'Coping with Collapse; ... Argentina' Dale Allen Pfeiffer

annie · Tar Sands Joined: Oct 14, 2005 Posts: 39

Coping with Collapse; Examples from Argentina
Thursday 09 of March, 2006
Introduction

The past fifteen years have seen the collapse of four industrialized countries from which those of us who are aware of energy depletion and the collapse of complex systems can draw useful knowledge. Dmitri Orlov has presented us with examples of how the Russian people survived the collapse of the Soviet Union. (Post-Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century & Our Village, GRITS; Grassroots Ideas to Survive, Edited by Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Lulu Press, Nov. 2005, also available at survivingpeakoil.com.) This author has examined what happened in Cuba and North Korea. (Drawing Lessons from Experience: North Korea & Drawing Lessons from Experience: Cuba, The End of the Oil Age, by Dale Allen Pfeiffer, Lulu Press, March 2004. Eating Fossil Fuels, due out in fall of 2006, New Society Publishers. Learning from Experience: Cuba is also available at survivingpeakoil.com.) Here we will examine the fourth industrialized country to collapse: Argentina.

The story of what happened to Argentina and how the population is coping with it holds many valuable lessons. It is a story that offers hope, and that holds warnings, particularly for those of us living in the United States. But, before we begin our examination, let us keep in mind that these are human beings we are talking about. Humans who have suffered the loss of their livelihood and their savings, people who have had to endure starvation, torture, and the disappearance and murder of loved ones. While we seek to draw lessons from what has happened in Argentina, let us not forget the sufferings and deprivations that the Argentine people have had to endure.

The crisis in Argentina was in the nature of an economic meltdown. It was a manufactured crisis, entirely due to neoliberal policies and globalization. The collapse of Argentina was engineered by the IMF, the World Bank, international financial players and the corrupt elite of Argentina. It was a crisis that did not have to happen. At one time, Argentina had the most robust economy in South America. It was an economic power on par with France. Argentina is a country rich in resources. It was once a world provider of quality meats and grains. It was the industrial powerhouse of Latin America.

The story of what happened to this wealthy country is the story of the ultimate result of fascism and neoliberal economics. It is the story of how privatization, a thoroughly exploited working class, and an economy unprotected from foreign speculators led to unprecedented disaster.

The story of Argentina holds powerful lessons for those of us in the US. It illustrates how a people who are completely atomized and subjugated by terror can come together in adversity, and that the biggest thing standing in their way is their own government and money'd interests both at home and abroad.

The full article looks at the background of the Argentine collapse and the war of terror waged upon its people. It then looks at how the people have responded to the economic crisis through various grassroots initiatives. The article analyzes the various initiatives to see how they are prospering and to identify their defects, and then it examines how the government and various economic interests are trying to undermine the grassroots efforts. It is a very important article, full of implications for those of us in the US and other industrialized countries.

The full article can be found in The Mountain Sentinel; Volume 1, No. 1.

Dale Allen Pfeiffer
in Dale Allen Pfeiffer's Blog http://www.lulu.com/allenadale
Posted at 14:12:41 UTC

Ayoob · Expert Joined: Jul 15, 2004 Posts: 1145

Next time, mention we have to pay to read the rest of it.

annie · Tar Sands Joined: Oct 14, 2005 Posts: 39

Ok that's it...i won't post anyomore of Dale's stuff on here

I'm damed if I do and damed if I dont

backstop

Annie -

please forgive the crass lack of courtesy of some of the posters here.

Dales insight and experience is greatly valued by those with the sense to comprehend it, and we hope you'll continue to post updates on publications.

with best wishes,

Backstop
_________________
"The best of conservation . . . is written not with a pen but with an axe."
(from "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold, 1948.

coyote

gg3

What I find objectionable, and VERY much so, is when someone posts what is known in the industry as a TEASER. For example a book-jacket review or an introduction, which gets right up to the edge of the message itself, but then refers to a link that holds out for money or privacy-compromising information in order to get the message.

If you want to buy advertising on this site by all means do so. If you want to post something that leads to a pay-site or whatever, then you have a moral obligation to let people know, at the beginning, so they can choose to read or not to read the teasers.

But doing it in the manner that was done in this column, in my opinion, is unacceptable. In fact it's arguably breaking the site's rules about misuse of topics as advertising media.

Gary

I hope the conversation does not get sidetracked.

