Sergios Saropoulos
Bio
Philosopher, Journalist, Writer.
Found myself in the words of C.P. Cavafy
"And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience, you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean"
Stories (32/0)
Understanding Trickle-Down Economics
Trickle-down economics is a common political debate, associated with supply-side economics. According to the premise behind trickle-down economics and its practices, tax cuts/breaks and benefits for corporations and the wealthy will trickle down and eventually benefit everyone. Meaning everyone from the so-called wealthy 1% to the lowest class. In the generalization of the lowest cast, I believe, lays the biggest mistake of this theory. When a theory, such as trickle-down economics says that everyone benefits from tax breaks and benefits that are directly created for the profit of the wealthy corporations and their shareholders, with the premise that this influx of capital will eventually benefit all the classes of society in the sense that capital moves in every aspect. Either by creating jobs or providing investment in infrastructures.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Trader
Investing in Yemen
According to the UNDP report conducted in 2019, Yemen has been experiencing some dreadful consequences from the ongoing civil conflict, with 11.7 million people becoming impoverished as a direct result of the war. With a significant number of them, around 600 000, being children under the age of 5.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Trader
The obstacle that gives headaches to Brussels.
A case which, constitutes one of the most recent examples of political and democratic crisis in the EU member states and has been causing a significant headache in Brussels, is the case of Poland and the veto issued by Hungary. The EU was always standing for two main ideas, the protection of human rights and the separation of powers, not only as European ideals but also as mandatory criteria for the member states to join the Union.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in The Swamp
The constant issue for a United Europe.
A case which, constitutes one of the most recent examples of political and democratic crisis in the EU member states and has been causing a significant headache in Brussels, is the case of Poland and the veto issued by Hungary. The EU was always standing for two main ideas, the protection of human rights and the separation of powers, not only as European ideals but also as mandatory criteria for the member states to join the Union.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in The Swamp
Heraclitus and Eastern Philosophy.
INTRODUCTION Heraclitus was a presocratic philosopher who lived in Ephesus of Ionia (modern Turkey) between the 6th and the 5th century, from his birth in 544 BC until he died in 484 BC. He was the son of Vlysson and belonged to the family Androcleides who were considered to have played an important role in the creation of the city; Ephesus, the city of Heraclitus. The main source of the biography of the philosopher is Diogenes Laertius, but some question the validity of his information. Apart from Diogenes Laertius, we draw information from numerous authors who mentioned his work either to applaud him or criticize him. Among them, we can mention Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, Plotinus, Theophrastus and others. One hundred and twenty-six quotes from the work of Heraclitus have been saved. This fact makes the reconstruction of the whole of thought and theory of Heraclitus quite challenging.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in FYI
The Greek filmmakers in the pantheon of International Cinema.
Greece, a relatively small country, with an enormous background in culture and history. And while many people only reminisce about its ancient past, and I do not blame them. Culturally Greece has offered a lot and it still does. From great poets like Seferis, Kavafis, Ritsos and many others, to filmmakers. But let me talk to you today about the filmmakers with a promise of talking about poetry and more culture in the future. I would like to offer just two examples of Greece’s greatest filmmakers. Two examples with enormous global recognition that remains vivid to these days. I am talking about Costas Gavras and Theo Angelopoulos.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Humans
"I am not a dictator, I just have a grumpy face"
The phrase from the title above is rightly attributed to the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. During his reign, he implemented a brutal regime, which was advised on economical issues by the prominent school of Chicago, a known advocate of capitalism and creator of neo-liberal ideology. His regime was praised openly by politicians like Margaret Thatcher and economists like Milton Friedman. With many neo-liberal politicians still being nostalgic of the policies of his era. Milton Friedman explained in one of his interviews that even though he is not a fan of dictatorial regimes, he called the case of Pinochet's Chile as a success story of economic reforms. While he was also organizing meetings with general Pinochet and even teaching classes at that time in Chile. A military Junta which ended 150 years of democracy and overthrew the democratically elected leader at that time,Allende . A regime that imprisoned and tortured thousands of students, politicians and artists, was implementing radical policies of a capitalist economy. And if someone is sceptical about the level of authoritarianism in Chile at that moment, remember the appalling scene of the World Cup organized Chile, next to prisons, in which political dissidents were tortured with the most barbaric of methods. With their voices of despair covered by the cheers of the crowd. Pinochet, under the influence of the free-market-oriented "Chicago Boys", implemented a capitalist economic model, with the removal of taxes for big private corporations and the privatization of social security and hundreds of state enterprises, along with the privatization of the pension system and the independence of the national central bank. Apart from that, his regime was also known for its amount of corruption between the authoritarian leadership and the private sector(Pinochet's Economists the Chicago school of economics in Chile -The Pinochet's Case, 1998). Fortunately for the people of Chile, the capitalist regime came to an end. Pinochet’s dictatorship, will be a timeless example of how a brutal regime became the favourite guinea pig for radical capitalist policies.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in The Swamp
China's success as an ill omen for Europe.
