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Anastasia Balezdrova 

Right from the beginning of the financial crisis in Greece, there have been voices calling for the country to exit the European Union and the Euro, arguing that it would be much easier to deal with the economic problems. Of course, the majority of economists and public opinion in the country are totally against this proposal and even considered supporters therof crazy and not quite aware of the consequences of such an action.

One of them is the Professor at the Economic University of Athens George Bitros, who presented his position in his speech at the Institute of Diplomacy and International Relations entitled "In Defence of Globalization."

"I am trying to refer to all arguments that will enable us to resist all those who are trying to instill insulation in the minds of the Greeks in all ways through the media. Their idea is that Greece should withdraw its participation in international and European organizations, retire into its shell, where it could cope with the problems better."

The professor made reference to a previous work of his, which compares ancient Athens and ancient Sparta. "Accumulation of wealth in Athens became possible only by trade and by opening the economy of the polis. Therein lies, I think, the difference between Athens and Sparta."

George Bitros began his presentation by proving the thesis that international trade brings benefits to all participating countries. He presented an example, "which 95% of economists in the world have proved through research and analysis. And it is that each country can equally benefit from its participation in world trade. Countries are not the same. Australia, for example, has plenty of land, and England has people and technology. Therefore, Australia will produce food, and England - weapons and machines. In this example, if the two countries decide to isolate themselves from the rest of the world, the first one will only produce foods and the second –weapons, because these are their technologies. Any first-year student in Economics understands this. If these two countries understand that they can participate in international trade, their prosperity will grow. This is so simple that I cannot figure out how there are people who do not understand it. So, I think that now, when it is time to deal with the crisis, and after 60 years in a closed economy, we have to begin looking outward. I.e., to produce sellable products."

According to the professor, if under the conditions of taking part in international trade maximum competitiveness is achieved, the money a citizen of Greece will receive per one hour of work will be enough to buy the same number of products that the citizen of any other country in the world will buy.

"This means that under these conditions, it is not necessary for the people to move from one country to another because they could remain in their country and be able to work to buy the same goods that Americans, Englishmen and others buy. The logical question is: Why are there migration flows? The answer is that they exist because the parties in an attempt to preserve not citizens but their political systems, have imposed all these restrictions like taxes among others on international trade. As a result, international markets cannot operate competitively. This is the source of globalization. It is one way to overcome all obstacles that governments put against international trade in order to protect their petty interests, although it is in their interest to allow markets to operate competitively."

Professor Bitros explained seven of the forces that he said were released due to globalization and cannot be stopped.

"It is a process that cannot be stopped, whether Greeks like it or not. The more we retire into our shell, the poorer we will become. By the way, the countries that feel the consequences of globalization most strongly are the rich countries. They are the countries that export even highly trained staff to countries like China and India. And they, in turn, are the only ones that could benefit from globalization. Therefore, I think it is wrong to adopt policies like refusing or imposing high taxes on imports from Africa and other poor countries in the European Union. "

"The countries are seeking to improve their participation because they know that development brings development. The relations between Europe, USA and Japan are the example for this. They carry out 50% of world trade between each other."

Foreign investments. "The law on the protection of foreign capital in Greece adopted in 1953 has brought the inflow of about 2,000 foreign companies up until 1963. A significant part of the development of Greece from that time until 1974 was based precisely on such imports of capital and technical knowledge. This stopped in 1974 and these firms have begun to withdraw," he said.

His third argument was the finding that international trade grows faster than countries. "In addition, foreign investments go to developed countries because their institutions are stable and reliable."

Globalization also contributes to bringing the tastes of consumers around the world to the same products, information and technology. The professor stressed the need for changes that would lead to attracting investment, not to earn some money as it is now but to change the way people think. "We must teach people to stop thinking that there is a "good father" on Syntagma Square, who is printing money, giving it out to everyone else. We must teach them how to look at themselves as creators who are responsible for their life and prosperity."