In the early days of summer I attended the four week course The Crash in an Acedemic Light I at the University of Iceland. As this was a course intended for those seeking their bachelor‘s degrees I will not receive credits towards my masters, but that did not matter. I wanted to listen to the speakers and explore what the University of Iceland had to say on the topic.
First up, Gudni Th. Elisson pondered the same things William K. Black had a month earlier, what if the crash had happened in 2011 or 2012 instead of 2008. Maybe we should count ourselves lucky that the fatal growth of the banking system was stopped before it got worse?
As someone concerned with translations and linguistics Gudni wondered whether Icelanders should examine their languague for explanations to the crash. Icelanders have succumbed to a nationalistic rhetoric since the fight for independence from Denmark and many of the fables and myths created by those trying to install nationalistic pride in the new nation lacking in common self-image, stuck for too long as was evident by president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson‘s speeches for instance. Another interesting play on words is the hero-myth of the viking, exalted in Iceland but when you see things from their victims eyes, you see robbers, rapists and a path of destruction.
Gudni also mentioned Charles Mackay‘s book Extraordinary Popular Delusions when discussing how the Icelandic psyche had gone overboard regarding its own self image. Quotes from recent years from the Chamber of Commerce on how Iceland should stop comparing itself to the Nordics as “we are further ahead of them on most accounts anyways“, on the idea of Iceland as the “richest country in the world” as Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson called his vision of a tax haven or the similar concept of Iceland’s plan to become an international financial center as Halldor Asgrimsson dreamed of when he became prime minister.
Gudmundur Magnusson came and talked about his book, New Iceland – the art of losing oneself from early 2008 in which he casts a regretful eye back to the days of the late twentieth century when Icelandic society had more cohesion, less visible division of wealth and more equality. Gudmundur had found with himself a distaste for the wealthy Icelanders which flaunted their private jets and Range Rovers in the faces of ordinary citizens who could not measure up anymore and had less and less share of the wealth. The book is interesting when you consider that Gudmundur has been considered to be of libertarian leanings and was connected to the clique which took over the Independence Party.
Gudni Th. Johannesson’s book The Crash is an outstanding account of the days leading up to and right after the fateful October of 2008. Gudni carried out extensive research and painted a vivid picture of a government and banking system on the brink of collapse and his book is a must read on the subject. He mentioned that David Oddson’s character cast a shadow over everything.
Next up were history professors Gudmundur Jonsson and Gudmundur Halfdanarson. It caught my attention that having G as the first letter in your name seemed a prerequisite for the male lecturers in the course. The former Gudmundur (who coincidentally is my uncle) brought up some measuring sticks to assess the damage done, including the one which shows how the asset depreaciation in Iceland outdid any other in history by a mile, five times the GDP. According to Gudmundur the crash is without precedent in Icelandic history, it included one of the greatest depreaciation of the krona, the biggest contraction in GDP since 1920, the largest number of unemployed since 1957 when the numbers were first collected. Iceland was relatively free from the travails of the world wars due to its isolated location, but this event could etch itself into Icelanders conciousness as our world war experience. Iceland had seen bankruptcies on a global scale, Kaupthing’s collapse was 30% bigger than Enron’s, the private sector is the most indebted in the world or 400% of GDP in 2008 and no developed industrial state had sought the help of the IMF since 1976 when Iceland came knocking that year.
Gudmundur claimed that a potent coctail of of globalization and libertarianism had hit Iceland really bad. A social experiment in the spirit of a radical libertarianism had laid the foundations of an unchecked financial system running amok. In short, the crash has badly damaged Iceland’s image on the international stage. Like Gudni Elisson said before Gudmundur, now Iceland will never be an international financial center.
Gudmundur Halfdanarson has been lauded and criticised by even measures in Iceland for combating the nationalistic myths that have taken hold. He pointed out that we remember what we are tought to remember, including the created story of a glorified beginning, a decline and uprising which connects all Icelanders and sets them apart from others (who coincidentally have their own versions which set them apart from others as well). The myth has painted the period of the Danish rule as an era of decline and humiliation when perhaps there were no grounds for the small isolated farmers community in the North Atlantic to control its own matters in any way. The myth claims that Icelanders cherish freedom from foreign influence above anything else and that freedom creates prosperity and industry. Foreign intervention will only bring decline.
This idea has stuck with modern Icelanders who believe that Iceland’s place in the world is best left alone from the meddling of others. It is a narrow viewpoint which has seen influential figures claim the Icelandic Sagas to be as influential in human history as the Bible and Greek philosophy and that no place in the world has the allure of Iceland, except for maybe the banks of the Nile.
Gauti Kristmannsson then talked about the concept of social contracts, how they had developed through Hobbes’ Leviathan, Filmer’s Patriarcha, De Mandeville’s Fable of the bees, Hume’s Treatise and Of the original contract and then Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws and Rousseu’s Contract Social. Gauti explained how Montesquieu and Rousseu’s influence had affected democracy from France to the US and most importantly Rousseu’s assertion that by giving up the right to control to someone else by casting your vote makes you even more personally responsible for what goes on in your society than if you did not. Gauti also examined how Hannes Holmsteinn Gissurarson’s shaky logic and propaganda in the book The Invisible Hand had come to shape the social contract of the libertarian society Iceland was becoming, when its foundations had been rebutted convincingly in the book Libertarianism by another young thinker in the eighties, Birgir Bjorn Sigurjonsson one who lacked the influence and power the former had.
It should be noted that the lecturers were suprisingly hesitant in handing out their power point slides to the students in the course. When pressed they explained that there were forces in society which would stop at nothing in attacking them, verbally, personally and through whatever legal measures they could. It says something for the percieved freedom of speech academics enjoy in Iceland. How on earth was the University of Iceland ever going to crack the top 100 universities in the world under these totalitarian conditions?
At that point in the course, things took a turn for the worse. Arnfridur Gudmundsdottir from the theological department arrived to lecture on sin, arrogance, power and believe it or not, the truth. The theological department had to have a role to play in order for its students being able to collect credits in the summer but at that moment there was a sharp intellectual descent in the course. Oblivious to the significant event of Enligthenment, Arnfridur suggested solutions and solace in the ancient fable of the Bible and the Reformation. Arnfridur did not appear comfortable in the company of such a disagreeable crowd and replied to tough questions with condenscending answers. The absurdity was complete with a theological student at the back scolding those who criticized her for “not wanting to understand her”.
I made my point clear to the director of the course. The kind of introspection as the course offers Icelanders is badly needed. But the search for truth and answers is at best blurred and at worst distracted by the presence of the theologicans.
Unfortunately I could not attend the second course taking place right now. There crowd next up was supposed to be of even more religous nature… the economists.
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Silvia Planchett
1 year ago
The bible thing is very interesting. Let´s see if the supernatural can give a boost to those seeking a long lasting relief from this vale of tears. I suggest that they don´t hold their breath!