre. People called him the incorruptible, as he was never deterred from his determination to make France a republic. But after the king was executed, and he was put into a position of power in the Committee of Public Safety, his sanity was questioned. He was intent on changing the nature of man itself, since he was convinced that it was the greatest problem they faced. He thought that everyone was corrupted and evil, but with enough time and effort, he could change that. He began by deciding that France will not be a Catholic nation anymore. Instead, he decreed that everyone shall pray to the gods of logic, thus creating the Cult of the Supreme Being, that is heavily based on classical dieties. Streets that had names which related to Christianity was renamed. The calendar, since it was based on Catholicism, was also thrown away and replaced with a new one. Not only that, but since he felt that the Loyalists were planning to overthrow him. He executed thousands of people per day, and brutally murdered the rebels fighting against him. The counter-revolutionary army was taken down, and their wives and children eliminated. This was most notable during Vendee Rebellions. Robespierre was paranoid and even killed off his friend, Danton, for telling him that the Terror has to end. His tyranny ended the day he was arrested.


"He did not create kings to devour the human race. He did not create priests to harness us, like vile animals, to the chariots of kings and to give to the world examples of baseness, pride, perfidy, avarice, debauchery, and falsehood. He created the universe to proclaim His power. He created men to help each other, to love each other mutually, and to attain to happiness by the way of virtue"


- Maximilien Robespierre's preachings of The Cult of the Supreme Being

Robespierre's newly invented Republican Calenda, which completely lacked terms affiliated to Christianity which was once predominant in the previous form of the calendar.

An illustration of Robespierre's papermache mound, built in the heart of Paris as a place of worship for his new cult.

1789: Chronology

The Chronicles of The French Revolution on Dipity.

1789: The Emergence

How did the government emerge and what conditions led to its implementation?


Thesis: Governments of French Revolution emerges from the discontent of the impoverished majority due to France's deficit spending, the rise of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the inequality in the society fostered by the dominant system of social classes.


The Great Deficit


France, 1789 is plagued with dilemmas 3rd world nations faced today. Famine and warfare ravaged the ex-powerhouse of 17th century Europe, leaving it in ruins. Constricted by the debt, France suffocates upon heaps of interest that piled on them. France's collapse is a certainty. Before one could dwell into the bloodstained epilogue of this debacle, one must inquire on the causes of this phenomenon.
France in the end of the 18th century was an impoverished nation, tended by a despotic monarch, Louis XVI (a synopsis of Louis XVI is available in the previous blog entry). His fathers left him with a nation knee deep in debt due to war and the lavish court spendings, notably the construction of the Versailles, that does not simply correlate with France's income. France's intervention in the New World may have brought the Americans their independence, but that costed France greatly for raising an army is a costly affair, which increases France's debt exponentially. Crop failures and inflation caused food prices to rise beyond preceded levels, thus making starvation of the peasants a common dilemma. To make matter's worse, Louis XVI is a man of extravagant appetite that insisted on retaining the court's spending, without having to realize that those around its perimeters are starving.


A Flawed Foundation


 Feudalism, is the reality of the 18th century France. The structure of the French society prior to the revolution is comparable to those of an estate. The French society is classified in three rudimentary social classes, the First, Second and Third Estate.


At the apex of the society, or should we call it the roof, would the clergy. France is a devout Catholic nation, deeply bound to their faiths, thus giving the clergy numerous privileges including the ability to impose church tax on the people, which made those in the upper hierarchy ridiculously wealthy. To make matters worse, the clergy's tax was waived for they had paid such sums in prayer for the king and country.


The nobility made up the Second Estate, which, similar to those of the First Estate, enjoyed privileges in the society. Unlike many's perception, a noble's wealth varied for titles of nobility are inherited. Some nobles are close associates to the king, giving them ample power to wield. The most significant perks of the nobles are that they possess a large portion of France's land. Land exemplifies the nobles power through debt of sharecroppers that formed the bulk of the Third Estate. Peasants are tethered to the noble's land by debt, thus reviving the romantic scenario of the feudal age in France, where these 'serfs' and 'vassals' break their backs serving the Lord of the manor. Since the members of the Second Estate are either appointed by the king or inherited their status as a noble, they are not subjected to taxation.


As buildings today are designed to hold what we called, the dead and the live weight. During the French Revolution, the peasants held the entirety of such a load for they made up the bulk of the French society. They are called the Third Estate, which consists of peasants and businessmen who lacked the titles of nobility. Having the burden as the sole payer of the nation's tax and no say in government, the Third Estate is liable for any punishment the First and the Second Estate could throw at them. Abused, excessively taxed and are often conscripted into the military, the Third Estate grew ever poorer. Fed up of these conditions, the Third Estate demanded radical changes in the society, and thus, this very rationale will drive the French Revolution forward.

A political cartoon reflecting the French society in the 18th Century portraying the Third Estate was  squished by  the First and the Second Estate. The slate on the man from the Third Estate states "Taille (church tax), Impots (good taxes) et Covee (force labor)". This suggests the torment of the Third Estate bearing the weight and duties of the Third and the Second Estate.

The Winters of 1789

The French never expected the harsh, deadly and cruel winter that arrived in the year of 1789. The freezing winds tore through the lands, withering crops and smothering the growing seeds. Crops failed in every field during that winter. Wheat died, which meant that the French food stores took a massive blow. No grain meant no bread. The price of the basic food of the French people skyrocket, leaving the peasants and the laborers starving. People died of starvation, or froze to death. France became a dead, frozen land.

Peasants, knowing that they will never be able to cultivate any plants, understood that they would have to act or die. So, many chose to take action. Bakeries were raided, and food stores were broken into. A loaf of bread was worth fighting and dying for. The country erupted as the people fought with teeth and nail to get to the nourishment they needed. Everything was in turmoil. You couldn’t go out at night, for fear of being attacked. Staying home, though, did not truly make you safe. Homes were broken into and stolen from. France was a deathtrap, one that the poor citizens could not escape from.

