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Saturday, May 20, 2017

A Plea For Greek Elites!

I had never heard of Mr. Aristides Alafouzos before. Like many foreigners, I have practically zero knowledge of the Greek elite (political, economic, social or otherwise) except for those who are in the media all the time. Whether one likes the term 'elite' or not, every society, even a communist one, produces its own elites. Some are artificial elites (i. e. hereditary or appointed), others are natural ones (meritocracy, charisma, etc.).

I learned about Mr. Alafouzos through two obituaries in the Ekathimerini (here and here). It seems clear that Mr. Alafouzos was one of the natural elites.

There is a German saying which cannot well be translated into English: "Wie der Herr, so das Gescherr". One translation might be: "Like master, like man."

Henry Ford II was known to be a CEO who would slap his top executives in their faces (almost literally). During his reign at the Ford Motor Company, managers all the way down to the supervisory level were known to slap their subordinates in their faces (literally speaking).

Other CEOs are of the gentleman kind and the culture in their companies will undoubtedly be gentleman-like. In fact, culture is very much influenced by the elites.

Based on the two obituaries, I have no doubt that Mr. Alafouzos formed and shaped a culture in his companies which corresponded to his own values. While he is now dead, cultures tend to survive for quite some time.

I have always wondered what kind of a society Greek society would be if the elites of Greek society (of the Alafouzos kind) came more to the forefront, played a more significant role in society. Some of the things we see these days on TV, like physical fights in the Greek parliament, are clearly the worst of Greek society.

Why can't we see more of the best of Greek society?


  1. Kleingut:

    You are not alone, I didn't know of Alafouzos either. And that is because Alafouzos is really no one worth knowing about.

    The fact that he turned a part of Greek media (Skai TV and Kathimerini) into partisan instruments of Berlin's propaganda is neither elite behavior nor acceptable Greek behavior.

    Alafouzos and his successors are clearly part of the most odious part of Greek political history, the rotten part in which one finds supporters of the monarchy, the incredibly backwards Greek Church, the junta supporters and all the anti-Venizelos forces which have been festering in Greece since it became a free state and have held it captive to disproportionate amounts of the sick type of conservatism and inability to adopt towards modernity.

    Conservatism is not a dirty word (I think I am a progressive conservative) but these guys have turned it into an evil concept that has destroyed our beautiful country.

  2. Btw, Kleingut and FYI, Alafouzos is the sort of elite we don't need in Greece or in Austria for this matter.

    Alafouzos represents the typical family business in Greece devoid of any meritocracy and simply designed to pass on/transfer wealth from generation to generation not on the basis of societal contribution but rather on the basis of inherited rights.

    Typically such rotten concepts last for 2-3 generations until their inbred incompetence catches up with themselves and in the long run no one remembers who they were and what exactly they did.

    In the Alafouzos case, as you can see from the article below we are talking about a rotten elite and a successor that is a real piece of work:

  3. We certainly do NOT need elites with German ties of any kind.

    Our national strategy today is how to embrace China at the exclusion of Germany. Here is why (use a translating service please because my job is not to translate but to provide you what you need to know so that you form the right perspective on Greece)

  4. We don't hear much from, or about, the best of Greek society, because when we do, the reaction is the one demonstrated in the 3 contributions you have had until now. It is even worse when they are talented and successful, not for Greeks to let people "go as far as their work and talents will take them".

    1. Lennard:

      I am sorry if I cast such a large shadow that obscurs your plain view of Greek talent which by the way happens to be dead.

      Could we please focus on the living and the eurozone plague that has befallen my countrymen and countrywomen?

      Here is the latest from the rat's nest of the eurozone incompetents:

      The last paragraph tells me that the primary surplus target will be set below the Berlin insisted target of 3.5%.

      "The Eurogroup held an in-depth discussion on the sustainability of Greece's public debt but did not reach an overall agreement. Work will continue in the coming weeks within the framework agreed in May 2016 with a view to reaching a definitive conclusion at the next Eurogroup meeting. This includes an ambitious and economically sound medium-term primary surplus path for Greece."

  5. @ Phoevos.
    The paragraph you refer to does not appear in the Eurogroup statement on Greece (the official). There is quite a bit of cut/paste spin in Naftemporiki. let me recommend patience, everything will be sorted out by end 2018, one way or another.

    1. Lennard:

      Apparently we are talking apples and oranges. Greece can not wait until 2018. I don't know how much you know about macroeconomics but the universally accepted formula is as follows:

      GDP = C + I + G + X

      C = private consumption which thanks to Berlin is through the floor.
      I = private investment which is non existent because one has to be an idiot to invest in a country with a debt to GDP at 180%.
      G = government spending which the reformists want to evaporate eventhough it's the only available tool @ the moment and economic theory suggests that you don't shrink government spending in times of recession but only during booming times.
      X = exports minus imports which as we all know due to Germany's preditory trade behavior is a big negative in Greece because you can't have a trade surplus when effing Germany sells you twice as much as it buys from you.

      So if you understand any of this you would understand the type of punctuated nonsense Berlin is proposing for Greece and that we simply have run out of time.

      Unless of course you want to propose a new economic theory and have it accepted by the rest of our galaxy in short order.

    2. Just a word of caution about formulas and models, even if they are universally accepted. I have always had healthy doubts that economic life can be reduced to the workings of formulas and models.

      I think universally accepted formulas are important in as much as they provide confidence. If American GDP rises faster than the rest of the world, Americans feel good. What they don't question is whether or not American GDP is calculated the same way as in the rest of the world. The same goes for just about every economic formula, be that inflation, unemployment, etc.

      I don't remember because it was quite some time ago, but I once read an article about the special features of American GDP recording. One thing related to the treatment of intellectual property as GDP growth, another was the treatment of financial sector income. In both case, the suggestion was that American GDP is overstated relative to the GDP of other countries. And then there are those argue that GDP is no longer an appropriate economic measurement to begin with.

  6. @ Phoevos.
    Yes, we are talking about apples and Oranges. You are talking about what Greece wants; I'm talking about what Europe wants. You are talking about Greece having no time to wait; I'm talking about Europe having that time. We shall see how that plays out.
    As for your detail about the surplus, it seems like Tsakalotos hold the opinion that one of the things that has been agreed is that, the surplus will be kept at 3.5% for a period of 5 years.

    1. There is no such thing as Europe. Stop being a coward and declare which country is behind the Europe mask.

  7. You are most welcome to substitute Europe with any word or name you wish to, from Greece's point of view it makes no difference.