Editorial To Vima: The great gain of the 10-year crisis

Greece’s great economic crisis lasted throughout the entire past decade.

The decade that we are leaving behind was neither simple nor easy.

All these years the endurance of the economy, society, politics, institutions, citizens and the entire country was tested.

The economy and all that constitutes it were impaired. Incomes, wages, values, and the country’s productive capability were affected, as evidenced by the massive destruction of businesses and by extension the loss of jobs.

Society was rocked by the depth and intensity of the crisis, by the multiple collapses in the social pyramid and long-term declines in the rungs of the social ladder.

Politics was jolted by the collapse of myths, certainties, and parties. Old political forces were impaired, others receded, and others emerged from the ashes of the crisis. As time went by some became dormant once again and others found ways to achieve a rebirth and reconstruction.

Overall during the crisis everyone’s endurance was tested. The press, newspapers and other media, also suffered losses, were doubted and their influence was reduced. They were forced due to new conditions to shift, review their relationships, and alter their structure and organisations.

Nothing was uninfluenced by the events of the last decade, but consciences were affected above all.

Citizens felt alone and insecure and realised that without foresight and their own resources there is no salvation and that there are no real saviours our there but only demagogues.

Dogmas, ideas, and principles that bedeviled us for decades were exposed for what they are.

Old certainties about the state as assistant, bank security, and prosperity as a given disappeared overnight.

At the dawn of a new decade and from the vantage point of the experiences of the great crisis entirely new conditions and means of representation have been shaped.

No one – whether individuals, political parties, or businesses – can feign ignorance about the consequence of their choices.

Knowledge and experience are crucial factors that can shape a framework of principles and rules on both the personal and collective levels.

That is perhaps the most important gain from the decade-long crisis. Let us hope that everything and everyone commits themselves to it.