People who did not work as farmers were not safe from the failing economy and the famine. Their wages were also at risk. As crops fail, farmers were kicked out of their rented land as they did not meet their required quota. Dejected and famished, they trudged out of their farmlands and into the cities. This happened all around the country. Cities were flooded with waves of peasants arriving in droves. Owners of factories would grin and rub their hands together in excitement. For them, the hordes of the poor were a gold mine, and they would reap all the benefits they can from it. The increased workforce meant that the employers would only choose the people who asked for the lowest wage. This meant that salaries were lowered until it wasn’t even enough for food. The winters of 1789 had driven France to the verge of collapse.


Ideas of Enlightenment

Philosophers call Paris “The City of Lights”. Ideas of enlightenment were born in this great city. Ironically, though, the people of France were thoroughly oppressed by the monarchy. Paris is supposed to be a place of revolution, an advanced city, flourishing in its knowledge. In reality, though, people were under the rule of a monarch that do not care for them, and the social structure goes against nearly all the ideas of enlightenment. That, though, was going to change soon.

The monarchs of France were known as opulent and extravagant people, who cared little for the citizens of their country. When the cold winters crushed the French economy and people, the couple happily lived on in their majestic palace of Versailles, oblivious to the hardships of their own people. One of the great philosophers discussed in the salons of Paris was John Locke. People revered him, and agreed with him. But contrary to his idea of government’s purpose, which is to protect the people’s rights, the French monarch practically ignored their citizens. As winters ravaged them, and as they were abused by the social structure, the monarchs acted as if they did not exist. They continued to hold lavish feasts and enjoyed their wasteful ostentatious dresses. This directly goes against the respected opinion of John Locke.This caused much anger in the population, and became one of the major causes of the French Revolution.

John Locke, an Enlightenment philosopher who greatly influenced the French and the preceding American Revolution. His ideas are evident in the foundation of many republics around the world. 

The Declaration of the Rights of Man 1789


The ideas of The Enlightenment bears fruit in the French Revolution when the National Assembly passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789, which derives mostly from Locke's idealism of the natural rights of man. The Declaration of the Rights of Man, a set of legislations that proclaim the rights of the individual's, written by the bourgeois of the Third Estate in the National Assembly in 1789, believes in the concept of liberty in society for every man are born equal and is naturally entitled to inalienable rights, and ultimately, power comes from the people. The Declaration of the Rights of Man resembles the British and American Bill of Rights, which, this resemblance is no coincident. The French involvement in the American Revolution had exposed the French the concept of equality and liberty in society that is transcribed into legal documents.


"1. Men are born, and always continue, free, and equal in respect of their rights. Civil distinctions, therefore, can be founded only on public utility. " - The Declaration of the Rights of Man 1789


This is the first point made on the declaration, and as seen here, liberty and equality is emphasized in this document. The second sentence refers to the social statuses, or distinctions, which according to this document, could only be made for the sake of the society, and thus, titles of nobility are appointed in vanity and must be eliminated for it did no good to the society. The French had done just that in the months following the creation of this declaration (please refer to the timeline).

Outside Influence

All the causes of the French Revolution does not come from inside the country itself. Other countries were also a major influence upon the change in government. For example, the British. England now is ruled by a parliament, and does not have an absolute monarchy. Also, they had the Bill of Rights, which is a set of laws that dictate the rights of the people that the king cannot ignore. As the French looked towards the British, they saw that they were flourishing. Then, they looked at their own country and saw that they themselves were upon the edge of destruction. Their country was collapsing, and they realized that the king was the crux of the problem. England had helped them realize the problems of their own country.

1789: Shaping the Government

What social, political, and economic events (internal & external) shaped the activities of the government? 


Thesis: The French governments during the revolution are sculptured by the nation's deficit and the radical's actions that constantly escalates into unprecedented dilemmas that forces governments to retaliate with force .


Both Ends of the Spectrum and Everything in Between


Governments existed for as far as we could recall, in all shapes and form that lay along the political spectrum that ranges from absolute authority to anarchy. Never before in the history man had all of the types political systems had been witnessed in action in a single pivotal event. That event, ladies and gentlemen, is the French Revolution of 1789...


The Debacle of Debt and Danger

As the interest payments piled up, the French government is on the verge of collapse and in a desperate attempt to prolong the inevitable, Louis called up the Assembly of Notables to discuss an increased tax payment for the nobles. Soon, the Estate General was called up to agree to the new tax structure that was based on property one owned, but failed to do so due to the masses of noble bureaucracy that had vetoed their claims in order to retain their perks. Enraged, the king dismissed the Estate General, which in that act of passion, the Estates General met in a nearby tennis court and vowed to establish a constitution for France. This event is coined as the Tennis Court Oath.

The painting portraying the Tennis Court Oath by Jacques Louis David, a prominent painter and an avid supporter of the revolution.

Le Grand Peur


The Estates General proclaimed themselves as the National Assembly and ordered a parliament called the National Convention to be set up. Composed of mainly the bourgeois, the National Assembly bargained a fair deal with the king and for them, the revolution was over. Yet once again, the peasants were ignored and could no longer endure such a condition. The peasant demanded reforms to improve their lives, and therefore, they ushered a series of riots beginning from storming the Bastille, an attempt to destroy the symbol of tyranny. These events revved of the engines of the revolution as it sets off widespread riot in the nation as peasants harnessed the power of the masses. France is left in a state of anarchy where mob mentality reigned over rationality, giving this period its name: the Great Fear. As witnessed in history, anarchy never lasts, for soon, in desperation, the people begged for anyone to grab the reigns of power and restore order in the society. Often times, it is the ones who spurred the anarchy itself who filled the power vacuum. In this case, it was the Jacobins, an assembly of radicals led by Maximilien Robespierre (a synopsis of Robespierre is available in the previous blog entry) of the Committee of Public Safety. In 1793, the Convention, unable to quell the riots handed authority to the Public Safety Committee. Robespierre became the despot of France who was loathed for his policy of massacres of those he claims to impede the progress of the revolution. By passing legislations that justified and lubricated Robespierre's executions, anyone could be dragged into the gallows. This period is called the Reign of Terror. Here, power resides in Robespierre and his 12-man party of dictators. After over 14,000 decapitated, Robespierre loses his support and was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.