A still-thriving authoritarian society that follows a capitalist economic model, and it is currently considered to be the second-largest economy in the world.That could easily be a definition in a lexicon of modern geopolitics .Even though China is still facing many ethical and existential issues, like environmental catastrophes and emissions that are causing pollution, as well as issues that many other authoritarian or even liberal states are facing, like the oppression of speech, minority marginalization and terrible working conditions.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in The Swamp
Patriarchy “A timeless sickness”
On a lonely night in Helsinki, I found myself on my sofa watching Ridley Scott's new movie "The Last Duel". I was expecting a decent movie to spend my sleepless night and I end up watching a remarkable film, depicting the timeless patriarchal violence of our society. I am not going to spoil the movie, on the contrary, I will argue you to see it, or even better to read the book by Eric Lager. It is about the story of Lady Marguerite, a victim of rape by a deluded man, who cannot understand the mere concept of rape due to his habit of enforcing violence against other women in the past, justified by a patriarchal society that urges to justify violence against women.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Motivation
Nazim
The ferry was leaving Lesvos and we could already see the coast of Turkey. It has been many years since the last time I had visited Ayvalik with my family. I only had vague memories of the market and a woman looking for a church that her great grandfather built almost a century ago. This time me and one of my best friends went together. It was the first time for him. Standing in the ship's open deck, I saw her. Now a vaguely remember her after 4 years. But I can still remember her tanned skin and her short hair. She seemed confident. She realised I was looking at her and it seems like she was waiting for me to talk to her. After my friend convinced me I approached her. Standed next to her on the deck's porch. She seemed to be smiling when I approached her, she was still waiting. I tried to see her face clearly. The air was moving her hair and covering her face. I tried to see her eyes. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses, making it impossible for me to see her eyes. Now if I would guess I would have said her eyes were green. At that moment I realised that I have been looking at her for a long time and that without talking to her I must have seemed like a real weirdo. So I took the mature choice of turning around and walking back to my friend, without saying anything to her. After ten minutes she left and I never saw her again.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Photography
Tear gas
Through travelling, I have experienced different feelings, met really special people and sometimes a few of those experiences made me change my whole mindset. For me, photography started as a way of keeping memories. I was never a professional photographer, and to be honest, I never intended to be one. Nevertheless, some of the pictures I have taken throughout these years ended up having more meaning than others. This might have to do with special memories or people. But these pictures I am going to present to you, have a special humanitarian meaning for me. I tried not to process them, by using any sort of filters, but as you will see, all of them are black-and-white. This started with me wanting to give a sense of film-noir to the pictures and the stories that represent or could represent.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Photography
Speed Dating
Speed Dating ΙΝ / BAR / NIGHT A bar in the city centre, from the window we can see a full night with people talking to each other. All the tables are empty and everyone is standing. Two friends are standing near the bar, and they are both looking at the crowd. At one point a bell rings and they say to each other.
By Sergios Saropoulos2 years ago in Humans
