This situation is completely absurd. Bad debts must be written of and bad lenders must go bankrupt. People keep complaining about “chaos” if the central planners take their hands off the wheel, but what kind of chaos will there be if not a single thing anywhere (from bread to houses to interest rates) has a price that is determined by individuals in a free market?

When the prices of everything are fake, nobody is going to a single day of real work or invest a single actual dime in anything productive, or make any kind of large purchase. The only markets that will be left functioning in relative freedom are black markets and crime.

The accusations being exchanged between European “leaders” are now extremely crude and diplomatically reckless. The next elections might see a whole raft of nationalist parties rising to the top. As the sweet fairy tales of the socialists run into hard reality, the first thing that the disappointed politicians will reach for is a very large stick to start lashing out with.

Article originally published on Mises.org here