A Crisis of Capitalism

1. History repeats itself. Take a look at Italian situation: opposition is made of comedians and the prime minister is a joke distracted -according to the Italians- by sex and trials.

2. To understand the Italian crisis we have to look at it in a wider European context. Limits of the eurozone: a “single currency” not backed by political sovereignty, the ECB's obsession in inflation and propensity to raise the interest rate. Psychiatric German's tendency to profit from southern Europe's deficit while imposing austerity budgets on those countries.

3. European crisis is not home-grown. Europe survives to German's neo-mercantilism thanks to the US-driven exports and when it exploded, European growth imploded.

4. Sovereign debt crisis of “bad” kind caused by the retrying of refinance first Greece, then Ireland, then Portugal. Cancelling the debt would have been less painful.

5. Crisis caused by fear that produced an increase of spread. Crisis we could almost see in very low Italian GDP growth rate and in its increase in interest rates.

6. Structural failings of Italy caused by a sort of “investment strike” which brought the disappearance of Industrial sectors and the increase of outside generated.

7. The fatal blow came with the policies of flexibility of labour, which led to a colapse of labour productivity.

8. Exit from euro will not help because it would mean the end of monetary union and a broadening of crisis.

9. Crisis can be overcome only stopping domino effect.

10. Only European struggles can resist austerity and deliver decent reform to resolve this capitalist crisis. A larger programme which would provide employment and capital controls.