In detail the post by Alexis Tsipras:
“Sometimes the distance from the intensity of events in the homeland gives the opportunity to see more globally, cool and objectively certain things. All the more so when this distance is an opportunity to get to know the thought, the concerns and the anxieties of remarkable people, with a deep knowledge of their subject and a dialectical mood.
I feel so lucky that from the first week of my stay at Harvard University I had the opportunity to meet and exchange views with very important personalities, remarkable teachers and researchers, as well as anxious, concerned and extremely intelligent students. Every meeting, every discussion was for me an excellent experience. An opportunity to hear, learn, deepen what I know, but also to exchange views with my interlocutors outside the conventional contexts.
In a very friendly meeting with political philosopher Michael Sandel we exchanged thoughts on the Greek crisis and the moral dilemmas of governance, especially in the first harsh period of 2015. We also talked about the importance of the recent book that has written with Thomas Picketty, The Greek government in “Excellence” were the views of my interlocutor of the dominant debate in 2019 on “excellence” in governance. Sandel’s work “The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?” He examines how to praise the concept of “worthy” and “excellent”, as well as excessive emphasis on individual success, is based on a false “equality of opportunities” that usually favors elites, weakens the common good, alienates much of Western societies and can lead to increased social societies.
At the same time, I had the opportunity to meet International Relations Professor Joseph Nye, the man who inspired the theory of mild power that has deeply influenced the field of international relations and diplomacy. We have talked about the new US foreign policy and the dangers it is holding, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Could this be avoided if we focused on the mild EU power since 2008 and the US did not insist on Open Door Policy for Ukraine and Georgia in NATO? Finally, we agreed on the importance of utilizing mild power policies in a period of hard power. And of course in the role that Greece can and should play in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.
I also met Peter Hall, who coordinated my lecture and discussion with teachers and students at the Center for European Studies. I had the opportunity to exchange with him views on the future of the European model of capitalism and the need to expand the public debt on the occasion of the new German program, leaving behind the financial model Schoeble.
I also met a very warm man and a deeply philosophical sociologist and activist, Professor Marshall Ganz, known for his work in the field of social organization and leadership of the movements. We have exchanged thoughts on the new social movements at a time characterized by a surplus of authoritarianism of power and a democratic deficit, and in particular the possibilities of creating a new movement for democracy and justice on both sides of the Atlantic.
At the same time, I had an excellent meeting outside the university, in his office in downtown Boston, with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a great scientist and inventor, a man who changed the course of the modern world by discovering the world web, known to all of us. It was discovered in 1989, when working at CERN, with the aim of creating a system of exchange of information between scientists. In 1991 the tissue became accessible to the public, so that the speed of information and knowledge to humanity to be ejected. I asked him if he was aware that today he could be the richest man in the world, if he had kept the use of his discovery. He responded almost to me that if she had kept it private, she would not have been used and so she would be useless. He added the importance of the open internet for innovation and free access to information and opportunities, as well as for communication, as well as the need to protect citizens from both misinformation and violating their personal data. The debate on the need to create a new space between the public and the private, the space of common goods, is to discuss the future. And Sir Tim Berners-Lee has dedicated his knowledge and efforts to this case, that is, to expand open software and open sources everywhere.
I also had the opportunity to have lunch with economist Richard Parker, a well -known friend of Greece, a student of Andreas Papandreou and adviser to George Papandreou, and sociologist Stephanie Ternullo. We discussed the economic consequences of Trump politicians in the US and central trends in the American electorate, as well as the prospects of the European and Greek economy.
I had a very lively discussion with Greek professors Michalis Triantafyllou and Petros Technologies in Greece. A truly commendable initiative, since the crucial for our country would be to make the most of the knowledge and skills of all this valuable human capital available abroad.
Finally, I had a lunch with distinguished economist and professor at Harvard Kennedy School, Ricardo Hausmann, whose work has significantly influenced our understanding of how developing countries can evolve economically and develop their productivity. We discussed in detail about its proposals in order for Greece to attract investment, how economic growth should become participatory for employees and entrepreneurs, as well as the Greenplexity strategy, where each country identifies the areas in which it is in the interest of contributing to the green growth agenda.
Last but not least, I had the opportunity for two meetings with students from all Harvard schools. One with students from each end of the globe and only one with Greek students on two different nights we chatted without formal procedures and a time limit for all they care about. For their studies, developments in the world, the US and Greece. They were both extremely interesting nights. The knowledge, worries, opinions of young people, when combined with the sensitivity of their age, is an invaluable experience. Thank you very much. “