and ease

They set out barefoot from the village and went to Athens or another urban center. They joined a party, became poster hangers, and climbed either the party, political or union hierarchy, or the public sector, into senior posts reserved for the party nomenklatura. With a party card and a history as a poster hanger, everything became easy.

Yet this ascent needed to be seen and proved to others, especially to acquaintances. One of the undeniable ways of proving it was, and still is, conspicuous consumption. So the barefoot from the village or the town wanted and acquired Armani suits, Tod’s shoes, Gucci shirts, Rolex watches, and so on. And of course, some, without paying a fare on the once-mighty Olympic Airways, would fly to London in the morning for shopping or coffee and return to Athens in the afternoon.

All of them started out unknown and insignificant. Serving the party, they became professional strikers, marchers and occupiers. That is how they came out of obscurity. They became recognizable. It is hard to imagine, if you have not lived it, how someone feels when he starts from nowhere and, by hanging posters, becomes somebody. Many of them thought they had become Popes. After all, their conspicuous spending and lifestyle seemed to prove it.

The generation of waste was, and is, also the generation of ease. It demanded to work little and be paid richly. It sought to contribute as little as possible and enjoy as much as possible. It wanted to retire, and retire handsomely, without working at all, or after working for as few years as possible. In other words, a pension from the age of forty or fifty.

One wonders why every wish of this generation was satisfied by each successive government. Perhaps because it was the notorious Polytechnic generation, allied with the entire party, political and union establishment. After all, they all belonged to that establishment.

The generation of waste and ease had no moral ballast. Shamelessly it borrowed billions to live well, disregarding the crushing burden left to future generations. It brazenly attacked business and entrepreneurs, because it was comfortably installed in the state or municipal sector. Thus, with no shame or restraint, it destroyed the productive base of the economy and bankrupted the country.

Some from this generation understood their mistakes and fell silent, some withdrew, some apologized. But many remnants remain, suffering from a kind of brain softening. They usually call themselves progressive, not because they truly are, but because at one time the word progressive meant something. We say at one time, because after 1989 those who called themselves progressive proved to be conservative and reactionary.

The remnants continue the same tune as if nothing has happened. If their party is in government, they appoint; if it is in opposition, they demand appointments in the bankrupt public sector. They live in their own world, unable to adapt to changing reality. Perhaps that is also their punishment. They will leave this futile world filled with hatred for society and a permanent pseudo-revolutionary dissatisfaction. And, in addition, with the hubris and curse of the next generation.

It should be noted that the generation of waste and ease does not include almost the entirety of the private sector. Naturally, this includes the thieves and swindlers of the private sector. It is well known that the party state created wealthy businessmen and bankrupt companies.

And of course, the generation of waste and ease does not include the barefoot man from the village who, through his work, studies and abilities, managed to rise to the highest posts in the public sector or excel in the private sector, either as a professional or as an entrepreneur. And fortunately for the country, there are many such people. They deserve much praise and should serve as examples for everyone to follow.

By contrast, the generation of waste and ease deserves criticism and should serve as an example to avoid.

Paulos Marantos

marantosp@gmail.com