Implications of Austerity

A couple of days ago economist Amartya Sen - the Nobel Prize winner who theorized that famines may not be the result of supply not meeting demand but of unequal access to resources - wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times addressing his concerns with the European economic crisis and the proposed austerity measures. I'm a fan of Amartya Sen's work, some of which I used in research at New York University where I argued that free market economics is a set of socio-cultural expectations rather than an empirical science that can be applied indiscriminately to any population, like an experiment, with predictably similar results.

In the article, Sen makes two major points. In solving the economic crisis, Sen argues, expediency is not the correct way to solve the problem, even if the hastily found solutions are well-intended, writing, " Reform on a well-thought-out timetable must be distinguished from reform done in extreme haste."

This argument reminds me of Naomi Klein's depressing analysis of what she terms "disaster capitalism" in her book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. She finds that free market economic theory thrives in the wake of a disaster - be it unexpected as was the case for Hurricane Katrina or the September 11th attacks, or state-manufactured as was the case in Margaret Thatcher's England - when the population is in shock and less willing to resist radical economic reform. Klein argues persuasively that the goal of "disaster capitalists" is to pounce on these disasters in order to enact economic reform that is drastic, wide-reaching, and permanent before the population can recover its will to exercise its democratically-endowed voice.

Sen's discomfort with the feeling of hasty urgency in Europe combined with Klein's conclusions regarding drastic free-market economic reforms leads me to worry that the austerity possibilities in Europe are the work of opportunist neo-liberal economists aiming to further the lasting impact of a damaging economic philosophy.

How damaging is the potential? In his second point, Sen argues that "sudden and savage cuts in public services" is not in Europe's best interests, no matter how urgent the economic crisis may be, because it will go against some of Europe's core values. The most important of these values is the democratic voice of the population. Sen writes,

Both democracy and the chance of creating good policy are undermined when ineffective and blatantly unjust policies are dictated by leaders... This is a surely a far cry from the “united democratic Europe” that the pioneers of European unity sought.

The austerity measures are not only drastic, but they will damage democracy itself (jump back to Naomi Klein, who argues that disaster economics is not compatible with democracy and the only way a democracy would permit such policy is in the event of a disaster - such as what's going on in Europe right now). Indeed, Sen worries that a quick solution might "conflict with a more urgent priority — in this case, the preservation of a democratic Europe that is concerned about societal well-being." Sen all but spells out the notion that these economic reforms are not only opposed to democracy but also a government concerned with its population.

Here we see, as I wrote back at NYU, that free-market capitalism is a set of cultural values and should be thought of as such before blindly applying it to populations as if it were a universally empirical science.

A Range of Summer Photos

Soren, aged two and a half, demonstrates his skills

At a barbecue last week I broke out the camera and took a number of very different styles of photos, from sports-style portraits to flower close ups to light painting. I hope you enjoy the results:

Young love

Beware of thorns

Questing

A black and white of the hints of spring

Burning down the house

Concentrate

Judicial Activism? A Conservative Phenomenon

While I have not been taking full advantage of my subscription to the New Yorker Magazine, I did get the full experience in the latest issue with popular law journalist Jeffrey Toobin's article "Money Unlimited: How Roberts Orchestrated Citizens United." I encourage anyone interested in law or current events to read it, as it describes how one of the most pertinent modern supreme court decisions came about, and with it the controversial establishment of corporate personhood and relaxing of campaign finance restrictions.

There are a number of very interesting and somewhat depressing insights presented in the article, the most interesting to me is something Toobin brings up briefly, almost in passing. Judicial activism, a point of outcry among conservatives, is in reality a largely conservative phenomenon that the proceedings from the Citizens United case providing an illustration. Toobin uses the term "conservative judicial activism" to refer to efforts of conservative justices to influence the law in manners not necessarily within the parameters of the court's intended constitutional purpose, that of being an independent mediator of power between different institutions of government. This case of Citizens United is a perfect demonstration of this conservative judicial activism in action, with some of the justices grasping a procedural technicality to create drastic and undesirable effects on the law in favor of the right wing cause.

Go ahead and read it.

More Night Photos

Steele Bridge

I got out again last night to take some shots of downtown Portland after dark, and I think this series came out much better than last. Enjoy these special edition Mother's Day photos!

