“We need the CCPA to remind us that our dreams of a decent, egalitarian society are reasonable — indeed that with a little work, they are practical. And I love that practicality, that protection of the dream of the possible.”
— Naomi Klein
The Greek Economic Crisis and Implications for Europe
The economic and fiscal crisis in Greece continues to deepen, with the outcome at this point unknown. One scenario sees Greece leaving the euro zone, with very
serious implications for Europe. To shed light on this perilous situation, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives have organized a luncheon with Richard Parker from Harvard University. From 2009 to 2011 he served as economic advisor to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, an experience that gives him a unique perspective on the Greek crisis.
- Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2012
- Time: 11:45-12:15 drinks, 12:15-2:00 lunch & speech
- Location: Ontario Room, Lord Elgin Hotel, 100 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario
- Details: $35 per person (includes lunch and HST)
Richard Parker teaches in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. An Oxford-trained economist, his career has included journalism (he co-founded the magazine Mother Jones and chairs the editorial board of The Nation); philanthropy (as executive director of two foundations he donated more than $40 million to social-change groups); social entrepreneurship (he grew environmental group Greenpeace from 2,000 to 600,000 supporters, helped launch People for the American Way, and raised over $250 million for some 60 non-profits), and political consulting (advising, among others, Senators Kennedy, Glenn, Cranston, and McGovern).
His books include The Myth of the Middle Class, an early study of widening U.S. income and wealth distribution, Mixed Signals: The Future of Global Television, a critical assessment of the spread of satellite-based news and its political impacts, and the intellectual biography, John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics , which traces the history of 20th century economic theory and policy through the career of Harvard's most famous economist. This latter book has been described by William F. Buckley as "the best biography of the century", and by Keynes' biographer Robert Skidelsky as "an unparalleled achievement