Rob de Wijk: Scapegoating confuses the issue

Thursday 07 June 2012

Coming up with scapegoats for the euro crisis is simplistic and counter-productive, says Rob-de-Wijk

The first decade of this century was characterised by the battle against Muslims and terrorism. These particular scapegoats have been seamlessly replaced with europhiles and those who favour austerity measures. But in both cases it’s about mindlessly apportioning blame without looking at the issues that really matter.

Rash

American president Bush’s rash battle against terrorism led to wars costing 150 billion dollars a year and contributed to the huge deficit that caused the country’s perilous state at the onset of the financial crisis. In the Netherlands and the rest of Europe the obsession with Muslims led to a polarisation in society which paralysed the political system when the euro crisis escalated.

On both sides of the Atlantic the obsession with Muslims and terrorism diverted attention away from the crucial question of how we can secure prosperity and safety in a time of rapid change. Emerging economies such as China and the lack of raw materials will only have one victim. It will that part of the world which has the most to lose and which has been the dominant force for centuries. That’s right: it’s where we are.

New scapegoats

But with a financial crisis to solve, new scapegoats are being sent into the desert, as happened after 9/11, and it’s a simplistic and counter-productive now as it was then. Scapegoats and simplistic solutions are only meant to win votes. The mobilising effect matters, not the actual consequences.

Take for instance new French president Hollande’s plan to increase taxes for the rich. It sounded reasonable enough but what took place subsequently was an exodus to Switzerland, London and Brussels. Similarly, PvdA party leader Samsom’s plan to ‘cream off dead capital’ (savings of more than €150,000) will lead to tax evasion and capital flight.

Law abiding taxpayers who have chosen not to shoulder any debt think his terminology alone is insulting. They will want to safeguard their possessions, all the more so because their faith in the problem-solving skills of politicians is diminishing rapidly.

And who could blame them. In the run-up to the elections I have detected not a single coherent vision on economic growth in our fragmented political landscape. How are we going to make money in this changing world and how can we make Europe work for us? I fear no answers will be forthcoming.

Necessary measures, such as making the Netherlands attractive to innovative entrepreneurs and investment in innovation will be buried beneath useless tirades against europhiles and ‘the rich’.

Eroded

If politicians can’t even deal with a minor problem such as the Greek debt crisis, they are really not capable of solving anything. Adapting ourselves to the new geo-political reality shaped by emerging countries like China?

Don’t hold your breath. Ever since the 9/11 terrorist attack the effectiveness and legitimacy of our political system has been gradually eroded. Reforms initiated by the level-headed centre is what is urgently called for as rightwing and leftwing populists alike are queuing up to convince you and me of the bounties of a europhile-free spending paradise behind safely closed borders.

Rob de Wijk is a professor of International Relations at Leiden University and director of the Centre for Strategic Studies HCSS in The Hague

This column was published earlier in Trouw

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