A portrait showing the storming of the Bastille.

Rise of The Radicals

As witnessed in history, anarchy never lasts, for soon, in desperation, the people begged for anyone to grab the reigns of power and restore order in the society. Often times, it is the ones who spurred the anarchy itself who filled the power vacuum. In this case, it was the Jacobins, an assembly of radicals led by Maximilien Robespierre (a synopsis of Robespierre is available in the previous blog entry) of the Committee of Public Safety. In 1793, the Convention, unable to quell the riots handed authority to the Public Safety Committee. Robespierre became the despot of France who was loathed for his policy of massacres of those he claims to impede the progress of the revolution. By passing legislations that justified and lubricated Robespierre's executions, anyone could be dragged into the gallows. This period is called the Reign of Terror. Here, power resides in Robespierre and his 12-man party of dictators. After over 14,000 decapitated, Robespierre loses his support and was executed, ending the Reign of Terror.

A British cartoon from the period that portrayed the Sans-Culottes, "relaxing after the fatigues of their day". In this cartoon the cartoonists portrayed the radicals as cannibals, for he is repulsed by their massacres for the revolutionary cause.  

Austrian Intervention

After the King's attempt to flee to Austria was thwarted, the royal couple's fate is in jeopardy. The Austrian Duke of Brunswick, a relative to the queen, issued an ultimatum to the French called the Declaration of Pilnitz, which warns the revolutionaries not to harm the royal family or they would find themselves at war with the Austrians. This only served to anger the Frenchmen. The San-Culottes, manipulated by the Jacobins, were convinced to attack the Tuileries Palace where the king was staying. The king managed to escape the attack, and went to the National Assembly to ask for protection. The National Assembly decided to give him a trial, in which he was announced guilty and sent to the guillotine. The king’s execution angered almost every nation in Europe, and the Prussians and the Austrians joined forces to fight France. With the Levee en Masse in place, France had plenty of men. Although the nation sacrificed a lot of soldiers, they managed to fight off the attacks from both countries. France collapsed the First Coalition, and gained territory all over Europe, including Batavian Republic, which became a satellite nation. Now, only Britain was left standing as an enemy of France. The Austrians’ intervention had triggered a series of events that would eventually to the rise of Napoleon, great Emperor of France.


Autocracy Returns


Fed up with the radicals, the French appointed the moderate Directory as the government, although ironically, its a 5-man oligarchy. Meanwhile, an audacious artillery officer called Napoleon Bonaparte (a synopsis of Napoleon is available in the previous blog entry) masses his army to take down this very government. A war hero, Napoleon rallied support for his cause and successfully staged a coup against the Directory, removing them from power. Napoleon proclaimed himself as the emperor of France, thus returning the nation into its original state of autocracy. However, Napoleon does not stop here, he waged a series of war called the Napoleonic Wars to expand the French Empire. In 1815, his ambitious campaign came to an abrupt end when he was sent into exile. Napoleon had brought France and Europe into the point of no return where the ideas of the revolution are diffused throughout Europe as it spreads like cancer that will soon bring forth an end to European monarchies.

1789: Prominent Figures

The "Hot Potato"

In the duration of the French Revolution, many tried to unite the nation of enraged peasants under their authority. Of those who attempted this audacious deed, only few succeeded, only to discover that their victory could not be prolonged. Power, in the French Revolution, is a fleeting element; the throne is as volatile as a powder keg, for a single spark could blow them to smithereens. It is as if this French debacle is a game of 'hot potato', where its players chuck glowing hot orbs of authority to one another. Those who hold onto it for too long risks death. Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present you the prominent players of this very game...

King Louis XVI

In times where the nation is in peril, this is the last man one would want to see on the throne. King Louis was left with a nation impoverished by war and famine. With the burden of debts passed on to him by his father and an extravagant lifestyle to maintain, Louis will be the catalyst of the revolution. Ignorant to the needs of the people, Louis dismissed the Estate General and resort the use of brute force, ironically, while he lacked even the support of the military. Of course, this led to the Tennis Court Oath and a widespread discontent of the people, to the level that they are willing to exert force in order to meet their demands. These actions spurred the commoners into action and thus, officially started the revolution. Soon, this tyrant succumbs to the horde of peasants and was imprisoned in his own palace, the Tuileries. Death came to him in a swift stroke of the guillotine, after he was caught escaping at Varennes to the allied Duchies of Austria.

Maximilien Robespierre

In times of desperation, mankind had witnessed numerous instances madmen filling up the void in positions of power. This particular figure, is one of them. After the execution of our previous 'player', the National Convention had to contend with the widespread peasant riots against the landowners and the former loyalist authorities. This state of anarchy is called the 'Great Fear'.  The National Convention had given the authority to quell these riots to the Committee of Public Safety, led by Maximilien Robespierre, a radical from the Jacobins club. With the 12 men committee, Robespierre led a series of executions to rid the country of the lingering population of loyalists that he believed, is the source of these unrests. Amidst the chaos, Robespierre proclaimed himself as the dictator of France and executed those who opposed him with laws such as the Law of Suspects, allowing him to imprison virtually anyone without a trial. This blood stained period of French history is called the Reign of Terror where Robespierre could easily lop the head of his opposition with the newly invented execution machine called the Guillotine. Intoxicated with power, Robespierre's insanity had brought him to create his own cult based on classical deities and his own illusion of a rational God. The result: the citizen's freedom of faith is taken away and all traces of Christianity is wiped out from France (eg. Christian months are replaced by Robespierre's classically inspired calendars and streets are renamed to praise himself and his efforts towards the revolution). After the riots died down, Robespierre's cover of chaos was lifted and he soon became a convict from the murder of over 14,000 people. Robespierre was arrested and executed with his own weapon, the Guillotine, ending the Reign of Terror. This madman's life proved Boris Yeltsin's saying that "one could make a throne out of bayonets, but he could not sit on it for long".

