The global pandemic of coronavirus has\nturned the established family and state budgets upside down. When faced with\nthe dilemma of whether to save human lives or the economy, most governments,\nincluding the Greek government, have decided that it is saving human lives that\nshould take precedence. However the recently-implemented safety measures affect\nthe economy in a very negative way. In order to effectively protect the economy\nas much as possible, the citizens need to accept the necessity of these safety\nmeasures and adjust to the new financial reality. Of course, the state will\nneed to provide fair and well thought-out aid packages to struggling families\nand businesses.This is the only way to deal with the financial imbalance which\nwas suddenly and for an undetermined length of time caused by the coronavirus\nspread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The need for frugal living at times of financial\ndifficulty has been a familiar situation for our forefathers, most recently for\nthose who lived in the middle of the 20th<\/sup> century. Ten years of war\n(WW2 and civil war) had caused widespread damage and completely dismantled the\nGreek economy. Then, as now, the need for rebuilding the economy was widely\nunderstood. Society at large accepted the fact that the basis for improving the\neconomy was frugal living on the part of all<\/strong>\ncitizens. We will mention the answer of Nicolaos Plastiras (thrice Prime Minister\nduring the difficult years between 1945 and 1952) when he was asked if he\nwanted a telephone line installed in his residence: \u201chow can I accept such a\nluxury, when Greek citizens do not even have the basics for survival?\u201d<\/em> <\/strong>Frugal\nliving paid off, as seen by the economic indicators of the 1950\u2019s and 1960\u2019s\nwhen Greek economic growth was among the highest in Europe. Younger generations\nknow about the economic sacrifices of that period, having heard their\nforefathers\u2019 conversations or having read books on this subject. What young\npeople need to do now is to apply this knowledge to today\u2019s circumstances. They\nneed to understand that the way out of the closing and financial ruin of\nbusinesses and the state economy in general, caused by the spread of the\ncoronavirus, is that they have to adopt a strict and frugal lifestyle. The difference between then (the years of\nWW2 and the civil war that followed) and now is that then frugal living was\nimposed after the loss of many lives, while now it is imposed by the policies\nthat are helping save many human lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/strong>At the present time, as we\nare practising voluntary isolation at home, it would be an excellent idea to\nreflect on our lives up to now and also on the future long-term plans for\nourselves and our families. Now, as we are confined at home and practise social\ndistancing, we have all the time we need for systematic and objective\nreflection, so that we reach valid conclusions. We hope that most readers agree\nwith the two paragraphs above and share our views. We need to act as a\nhomogeneous and cohesive society, and walk ahead united towards the \u201cperiod of\nfrugal living\u201d, which no one knows how long it will last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Mani, the stony soil, the limited natural\nresources and the climatic conditions have forced its inhabitants into permanent\nfrugal living for many centuries. Frugal living, stony terrain and the specific\ngeographic location of Mani have all helped to keep our ancestors always ready\nfor combat, so that they could immediately fend off external dangers. It is a\nfact that our forefathers have long been used to frugal living. Sociobiology\ntells us that century-long customs and adaptations can influence the genetic\nDNA of families who have lived in a specific area for many generations. We hope\nthat these influences, which usually resurface during critical times, will prevail\nagain during the critical period that we are facing now due to the coronavirus\npandemic. We know that unanimity can greatly help us to deal with the\nunprecendented new conditions that we are faced with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The global pandemic of coronavirus has turned the established family and state budgets upside down. When faced with the dilemma of whether to save human lives or the economy, most governments, including the Greek government, have decided that it is saving human lives that should take precedence. However the recently-implemented safety measures affect the … \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ad\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2 NEED FOR SELF-REFLECT\u0399\u039f\u039d AND RETURN TO FRUGAL LIVING<\/span>