| | The Greek socialists certainly ruined the country. The Greek people went along with it and encouraged them. Before them, were The Colonels, fascist thugs. Sure, they "encouraged" business and the country prospered.
From TIME magazine, April 18, 1969.
RATHER like a stern father rewarding good behavior, Premier George Papadopoulos last week returned several previous liberties to the Greek people. He was observing both the Easter season and the second anniversary of the coup that ousted the previous government and brought Papadopoulos and his fellow army colonels to power. He was also trying to head off criticism of the Greek regime from the NATO ministers' meeting in Washington. Announced the Prime Minister: 1) freedom of assembly and association will be restored; 2) homes will be off limits to policemen without warrants; 3) press censorship will be reviewed; 4) some of the nearly 2,000 political exiles who have been held on Aegean islands may be brought home, and some government employees ousted by the regime will get their jobs back. Papadopoulos seemed not to notice one irony: the press conference revealing all these freedoms was held in the now vacant Senate chamber of the Parliament building in Athens. One freedom that the birthplace of democracy has not recovered is a democratic assembly.
Such subtleties apparently do not trouble Papadopoulos and his colonels because they are elementary men. Or so it seems, for in a complex world they are trying to forge an anachronistically simplistic nation. Long hair is now immoral for schoolboys; the government has ordered haircuts, and in some cases police wielded the shears themselves. Bouzouki tavernas, where high-spirited Greeks loved to smash crockery in time with the frenzied music, have been tamed: guests are no longer allowed to break even a single saucer. Miniskirts are forbidden for young girls, and bar girls are being discouraged. Government officials must attend church—other Greeks are urged to do so to build a nation of "Christian Greeks"—while anyone who publicly doubts God or the army may be held guilty of blasphemy.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844750,00.html#ixzz1QcNEB7Ad
The junta ruled until 1974. Then the socialists took over. In 30 years they created this mess, but it was hardly a surprise.
And think too, of nominally prosperous potentially vibrant little European countries like Slovenia and Slovakia now saddled with Greece's problems. Ayn Rand was emotional in her condemnation of "balkanization." Her points were cogent. The contrary case, however, is that smaller, independent political entities spread the risk, rather than tying the successful to the failure-prone.
(Edited by Michael E. Marotta on 6/28, 5:19pm)
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