Saturday 5 May 2012

On Government in Greece

One of the first books I ever bought to help me understand Greek culture was a UNESCO manual, "Cultural Patterns and Technical Change", edited by Margaret Mead (UNESCO, 1955). An anthropological study of whole cultures, Greece is one of five cultures presented "as an integrated whole"; the Greek section was written by a Greek, by birth and upbringing (I assume the author is Dorothy Demetracopoulou Lee, one of the members of the editorial staff), and is based on work carried out in 1950-1951.

The section contains an extensive discussion of  the importance of philotimo, but here is a brief quotation from the publication, to consider at election time:

"Government is not personal, and the law is external to the organic, structured whole. It is not the voice of Greece. There is therefore no obligation to obey the law; the guide to conduct here is expediency, and the ability to circumvent."

True or False?

Corruption Blues (Reform Watch Greece)

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