Well done to Seumas Milne for pointing up the irony in European leaders lambasting George Papandreou for having the nerve to believe the Greek people – the inventors of democracy – should have the right to a say in their own economic and political future (The elite still can't face up to it: Europe's model has failed, 3 November).
I used to think Britain should join the euro – because I didn't want our country to be left out or behind. But I was clearly wrong. Many supporters of the euro (including me) clearly didn't realise that it would never work without common fiscal policies across the eurozone – and equally clearly some supporters realised exactly that and wanted that level of financial and political integration to happen. But Greeks are not going to be the only people who object to having their country's economic policies, and often their own personal futures, decided by foreign governments and unelected officials of the European Central Bank and IMF.
It seems to me the euro in its current form is doomed – this year, next year, some time soon, the cataclysmic breakup is surely going to happen. I hope the Greeks have the courage to stand up to the pressures brought by rightwing governments, banks and corporates. Though the consequences may be dire, will they be any worse than the alternative: continued vicious austerity measures across Europe, leading to huge unemployment, greater inequality and social unrest, without at all solving sovereign debt crises?
John Rowe
Rochdale
Given the current financial crisis in Europe, surely the time has come for David Cameron and George Osborne to give due credit to the determined and obdurate politician whose single-mindedness kept the UK out of the eurozone, namely the much-maligned Gordon Brown.
G Charles
Hayle, Cornwall
As the future of George Papandreou's government hangs in the balance, the EU continues to blackmail Greece, and Papandreou in his turn (or his successor) will continue to try to bully the Greek people into accepting the terms of this shabby bailout. But it's starting to look like the euro is entering the endgame. Fundamental, structural tensions remain and other countries (Italy, Portugal etc) are already in the firing line.
The whole dynamic of the EU is facing significant change as ordinary people wake up to the massive fraud being perpetrated on them.
At home we have the latest anti-democratic antics surrounding Prince Charles, corporate executives awarding themselves unfeasibly large pay increases, and a government in denial about the scale of the economic challenge facing the country.
Scientists, historians and politicians like to talk about "paradigm shifts" when there's a transformational change in the way people look at the world. With industrial action over public-sector pensions set to ratchet up the pressure, anti-capitalist acts of civil disobedience on the rise and the government facing challenge on a broad range of fronts, could we be seeing such a tipping point in the political climate? Let's seize the moment!
Chris Guiton
Crowborough, East Sussex
Would it be such a disaster if Greece is allowed to default on its debts? Iceland's economy suffered a complete meltdown in 2008 when its banks defaulted on $85bn. Three years later, new banks and systems have emerged from the ashes and, while much of the world remains in crisis, Iceland is in robust recovery mode, with growth forecast to outstrip the euro area this year and 2012. Inflation is a relatively healthy 5% and is expected to fall in coming weeks due to a stronger krona and less imported inflation.
There is no need to give banks, or countries, artificial resuscitation. When they fail, they fail for a good reason and, like any business, should learn from their mistakes and move on. Iceland has shown that when the natural laws of economics take their course, failure is swiftly followed by a new, improved model.
Susan de Muth
London