". . . Indulgence for the royalists, cry certain men, mercy for the villains! No! mercy for the innocent, mercy for the weak, mercy for the unfortunate, mercy for humanity."

- Maximilien Robespierre

Napoleon Bonaparte

Might makes right in all episodes of the French Revolution, and that does not exclude its grand finale. Napoleon is an ambitious French artillery officer from the Isle of Corsica. He proved his merits as a soldier in the Battle of Toulon, where he effective utilize artillery in defeating the British. Such glory was exemplified by Napoleon's campaign to Egypt, where he crushed the Mamelukes in the Battle of the Pyramids, which is romantically portrayed by the media. With his fame, Napoleon rallied his supporters to overthrow the ineffective French Directory. In 1799, Napoleon returned from his conquests and staged a coup on the Directory and removed them from power. Napoleon proclaimed himself as the emperor of France, and thus, ending the French Revolution for he had consolidated the nation and would soon turn her into a world power. Napoleon with France under his control, raised his Grand Armee and expanded the French Empire, which at its apex, stretches from Russia to Algeria. After the disastrous campaign in Russia, Napoleon was defeated by the coalition of European nations in the Battle of Waterloo, ending what we call the Napoleonic Wars.  Ultimately, Napoleon made the French Revolution a paradoxical phenomenon where many had shed their blood for a republic, yet, they have an empire, ruled by an emperor in return.

Napoleon's stringent character that had won him his battles and the title of Frances emperor is shown in the following document:  

"Bonaparte's reception by the troops was nothing short of rapturous. It was well worth seeing how he talked to the soldiers, ---how he questioned them one after the other respecting their campaigns or their wounds, taking particular interest in the men who had accompanied him to Egypt. I have heard Madame Bonaparte say that her husband was in the constant habit of poring over the list of what are called the cadres of the army at night before he slept. He would go to sleep repeating the names of the corps, and even those of some of the individuals who composed them; he kept these names in a corner of his memory, and this habit came to his aid when he wanted to recognize a soldier and to give him the pleasure of a cheering word from his general. He spoke to the subalterns in a tone of good-fellowship, which delighted them all, as he reminded them of their common feats of arms."

- Madame de Rémusat (A friend of Napoleon's wife, Josephine)

UAV Recon Standing By

Flight is an element of science that never cease to pique our imagination. From as early the Wright's Kitty Hawk built in 1903 to space cruising shuttles, flight had redefined how we live our lives today.  Over a century, we, humans have perfected the art of flying and had liberally used the aircraft for every task we could conceive. In the contemporary era, aircrafts had spurred the rise of globalization and is the fastest mean of transportation yet. We have broken the sound barrier, but not human error. Planes must be piloted by man, thus, causing flights to be subjected to fatal risks of mistakes. Enter the UAV.

The UAV stands for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or simply known as drones. This concept is pioneered and made practical by the US military and since then, UAV's potential seemed limitless and experts believed that UAV's will replace the role of pilots in commercial airlines in the future. It is apparent that the UAV will redefine flight, in both civilian and military roles, putting an end to the liability of deaths caused by human error and made queues in airports the thing of the past.

The world today is moving at a pace we could never have foreseen and movement is what drives such a pace. Airplanes move people, goods and ideas around the world while taking less time than any other mode of transportation known to men. Frankly, aircrafts made the world a smaller place, yet despite the speed of aircrafts, safety and the access to them is insufficient for our growing world. The UAV will provide the world with a solution to these concerns. By having an electronic computer and a controller on the ground, safety is assured for those boarding them. In the military, the UAV, when put into active service, will cut the air force pilots mortality rate to zero for they will control their aircraft oceans away from the cockpit. Drones could be the future of surveillance for it could be flown in hostile territories without risking the life of the pilot. The possibilities are endless.

In the development of every technology, according to Neil Postman, has its consequences. There will always be those who prevailed victorious and those who faltered. The UAV is no exception. Unmanned aircrafts allowed virtually anyone to control them, thus, when in the wrong hands, could lead to catastrophic repercussions. With UAV's, the Osama Bin-Laden (deceased) could detonate both the twin towers and the Pentagon at ease. In peacetime, interference to microwaves using to command the drones could be interrupted by the sun spots, which would cause a temporary EMP that will send the drone plunging down to the ground.

Infographics + Zoom It

Money: 10 Millenniums In The Making

In the contemporary era, everything revolves around money, a concept proposed since the emergence of the earliest civilization as a general medium of trade. The first thing a man could conjure up in their minds every morning is money, whether it would be farmers in the Philippines or white collar workers in Washington. Money had become the ultimate incentive that had powered our civilization and had shaped the world to its current state. Frankly, money is what we all strive for. It seems that money is not simply an object of value, but an element that had redefined how we live our lives, an agent of globalization and had kindled conflict for the duration of our history yet we know so little about it. People often ask themselves "How do I make money?" but not how money is actually made to the form we see today. With such a question that puzzled our minds, my team and I set out to uncover the story behind currency.

