>Brad De Long wrote:
>
>>So do you think that the people of Greece would have been happier if
its
>>post-WWII politics had been moe like those of Bulgaria?
my parents certainly would have been happier if they didn't have to leave greece for fear of their lives.
it would be nice if the claim that, as nick succinctly put it, that fascism leads to democracy, was abandoned once and for all. such a claim rests almost entirely on certain implicit presumptions about the character of greeks, since i'm sure brad would not stoop to making a similar claim for north america or britain. north americans and the british are either naturally inclined to democracy or can be trusted to go there without the guidance of fascism -- apparently.
moreover, I'm always fascinated by the differing characterizations of greece as either 'balkan' or 'european'. I wouldn't suggest it's either, since I don't care much for the kinds of hierarchies that are implicit in such designations; but it is kind of an index of the internal ideological border which marks out europeans and non-europeans WITHIN europe.
angela