Foreigners Would Only Prolong the Crisis

Foreign experts are highly unfamiliar with our mentality, relationships, philosophy of life, traditions and current state.

Most of the public, even the experts, are not entirely aware of the deep economic and financial crisis in our country. We are not only on the brim of a collapse, but we’ve experienced a real debt and financial crisis. The current model cannot be reformed, especially (as is now done) only through the fiscal sector, while the other nine sectors function on an older model. This model must immediately be abandoned and allow for the creation of a new one, with new development-oriented macroeconomic policies.

The crisis is not “imported” through the global financial crisis, but created by us as our “product.” The neo-liberal concept of “stabilization” is widely accepted (not development, rather “crisis stabilization”). In a new book, “The Collapse is Coming,” I discovered where these negative spirals will lead those “responsible” for this economic-financial and social debacle.

Now on the political scene the same party and individuals who in the first place brought us into these difficult financial and social crises continue to rule. With such proposals and a scramble for seats, divisions prey (seeing how parties now share a public company in Novi Sad) on the ministries— fiefdoms and ministers that are currently taking over the ministry are unfamiliar with the individual vastness of their jobs. I see no way out of crisis. Nothing important and in-depth has changed, and we need exactly these in-depth reforms. The situation is such that the nation must rise to its feet and be introduced to the difficult situation, while inviting all the creative forces of intellect and wisdom in our country and scholars from abroad to engage in the necessary process of social and moral revival.

Should we hire foreign experts to help us with that? There is no need, and it would be counterproductive because the experts know nothing about us (our mentality, relationships, philosophy of life, tradition, the current situation). They would only deepen and prolong the crisis in an attempt to “implement” models from their countries unto ours. There are many examples in the world that “imported” experts in their field only worsened the situation. I remember when Ante Markovic [the last prime minister of a united Yugoslavia] invited Jeffrey Sachs as an adviser to the government. At the time I presented at the conference of economists in Opatija, Croatia and said that bringing in Sachs is a slap to all Yugoslavian economists. It later proved to be true.

A similar case lies with the IMF. In this first phase, Fond is necessary as a consultant, the specific controller of public authorities, and the factor of convenience (and favorable) access to global capital markets. But his devastating and universal “cure” should not be accepted without reservations. Wherever they were strictly implemented they have led to crisis, economic collapse and social stratification. I do not favor the concept of sacrificing, appeasement of demand and consumption, restrictive policies of stabilizations, “painful economic cuts,” freezing pensions … These are all short-term measures and all steer toward a deepening crisis, growing unemployment, and ultimate moral crumbling of society.

Serbia, finally, has plenty of educated and competent experts, they are only suppressed in their parties (if part of any), or are on the margins of society. Critical thought and all that was against the far-from-correct, failed economic model was suppressed. The real situation was kept from the public and many official figures masked. Now we have hit a wall. It can no longer continue as such, or it can, through the deepening of the crisis to a general collapse. In all ministries we must choose the best Serbian individuals for those seats. They would become those giving advice to the government. It would be preferable for them to be non-partisan social scientists.

The alternative is for the president of the nation to form a sort of committee that would “cover” all ministries in the government and through them he could follow growth, receive guidance in the right direction, intervene and publicly and objectively become familiar with all necessities. Then the president should publicly invite our top experts to participate in this vitally important process; of course, those who want to and feel willing and able to do so.