Money At A Glance

The concept of currency began as early as the pre-historic times in the rise of hunter gatherer communities. Goods foraged or hunted is often traded with one another, this is called the barter system. Although barter system seemed to be a rational system for early economies, there are numerous shortcomings of this mean of trade, since there are no explicitly stated benchmark of value  of goods and often these goods could not last over time, the barter system was proven obsolete by the rise of agrarian societies. When the people being adept of domesticating plants and animals, civilizations appeared and the first forms of government came into power, centralized currency was born. Rugged, durable and iconic, aristocrats of the ancient world had placed an official measure of value in their money. Whether it would be cowrie shells in the Pacific or the Denarii of Rome, money became the standard measurement of value and a commodity that could be traded universally. With the advent of metallurgy, precious metals were stamped into coins with a government cipher, making the coin a durable and iconic medium of trade that became dominant in the classical world and is still in use today. Despite all its advantages, the coin is cumbersome and a hassle to make, which these factors inspire the invention of the bank note. Fabricated from fibrous materials, the note is significantly lighter than the coin, yet is flexible in its function for any amount of money could be printed on it. The Tang Dynasty in China had pioneered this concept with the "flying cash", which its name came from how easily it could be blown away due to its lightweight. In Europe, the invention of bank notes became pivotal in our understanding of currency. The bank note started out as a goldsmith's check to redeem one's gold deposited in his vault. These checks are traded liberally and very few returned to the goldsmith for redemption. From then on, bank notes became a legally binding contract, a government's "promise to pay" and hence, a currency's value no longer determined on the materials it is made of, but the government's ability to fullfil this "contract". Currency evolved in parallel to our advancements in technology, which in the informational age, money is now electronic. Electronic payments could be made via credit cards of through carriers like PayPal, so in the near future money may not be a tangible matter anymore.

Tang "Flying Cash" Circa 618-906 CE

The Infographics


In today's world, time is of the essences. The world is revolving at a pace that every move that slows us down will leave us behind in the ever changing world. Therefore, the reception process of information must be accelerated for us to catch up with the rest of the world. Textbooks and essays are obsolete, for such an archaic method of learning will halt our progress in pursuit of information. In the contemporary era, the world and our attention span could only spare us mere minutes to learn. LESS is MORE in the contemporary world and it is how we can compress milleniums worth of information in the smallest parcel possible for our recipient that matters most. But by what means? Enter the infographic.

The infographic is a concentrate of information, squeezed in a short slide that contains a multitude of images and statistics, presented in an artistic way. Our team had decided to create an infographics on our findings in matters concerning the evolution of currency. The infographic we made gave the audiences a concise overview of how money develops through time, with humorous tid-bits of information to spice up a rather dull concept. It offers educational, entertainment and artistic value all in a few megabytes of space. The facts we have displayed on this piece are well researched and condensed into short, easily comprehendible blurbs suitable for audiences of any age. Along with our facts, we have incorporated a few "fun facts" or obscure knowledge about money, which would make our audiences laugh. All facts are accompanied with hand-drawn or photoshopped images meticulously put together by the team, which indeed makes this infographic a work of art that will be appreciated in all occasions. Most importantly, our audiences would be well informed of the history of our money without having to spend hours scanning the archives. In mere minutes, 10 milleniums of evolution in our currency flashed before their eyes, and that is an achievement we take pride of. We have provided the world with yet another medium of education on money like no other, it is a chapter in an economics textbook compiled into a page! As the research division of the team and an economics student, I've spent weeks learning this very topic in class, yet if the instructor had synthesized the facts into a format like our infographics, we would not have to waste that much time. Economists often consider time as an opportunity cost and by learning with our infographic, a chapter of the textbook is covered, that's a bargain!


Behind the Scenes


An infographic may look simple in content, but do not let the looks fool you, it is an arduous task, especially with a team to manage and a deadline to meet. The team consists of three people, including me. Leadership in these circumstances is the key to success, and it is I that took the initiative to lead. My management strategie utilizes the division of labor to its authentic form, which is literally dividing my group into three divisions according to the teammate's atributes: the research, technology and art division. The role of each division is clearly stated and in addition of being a researcher, I oversee the whole operation. To increase the efficiency of our work, I have set secondary due dates for components made by the teammates such as images and the template to ensure a smooth operation. The procedure of making this infographics are as follows:

1) Find all the information necessary.

2) Draw a brief plan on paper, then distribute it among the crew

3) The art division drew the picture in accordance to the facts

4) The tech division will build a template of the infographic on a software and photoshop images sent by the members of the group.

5) Facts and images are assembled on the template by the tech-division and finalize the project by adding some finishing touches.

A draft of the infographic. Note the ridiculous use of color!

With exceptional discipline my group mates have submitted their work on time and the project was completed just in time. Our art division's talent had exceeded our expectation, with the use of the "Bamboo" apparatus to draw images into the computer, we have produced authentic pieces of art that matched well with the tech division's photoshopped images. The template is made using a simple, yet innovative software called Pages on the Mac OS. Pages is a word processing program with similar attributes to Microsoft Word, but is more interactive (human friendly) and is capable of producing high end document formats and objects. This is why our tech-division had selected Pages because its simply one of the best means to make a professional looking template without any hassle. We are indeed a technology oriented team which adopted various forms of technology to make this project a success, including Google Docs and Skype as a medium to distribute information or relaying commands.

An example if image drawn using the Bamboo.

Nothing is perfect and there are instances of problems in the operation. One of the most critical issues our group must contend with is the differences in the crew's working hour and absences. In our working stages, I have been absent due to a field trip I must attend, causing the work to lag behind and there are no to inspect the group's work. This delay in progress caused us to have to rush through the project, compromising its quality. Another impediment to our progress is technology, like a double edged blade, technology could both help and hurt us at the same time. In  a timed, high stress situations, the tech-division puzzled over the methods of creating the template and formatting it, thus this process of trial and error significantly slowed us down. Nevertheless, as an IT virtuoso, the tech-division had came up with an ingenius solution, the Pages.

An image before photoshopping, used in the infographics. Note how editing images adds originality in the project.

Making this infographics is more than a mere assignment to us, but a lesson for every one in the team. It is a challenge that have pushed us over the edge of conventional methods of learning, instead of absorbing knowledge, we share it. That is indeed a difficulty we must overcome and when we do, our horizon is broadened. We learn to integrate technology, knowledge and art in harmony to each other and create a product that will be valued. This is progress.

