Monday, June 29, 2015

Greece on the Brink

It increasingly looks like the already grossly underfunded Greek cultural establishment will suffer yet more from the effects of any default to Greece's creditors.  Any financial meltdown will also once again undercut the assumption of UNESCO and its supporters in the archaeological lobby that nation states are always the best stewards of antiquities.  Going forward, a new paradigm needs serious consideration.  Greece will not only need to reform its economy, but limit its ownership and control only to artifacts of real cultural significance. The rest are frankly probably better off in private hands, and indeed, state encouragement for a legal trade in such artifacts will not only help grow the Greek economy, but foster cultural exchange that can benefit Greece as well.
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1 comment:

  1. Dave WelshJune 29, 2015 at 11:28 AM

    It is probable that severe government spending restrictions will be imposed if Greece does not default and leave the Euro system's economic controls.That exit would be the only way for the Greek government to continue its spendthrift ways.

    The sad truth is that Greece's economy is not productive enough to sustain its population. For a long time young Greeks, particularly well educated professionals, have left to seek a better life elsewhere. Demographic statistics (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/opinion/greeces-dismal-demographics.html) are depressing, and projections for the future are frightening. Greece is becoming a welfare nation, whose aging population is becoming increasingly dependent upon government benefits.

    Greece desperately needs to develop new resources to increase its economic production.

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