Chavonomics

[sasguru]

time to read 'decline and fall of the Roman empire' to see what happens next eh?

Indeed. It's all so predictable.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Indeed. It's all so predictable.

If you study history , acedemically, you learn about a concept called 'the test effect of war'.
What happens is that institutions and ideas that are fine in peace time are suddenly seen to be dangerous. You might want to muddle through in peace time, you dont really want to upset too many people, but when when national survival is at stake, these thing can be suspended or even swept away.
It sounds to me to be very similar to what you are describing.

 

[sasguru]

If you study history , acedemically, you learn about a concept called 'the test effect of war'.
What happens is that institutions and ideas that are fine in peace time are suddenly seen to be dangerous. You might want to muddle through in peace time, you dont really want to upset too many people, but when when national survival is at stake, these thing can be suspended or even swept away.
It sounds to me to be very similar to what you are describing.

Not sure I understand you. Do expand ....

 

[expat]

Remember you heard it here first.
I have defined a new term "Chavonomics". This is when a country becomes a chav and borrows money till the next pay day (if that ever happens) to fund stuff it cannot afford.
I suppose t'was inevitable.
I wonder how many people realise this country is really bankrupt. It simply does not generate enough in products and services to sustain it now, or in the future.

I have been saying this occasionally for a while: we are becoming poorer, and what is worse, all we are doing about it is finding ways to deny it.

Example: "we have a longer workweek than the French. That's because they are lazy, but we don't mind putting in a bit of work".

Translation: Our productivity is lower, that's why we have to work more hours for the same GDP/cap.

 

[OwlHoot]

time to read 'decline and fall of the Roman empire' to see what happens next eh?

Yup, it sounds depressingly similar. As Mark Twain said "History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme".

Ever higher taxes to support a bloated centralized bureaucracy, which is ever more complicated, ineffective, and corrupt. Also price controls. Someone suggested mortgages capped at 3* earnings, which some might applaud, but before you know it the Government will be trying to cap the price of everything by decree, including food.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Not sure I understand you. Do expand ....

one example of the top of my head

You have a situation where women are agitating for the vote, equal status, equal job opportunities etc they get tolerated, but dont get anywhere near what they want, and they never will.
Then you have a war, it becomes a total war. Everything is now up for grabs, all the barriers to women are ditched, temporarily, so that men can join up and women can take their place on the land.
After the war, you can't get the genie back into the bottle, and the upshot is that the womens cause has made a gigantic leap in a short amount of time, without too much aggro at all.

Other institutions have been tested to destruction, but, as you say, not neccesarily by war.
Serfdom/ plague.
Napoleon/national revenue.
WWI/education

What you seemed to be saying(in my mind) is that a lot of our 'infallible' systems and institutions are about to be revolutionised because they do not work any more, (and because we are now skint)

 

[Doggy Styles]

Is it the Goths and the Visigoths?

Or throwing Christians to the lions?

Lord Mandelson ousts the idiot Gordon Brown and becomes Caligula.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Is it the Goths and the Visigoths?
QUOTE]

Something like that I suppose. Anyway, whats the difference between a Welshman and a VisiWelshman ?

 

[EternalOptimist]

I dread to think...

me neither, but this has got the makings of a great joke

 

[Mich the Tester]

Example: "we have a longer workweek than the French. That's because they are lazy, but we don't mind putting in a bit of work".

Translation: Our productivity is lower, that's why we have to work more hours for the same GDP/cap.

…and in France, with fine weather, good food and attractive highly sexed women, why bother working too much?

Or take Italy; OK, so in the south they have a crime problem, but otherwise they have even better food, even better weather, no shortage of attractive women, all that wine, cool little cars, relaxed traffic police and a football team that actually wins things; who cares about GDP?

Maybe the French and the Italians are right.