It's not just about the current economic environment. History shows that slashing budgets always leads to recession.

People who live in poor countries have to be entrepreneurial even just to survive.

There are different ways to organise capitalism. Free-market capitalism is only one of them-and not a very good one at that.

Rich countries have 'kicked away the ladder' by forcing free-market, free-trade policies on poor countries. Already established countries do not want more competitors emerging through the nationalistic policies they themselves successfully used in the past.

The danger is not only that these austerity measures are killing the European economies but also that they threaten the very legitimacy of European democracies - not just directly by threatening the livelihoods of so many people and pushing the economy into a downward spiral, but also indirectly by undermining the legitimacy of the political system through this backdoor rewriting of the social contract.

It's not just about the current economic environment. History shows that slashing budgets always leads to recession.

Low inflation and government prudence may be harmful for economic development.