Anarchy
Greece is littered with buildings in the worst possible taste, constructed according to no particular design and with blatant disrespect for every restriction set by the state. Thousands of buildings are topped by ugly rusting metal bars extruding from their roofs (awaiting the addition of more floors), something seen in no other European country. Half-built structures are also to be found in other sectors of Greek society – the introduction of private television, for example, which was built on very shaky foundations. Twenty years later, no one appears to be sure which channels have licenses. No doubt the abolition of the state media monopoly was for the good of Greek society, but it would be even better if the institutional framework did not allow pirates to run free over the media waves. Now Parliament is debating the review of Article 16 of the Constitution, a move that could pull mediocre state universities up by their bootstraps. On the other hand, however, it could lead to anarchy, a situation in which anyone – or his uncle – could open a «university» affiliated with a polytechnic in Belarus, for example. Any good that could come from amending Article 16 will be canceled out if the state does not ensure that it is properly implemented. Legislation is not enough. After all, for years now Greece has had extremely strict zoning laws but the result is visible to anyone with eyes to see. The stricter the laws, the more obvious the violations of them, the greater the cynicism and the conviction that «this is the way we do things here.» Article 16 should lead to honest rivalry and better standards in the education system, not to anarchy or half-finished structures.