The Paradox of The Thai Gun Control Policy

Crime has been an ordeal that all civilization must contend with, from the dawn of mankind to the contemporary era. Misconducts from petty thefts to rape and homicides have been more than a nuisance to the society, but a threat to its very foundation. With the rise of modern technology, crimes are committed liberally with ease while advancements in law enforcement lags behind, overshadowed by the ever increasing crime rates. So far, no nation had rid itself of the pestilence of crime, even Thailand, which is coined as the ‘land of smiles’, could not escape from such a harsh reality. The question is: how can law abiding citizens in Thailand eke out their living with murderers lurking around the corner and insurgents detonating bombs in the heart of Bangkok where the police force are obsolete and outnumbered by the perpetrators? With such facts explicitly stated, the burden of defense does not lie within the authorities of the government but the civilians themselves, but without the right tool, civilians are at the mercy of the miscreant’s arms. That tool is the firearm. Firearms, with centuries worth of innovation stacked behind them, are the most reliable means of defense because of their range and stopping power. However, unlike civilized western nations, they are out of reach from the Thai civilians due to the government’s draconian gun-control acts, thus leaving the people vulnerable. Paradoxically, the Thai law made it difficult for civilians to own firearms and impossible to carry them. According to the Thai law, civilians can only own small caliber firearms or smooth bored shotguns and had to fill heap loads of paperwork in order to be able to purchase them. Gun importation will travel through miles of red tape and taxed mercilessly, thus bringing the price of guns to three times its original price. To make matters worse, carrying a loaded firearm outside of the shooting range is considered felony. Therefore, it is time for the people to muster what is left of their dignity, arm themselves and repeal these unjust laws!

Law enforcement agencies are those people relied on for civil defense, however, the Thai Police perverted this concept from defending the people to oppressing them. Paid with a salary comparable to janitors, the police force could barely feed themselves, therefore, they have to abandon their proud mission to defend the thin line of morality in the society, to reaping money from people via bribes and fraudulent tickets issued at street blockades. Behind the bulwarks of political influence, the police, from privates to prosecutors, they were all fattened with bribes. Despite the corruption, lawmen in the field will have to pay for their sidearms in instalments and struggled to keep their guns loaded with live rounds due to their lack of connections. With the underarmed police busy manning their road blocks or lobbying high profile politicians, the civilians are left to contend with hordes of criminals.

Such a scenario is present in the contemporary Thai society and with the crime rates increasing exponentially, taking rape for instance, its statistics have doubled in the past decades with the number of arrests of only 36%, it is safe to say that the law enforcement could not defend the people. Worse, 90% of all firearms used to commit crimes were illegal, unlicensed guns. It is paradoxical how the Thai gun control laws kept the convicts armed and keeps good Samaritans from owning them. The reality is when a “bad guy” wants a gun, he gets them simply via the black market for he had no fear for the law, yet leaving the law abiding citizens helpless. This perverse rationale of the gun control act made the “bad guys” own more guns and “good guys”, with respect to the law unarmed. Arms, when handed to criminals, became their advantage to exploit those without it and it seemed that this perverted rationale of the law had not occur to our feeble government. Arms are simply inanimate set of parts built to shoot rounds, similar to cars which are also a compilation of parts used for transportation, they do not have a mind of their own, as Neil Postman stated in the fifth essential idea of technological change that technology is as moral as the ones using them. If so, why should gun control restrict the ownership of firearms to those morally and sane enough to handle them?

Four hundred years ago, John Locke, a British philosopher, stated that a man shall have 3 rights he is born with: the right to life, liberty and property. The most important one, as he states, is the right to life. This philosophy was carried throughout world, which it was tweaked and refined by Thomas Jefferson and became the foundation of American constitution. Soon, these rights became the icon of the modern democracy, signifying the concept of human dignity and life. No one possess the right to take a man’s life away, but for an incentive, they will. This led to the creation of America’s 2nd Amendment: the right to bear arms. If you value the rights to your life, liberty and property (and to a certain extent, virginity), you must fight for it, fight for the right to bear arms!

EU's Breaking Point: The Winning Essay

By: Pichanon Nantavaropas (Nud)

It is apparent to all that Europe is in an economical crisis. With Greece spending in deficit for years, nothing could be more obvious. After Greece declared its bankruptcy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland followed suit. Later, Italy soon joined them as one of the largest European Union nation who finally submits to its debts. Bail out packages had been distributed, but the situation continues to regress. The magnitude of this crisis is so great that many Europeans proposed the dissolution of the European Union to save their nations from the wrath of their neighbor’s debts. The effects of this crisis are felt globally. Banks in the Far East are beginning to back their assets with insurances and stock prices are dropping. The question is: where did this all begin? One could simply trace the origins of this crisis to three rudimentary elements consisting of the disproportion of spending to income, external economical turmoil and the government’s inability to manage their spending.

Why does Europe owe the world so much?

To begin with, one must investigate the most basic principal of an economy: household spending.  As an Old World region, Europe is the cradle of human development and culture. Deceived by the façade of their former glory and wealth, Europeans continues to indulge various articles of luxury while their productivity decreases. The bottom line: the people are spending more that they can’t afford to.

With the influx of competent Asian competition, the European’s productivity prowess is challenged. Once deemed inferior to the Old World craftsmanship, Asian products soon became a threat to the classic European way of life. Japanese and Korean electrical appliances and automobiles proved to be equal, if not better than its Old World counterpart at a fraction of the cost. Asian goods soon replaced the European’s in the world market.  This brought the decline of European industries, especially in the field of electrical appliances, which they once reigned supreme.

Currently, the only profitable trade that still lingers in Europe is tourism, which does not involve any material productivity. For instance, tourism accounts for 15% of Greece’s GDP. The result is decreased revenue for both the European firm and its employees. In addition, typical Europeans often work for only six hours in average and overtime is unlikely. Unemployment rates are also raising rapidly, the reason in which 23% of Spain’s workforce are out of jobs presently. Labor productivity in Europe is constantly decreasing from 0.9% of the GDP to 0.3% by the end of 2011 and if forecasted to go below 0 in the next quarter.