Looking west from a Willamette River pier

Trees watch over the city

The path to the water

Steele Bridge

Hawthorne Bridge as framed by the trees and grass, exposed for 6 minutes

Religious Does Not Mean Conservative

Barack Obama's announcement that he supports gay marriage, while of course being a political gamble (conservatives have referred to the announcement as a "gift" for Romney), was made with a genius stroke of tact through his appeal to religious voters when he said:

The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you know — treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Now, I am personally disgusted how religion has wormed its way into everyday national politics, and there seem to be daily violations of the First Amendment's establishment clause, including gay marriage bans such as the one recently approved by voters in North Carolina. Policy should not be faith-based since theocracy is inherently limiting to a diverse population, both for those of varied faiths and those within a given faith.

However, I think Obama made the right call when he cited his faith in support of gay marriage because he demonstrated that being a Christian doesn't mean one has to be right wing. Fundamentalist and extreme religious views have been receiving a lot of attention lately thanks to the emergence of the Tea Party, the bizarre candidacy of Rick Santorum and his equally offensive predecessors, the rolling back of women's rights in states, and so on. It has been disheartening to witness the extent the silence of more tempered religious views in the face of outrageous biblical (and in my view unlawful) claims and policy. Yet now, finally, Obama supports gay marriage for reasons that include the bible.

The result? Instead of alienating Christians by pitting a secular, humanist political view against an evangelical Christian one, the debate present within the Christan community concerning biblical interpretation gains momentum. A valuable moderate Christian counterargument to exaggerated homophobic claims is now in the spotlight.

Christianity is not inherently equal to homophobia, sexism, or all the other repressive ideologies espoused by most prominent public Christian figures. Those Christians who don't accept such a repressive, rigid understanding of the bible should be relieved to finally see a political alternative to what we've been witnessing for the duration of the 2012 campaign. And I'll bet there are more moderate Christians than extremists out there. Extreme views, by definition, lay on the extremities.

The next step, I hope, is the slow but definite release of the law from religion's choking grasp.

Johnson Creek: Shane Estorja's Creek

Yesterday I went on a bike ride to explore the Springwater Corridor Trail, a long bike/pedestrian path that hugs Johnson Creek for a portion, in hopes of capturing some moving water on my camera. I found the path and took a narrow dirt path off to the right over to the sound of water, excited to see a drop in the distance. Would a waterfall follow?

In fact a small waterfall awaited, no more than ten or fifteen feet tall, flanked by stone rails on either side - probably a man-made cascade, the result of a small dam. Just beyond the drop, another Portland creek arrived to join Johnson Creek's path towards the Willamette River. The scene was just what I had been hoping to see, but there was also a strange garden with what appeared to be altars and small offerings.

The wood shelf reads: "Welcome. May all who enter as guests leave as friends. Friends are the flowers that bloom in life's garden. With God all things are possible. Faith. Hope. Love."

It turns out that here, almost two years ago, 15-year-old Shane Estorja died jumping off the small dammed cascade, drowning after the shock of the cold water made it difficult for his body to resurface. I didn't know this as I took the photos of course. I learned it through a quick Google search, but I still knew there was something connecting the mysterious Shane to the river. The site was exuding sadness mixed with hope and reverence towards the power of nature, the timelessness of the creek. I was deeply moved. 

The place where the two rivers join up.

The card on the bottom left reads: "3 AM. Year since I listened to the creek. Felt you." It's the shortest story depicting the slowly dissolving anger long after intense loss that I've ever read.

Spring begins to show itself near the waterfall.

Part of the memorial garden.

A golden afternoon light glistens on the river.

Portland Night Photographs

Self portrait

I had been waiting for a dry night when I could take photos along the East Bank of the Willamette River after teaching Saturday guitar lessons, but I didn't expect that opportunity to come on Cinco de Mayo while a super moon was out. Let me explain: a super moon is when the the moon's orbit draws it closer to earth than it ever gets, plus it's full. It looks about 14% larger and shines about 30% brighter.

What this meant for me was that the photographers were out in throngs! I thought I would have most of the city skyline to myself, but because of the Cinco de Mayo festival and the unique moon I could barely bike down the East Bank Esplinade without knocking a tripod over. I didn't get any good shots of the super moon, but here are some of the city shots I managed:

A little orchard looks out on the Willamette River, and some vignette after photo processing. 3 minute exposure with a circular polarizing lens.

Looking at the Cinco de Mayo festival through the Morrison Bridge. This is the longest exposure of the night at 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

That boat is famous among Portland based photographers for being so photogenic.

Another shot of the Morrison Bridge.

Another self portrait. This was the shortest exposure of the night at 1 minute and 14 seconds.

Which looks better: color, black and white, or sepia?