RE: Don't cry for me, Argentina

From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Mon Jan 13 2003 - 18:42:03 MST


Hi Carlos! I was hoping that you'd see this and address it.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-extropians@extropy.org
> [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]On Behalf Of Carlos Gonzalia
> Sent: Monday, January 13, 2003 1:22 AM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: Re: Don't cry for me, Argentina
>
> >In 1900, Argentina was the 6th wealthiest country in the world.
> >What happened?
>
> Practically every single thing that could go wrong or done badly,
> did and was so starting from the 1920s or around, I guess.
>
> My personal...opinion: as the country modernized, the
> power naturally tended to diffuse downwards from the
> aristocratic classes thatruled since independence.
>
> What the country failed miserably at was in properly
> integrating the new power actors each time they appeared.
> In this, both the previous dominant actors and the newly
> arrived at that moment, are equally guilty...

Okay, when I read the URLS I'll be trying out this
interpretation. Thanks for the mini-essay, the book
suggestion, and the URL.

---Lee

> Everybody showed a remarkable
> ability to carry on their power contests disregarding laws,
> republican institutions, idea debate, and economic competition.
> The way things have been solved since then has been by
> coups, dictatorships, fraud, forced economic redistribution
> (up to down, down to up, sideways, you name it), censorship,
> and the gleeful application of violence in all its lovely ways.
> And so here we are today, and still managing to get worse by
> the week.
>
> >Does anyone know of a book that chronicles all the bad moves
> >made by that nation?
>
> I think this one was pretty good, though admittedly it's been
> many years since I read it:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0271021926/
>
> As an Argentine myself, I tend to read more essays, opinion
> pieces and news analysis than books that try to make sense of
> the utter mess our history has been. The Economist has been
> known, IMHO, to get regular articles on the past years about
> our country, and usually pretty good.
>
> >The latest mistake was apparently taking the peso off the
> >dollar, which instantly cheated thousands of deep pockets
> >out of 3/4 their wealth. And, more importantly, sent the
> >message that capital that wished to survive had better
> >flee the country.
>
> Not quite so. The mistake wasn't actually in doing that,
> but in how and when. Once more, the people who ended up in
> charge of things after the shit hit the fan didn't address
> any of the problems, but proceeded to another of our
> lovely forced economic redistributions to keep things tied
> up just enough for the country not to blow up. I recommend
> you this paper, which addresses several myths, such as the "the
> chaos was caused only by removing the peso currency peg":
>
> http://www.cato.org/pubs/wtpapers/hanke-021017.pdf
>
> >I heard also that the government had agreed to pick up
> >the bill for any cosmetic surgery desired by a citizen.
> >This is starting to sound like a case where the usual
> >damage inflicted on an economy by socialist tendencies
> >turned out to be too much, and killed it off. In other
> >words, the government spent itself to death. And had
> >to start printing pesos?
>
> The Menem administration wasted all the money and structural
> changes they managed to achieve during their first years when
> they decided to go for reelection. The welfare spending that
> ensued to catch the lower classes' vote, plus the cozy
> kleptocracy/oligarchy dealings showered on many higher classes'
> power actors to ensure their support did away both with the
> money and with the structural changes. What resulted was
> a bloated, perverted version of a welfare state administered
> by political bosses that ensured the votes for the government
> and the sweet deals for the government's bussinessmen friends.
> The De La Rua administration completely failed to change
> things and was devoured by the lower classes that now lacked
> their easy welfare, and those of the upper classes that now
> lacked their sweet deals and extended kleptocracy. The Duhalde
> administration, as I mentioned before, did a huge redistribution
> to make sure the boat wouldn't catch fire before sinking, and
> then just sat on their asses yelling for the IMF to come stop
> the sinking, all the while seeing how -their- particular
> bussiness friends, political bosses and segments of the lower
> classes could be put in charge of things after the rescue. It is
> to be seen, this week if I recall right (last chance to a final
> default being averted with their specific loans), if the IMF
> will bite. Bunch of morons as they are, looks like they might...
>
> (I'll try to address any comments next week when I'm back, but no
> promises... Sorry! Blame work and all that.)
>
> Carlos
>



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