Backwardness

More than 80 people have been killed after Greece’s worst wildfire in a decade hit the small resort of Mati, 18 miles east of Athens. The fire broke out on the afternoon of 23 July, with strong winds causing the fire to spread quickly towards the beach..


The Guardian – 27 Jul 2018
Greece wildfires: satellite imagery shows devastation in Mati – visual guide

On Aug. 3 Greek public order minister Nikos Toskas resigned after during the fire no official evacuation effort had taken place:

In this photo, Greek public order minister Nikos Toskas


“Greek public order minister Nikos Toskas … has resigned on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 in the aftermath of last week’s deadly forest fires near Athens that killed at least 87 people”.


Associated Press via abcNews.com – Aug 3, 2018
Greek minister resigns after criticism of wildfire response

Remarks:

The catastrophe worked as an eye-opener. Bad efficiency of the state and a general developmental backwardness came to the public focus. Officials obviously had regarded their jobs more as a property and a benefice than as a duty to fulfil a task. I regard this as a pervasive cultural problem connected with backwardness in developing and emerging countries, for example in Africa or in eastern parts of Europe.

Because of a relatively poor parenting in such patriarchic cultures, people are strongly identified with their alter egos and consequently find it difficult to support political strategies aimed to improve productivity of the public administration and the economy, in order to increase long term economic growth and wealth among the population.

Traditional thinking stemming from clans and tribes cannot be overcome because such a step forward towards a better life would unleash among the people a so-called growth panic. If they identified with reasonable change they would be overwhelmed by unendurable inner traumatic feelings. Therefore it is especially difficult to support reasonable change in politics in countries with poor (machistic, authoritarian) child rearing.

By identification with the alter ego and the fantasized aims of the aggressor we ward off our traumatic feelings which are actualized by economic growth and more individual freedom. Because of this inherent resistance against a modernization of the societies, it is so difficult to induce growth processes in traditional societies.












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