Maybe a separate thread could be established to work through ideas about posting material from sites with articles behind a paywall. Sometimes it is nice to know ahead of time that there is a fee, and so forth. I'd like to encourage people like the Pfeiffers to post here. Much good research and analysis can be highlighted and discussed in this way. But that is not the intended topic at hand, is it?

I would like to learn more about "coping with collapse; examples from Argentina.

My family budget is very tight, but I might be able to pay to read an article someone has put a lot of work into researching and writing. Meanwhile, I'd like to hear if others have ideas to contribute on the topic at hand, or responses from reading the article cited.

Again, I may not be able to get to the article right away, but I would love to hear from anyone who has done so, or who has other information to add to the discussion.

I believe that many workers in Argentina simply took over factories after the economic collapse, didn't they, and began to create what amounts to a new economy? I beleive they did this at great personal risk in many cases, as the economic elite in Argentina tried to lock them out.

I often wonder how we would go about creating local economies from scratch, so to speak, if need be. I am also interested in relocalising much manufacturing and agriculture as the energy crunch continues.
_________________
pedaling for peace and ecojustice -- Gary

threadbear · Expert Joined: Jan 22, 2005 Posts: 7784

Hiderow · Heavy Crude Joined: Nov 29, 2004 Posts: 108 Location: Eire

Aaron

Geeze people,

Just how many free books/media did you expect to find in the book review forum?

Ya can't mention it in here unless it's free?

Please...
_________________
"When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F Roberts.

Praise HawkMan

eric_b

gg3

Aaron and Threadbear, you missed my point entirely.

I don't object to paid sites.

I don't object to paying to read stuff.

And by now you (Aaron at least) should know that I sure as hell don't object to freedom of enterprise, markets, and so on.

And I don't object to people getting paid for producing creative content. If you didn't know, I worked in the professional music industry as a producer & recording engineer for a couple of years, and yes, you would recognize two or three of the names of the bands I worked with, who earned their living full-time from their music. FYI, I have NEVER downloaded bootleg music (as in, not even once), because I do not support people stealing others' creative products and I'm not going to do it myself, even in the privacy (heh) of my own home. (Though conversely, I think Sony should have been ripped to shreds for hiding malware on its CDs that damaged peoples' computers, and as a result, I no longer buy anything from Sony (aside from which, Panasonic makes better electronics anyway)).

What I object to STRONGLY, is TEASERS.

That's pronounced TEE-ZERS.

As in TEE-ZING.

As in, what snotty-nosed little brats do to their playmates on the playground. (When they grow up we call them a--holes, though I suppose that calling them snotty-nosed brats (as adults) is a more creative use of language than calling them a--holes.)

It's a form of psychological manipulation, it's not much different from spam. It's an illegitimate advertising technique because it's sneaky and sly and hooks you by the sense of curiosity without informed consent. You get to the bottom and there comes the "payload," the notice, after-the-fact, that you're going to have to pay to scratch the itch that it created without your consent.

I have NO objection whatsoever to someone LEADING OFF an article or posting with a notice to the effect that "this goes to a pay site." That's called INFORMED CONSENT, because I can choose to read the posting or not, knowing what's coming. But after-the-fact does not cut it.

I'm going to be really crass about this and skirt the edges of the "no X-rated material" rule: It's like going out on a hot date, and then the other person strokes you here and strokes you there, and just as you're getting so worked-up that you could burst, they tell you "Sorry honey, I do this for money, if you wanna' go all the way, you gotta' pay and pay."

So says me: If you're a "pro," just let me know, or I'll tell ya' where you can GO!.

Does that make sense?

Aaron

Sorry GG3... honorable men may differ.

We are in the book/media review section.

Is it ok to put up a review in here, as long as I don't include any excerpts?

Or is this only for free books & media?

Should we go back & remove all threads which talk about books for sale?

Or just add a disclaimer that "this book costs money".

I can understand why you might feel blindsided in the peak oil forum... but in here don't we expect to be reviewing stuff for sale?

If I met your hooker at the grocery store, then ok... But if I met her at the massage parlor then... well...
_________________
"When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F Roberts.

Praise HawkMan

julianj

I agree with gg3.

It's a bit disingenuous to post something that you will get financial gain from, without notifiying readers - a small note e.g. payment required, would satisfy me. That's different from someone on this site recommending a book or vid that they don't get any financial recompense from.

I did pay the US$ 2.50 and downloaded the pdf - I haven't read it all but it was interesting and good value.

MacG · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 1178