The decreased income, coupled with irrationally high spending is definitely the catalyst of such an economical crisis. To prolong their way of life, the people resorted to loans, putting theirs assets and their future on the line.  In Greece, an average individual would owe about 31,000 Euros in debt and with a total of approximately 340 billion Euros nationwide. (5) These statistics are indeed staggering, and this is an example of how what a nation would become if they are using the money they would receive in the future to satisfy their desires of the present. This concept clearly does not sound, but ironically, it worked for a couple of years until Greece became bankrupt, coupled with the worldwide recession. (7)

Europe continues to deceive the world that they are wealthy nations and is backed by the people’s consumption habits. As home to ultra luxurious products such as the Ferrari supercar to Louis Vuitton handbags, it is plausible to some that Europe is still ‘rich’ while the truth is the opposite. This is the reason why the Europeans got away with such conduct for far too long.

It is an inevitable fact that the root of EU’s debt crisis began with household and individual debt, which quickly escalated to a national level. This is proved by the EU’s low inflation rate, which hovers around 2% according to the Consumer Price Index and dropping at a record breaking -0.70% in July 2009. It is expected to be around 1.7% in 2012. This evidence indicates a sign of recession in Europe. A recession is an event where the people do not have enough money to spend, thus causing the economy to decline. With the towering debt, European households must act fast before they are consumed by their deficit spending.

 America: The Catalyst to the EU Crisis?            

The European economy is definitely on their way to the bottom, but what makes the process more severe is the effects of external economical crisis, specifically, the downturn of the US economy.

The US economical crises began in 2008 with the rising cost of real estates, and with the people were willing to buy it. The brief economical boom gave the prospectors leverage in the demand for real estate as people became wealthier. This led individuals to purchase property in installment preceded by the down payment and then sold for to those who would pay them large sums of money that satisfies both the original price of the estate and costs of their installment plans. Individuals rushed to purchase multiple properties by loaning banks, paying only the down payment, and waiting for a buyer. This process is called speculation where the prospectors were expected to gain money from their retail of their mortgages to cover the other property’s installments. In that process, the dealer could reap a fair amount of profit in the process while they do not need to make large investments.  (4)

With the rising prospects of dealing real estates, individuals soon were mortgaging more homes than they could afford to do so. The purchase of real estate caused their prices to increase beyond its true value. With the hyperbolic inflation of home prices, people soon realize that they simply cannot afford them. Then the sale of property dropped and individual dealers, without customers to help pay the installment of their property, were in debt to banks. This stirred up the bubbles in the economy. As a result, banks are holding heap loads of unpaid mortgages.

Desperate to regain their investments, banks grouped their mortgages into funds and sold bonds to these properties with promising benefits. This is called the “Subprime”. It became a hit in the mortgage bond market until again, the people realized that the values of the real estates and their bonds were dropping as a result of the recession caused by speculation. The bond owners lost their faith in their real estate bonds and reclaimed their investments all at once. The bubble bursts when the market was saturated with subprime real estate bonds and the dealer’s mortgages are due.

Banks were now bankrupt and are at the mercy of government bailouts. The “Subprime” crisis had claimed the business of the world’s largest financial institution, the Lehman Brothers. When the loans are claimed, the once prosperous dealers were stripped of their properties and the nation is once again in the greatest depression since the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Banks are holding mortgages that won’t sell and individual prospectors were bankrupt. (3)

This event is an American variant of the Tom Yum Goong crisis of Thailand in 1997 where the concept similar to “Subprime” was introduced with similar effects.  Banks, after confiscating a considerable amount of money and is now in charge of the mortgages, decided to allow foreigners to invest on these debt and mortgages. This jeopardizes not only the Thai economy but also the whole region of South East Asia who invested in Thailand’s property market. The situation was lifted when the US came in with a bailout package and a plan to subsidize the bank’s debt. It took at least a decade for Thailand to recover, and traces of this crisis are left in a multitude of abandoned property in Bangkok.

Fast-forward to the present, Paul Krugman, an economics Nobel Prize Laureate, stated that China is in a similar scenario with “Real estate investment has roughly doubled as a share of G.D.P. since 2000, accounting directly for more than half of the overall rise in investment.” Which, as stated before, the rise of real estate investment could only mean a start of a depression “…and a world economy already suffering from the mess in Europe really, really doesn’t need a new epicenter of crisis.” Krugman, Will China Break?, The New York Times. (1)

Today, the US is still recovering from the “Subprime” crisis and matters are about to get worse. The Americans are spending beyond their income. With the economy in rough shape and is yet to recover from a recent depression, the nation cannot afford to spend. Similar to the Europeans mentioned, household spending became a problem that yields dire consequences, not only to the nation, but also throughout the world.

The US is the one of the world’s largest markets and with its citizen in debt, the trading will cease, thus forcing the Obama administration to allow additional debt to be made to the GDP. This not only increases America’s deficit spending but also forced the treasury to print out more money resulting in the decrease in the value of the dollar. With the decrease of the dollar and the credit rating, the US dollar is worth less and the investors suffer.

This shook the world economy, affecting all nations with trade affiliations to the US, including the EU. With people with barely any money to spend and investors bugging out, the EU too languished for their top consumer is going under.

The aftermath of the US subprime can be seen in EU’s dropping GDP. Starting from the US top supplier of automobiles, Germany had seen a GDP decrease of 3.1% and its growth rate is now at 0. GDP’s of other EU nations such as Ireland (-2.4), Greece (-4.1), Portugal (-3.9), and Italy (-1.8) had seen their GDP drop below 0 by 2012.  By the end of 2011, the EU had seen a 5.8% shrink in export with respect to its GDP. The effects low labor productivity coupled with the troubling trade partners are taking its toll on the Europeans as the average unemployment rate rose to 10%. This not only suggests the effects of the declining foreign markets like the US, but also the end of the European superiority in economics.

           

The Sovereign Debt Crisis

The term “Sovereign Debt Crisis” often came to mind when mentioning the current European economical downfall. Sovereign debts are debts that a government issued as bonds or other forms to be invested by foreign nations. These are the debt that is currently constraining the progress of Europe. To satisfy the government’s lavish spending and political marketing ploys, the nation had to loan from the others.  

It began as early as 2004 when Greece went over its budget in hosting the Athens Summer Olympic Games. As the revenue of the EU is decreasing, government spending reflected the opposite. In nations such as Greece where there are no real sector productivity, the government retains its high payroll for its officers and civilian social services. Tax evasions are common and that reduces the government’s revenue even further, especially in Greece. (5)

International loans are issued liberally these days and even the US had bonds held by emerging nations like China. In many cases, for a nation to retain its credit rating, it has to pay off its debt. Failure to do so will turn the nation into a state what is called a default, and of course, being degraded in credit.

Default is the state that occurs when a debtor breaks the promises of a loan by either failing to pay in time, or not being able to repay the loan at all. When a country is in a default, it is a no man’s land for private sector investors; therefore, they are at the mercy of bailouts. Greece is currently in a default and they have 340 billion Euros that is due. This represents the government’s failure to manage national debts, forcing them to succumb to the conditions of the bailout. Typical conditions of a bailout would include the introduction of austerity policies in the government, which is essentially, determines the spending cuts and tax raise.

George Papandreou, the Greece prime minister, is forced to resign as a result of the previous government’s heap of debts. It is a shocking fact that Papandreou ‘discovered’ the debt according BBC; one could speculate that this process had been going on for a while. Similar to household debt issues, the government had spending that is way over their annual revenue, which could result in a sovereign debt crisis.

By having debt in the government, the nation suffers. For instance, the credit rating of the nation decreases, causing existing investors to withdraw their investments and preventing investors in the future to invest in the country. This greatly decreases the nation’s revenue and shatters its reputation. Greece fits this bill as all major credit raters rated Greece to the lowest possible level, beyond its previous BBB-.

In a Sovereign Debt crisis, not only the debtor suffered but also banks and investors, whose loans are not paid. Greece had issue bonds that were bought by various nations in the EU and throughout the world. It is apparent that France suffered most for they have invested in over 56.7% of Greece’s debt followed by Germany who had 33.9%.  It is an inevitable fact that sovereign debt in Europe is an imminent cause of the current economical turmoil, and this should serve as a warning for governments to not spend beyond their potential or face consequences similar to the modern day Greece.

             

Europe’s “New Deal”

It occurs to many that this is a grave moment for the EU and the threat of dissolution is looming. Yet for every problem there will be a solution, and that includes those of the EU. The first solution that came to mind is austerity, the most common method to tackle a debt crisis where slashing spending and raising tax is of the essences. Austerity policies are taking place in Greece, Spain, Portugal and other failing nations of the EU.

The concept of austerity, is however, proved to be unpopular amongst the people, resulting in pickets and protests against the government. This is especially apparent in Greece and riots broke out nation wide against the austerity policies. It is not difficult to fathom the causation of such phenomena. Firstly, a considerable amount of civilians are employed in Europe’s public sector, in nations such as Greece, the public sector accounts to 40% of the national GDP, which federal spending cuts would only mean a curtailed salary for the government employees. Secondly, the tax rate in the EU is already high, if not the highest, with tax contributing at the staggering rate of 39.2% of GDP in Greece. No doubt the people display such discontent. (8)

Experts too were not satisfied with the EU’s rash solution; one of them is Krugman.  He stated, “By demanding ever harsher austerity have played a major role in making the situation worse.” This is because “…the combination of austerity-for-all and a central bank morbidly obsessed with inflation makes it essentially impossible for indebted countries to escape from their debt trap and is, therefore, a recipe for widespread debt defaults, bank runs and general financial collapse.” Krugman, Killing the Euro, The New York Times. Krugman’s claim was confirmed by 17^th -23^rd September 2011 edition of The Economist’s cover article: How to Save the Euro, which stated that “… [EU] needs to shift the euro zone’s macroeconomic policy from budget-cutting towards an agenda for growth.” in one of the four things the EU had to do to save the Euro How to Save the Euro, The Economist. (9)The European authority, however, denies these claims as the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet replied, “The idea that austerity measures could trigger stagnation is incorrect.”. Surely, the EU’s petty pretenses won’t do in a time of crisis like these but immediate action in a massive scale would. (2)

By only cutting spending, the EU would ironically slow down their own economy, without spending, matters could only worsen as spending is a vital element in keeping a market up and running. Yet, the expenditures should be maintained at a realistic level. The EU should be focusing on increasing productivity, rather that slicing budgets because to create a self-sustainable economy, for a nation must revitalize its industries rather than relying on foreign aid. Starting with Greece, the government should create productive, real sector industries that actually turn out goods that can be exported (that is after the debts are dealt with, of course) and soon Europe would be on the road to its recovery.  (6)

The Bottom Line

           

            In conclusive, it is clear that the major causes of the current EU crisis would be the disproportional ratios in consumption to productivity, economical downturns in the USA and the failure of governments in managing spending. As stated numerous times in this article, spending is the element that often spells an economy’s boom or bust. In an economy, spending both fuels and lubricates the engines of a market. The problem today is how to keep it balanced. Too much expenditure would lead to the EU’s current situation and too little would keep an economy in an eternal regression. Indeed, the European aristocrats cannot seem to find a midway between the two where spending comes in harmony with revenue. Once the center of human advancement in technology, philosophy and economics, Europe is soon to become the world’s largest debtors and the worse is yet to come.           

           

Bibliography

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2) Krugman, Paul. "Killing the Euro." New York Times. 1 Dec 2011: 1. Web. 8 Jan. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/opinion/krugman-killing-the-euro.html>.

3) "The Downturn in Facts and Figures." BBC News. 21 Nov 2007: 1. Web. 8 Jan. 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7073131.stm

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6) Inman, Phillip. "Eurozone strains increase with grim new economic data." Guardian. 6 Jan 2012: 1. Web. 8 Jan. 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jan/06/eurozone-grim-economic-data>.

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8) . "Greece." CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 8 Jan 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gr.html>.

9) "How to save the Euro." Economist. 17 Sep 2011: 9. Print.