[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.37,0:00:04.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a cold, sunny March day.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.32,0:00:07.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was walking along the street in Riga.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.80,0:00:12.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I remember the winter was slowly\Ncoming to an end.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.07,0:00:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was still some snow\Naround here and there,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.84,0:00:17.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the pavement\Nwas already clear and dry.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.15,0:00:19.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you've lived in Riga,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.42,0:00:24.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you will know that feeling of relief\Nthat the first signs of spring bring,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.82,0:00:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you no longer have to trudge\Nthrough that slushy mix
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.55,0:00:29.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of snow and mud on the streets.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.10,0:00:33.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there I am, enjoying my stroll,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.29,0:00:38.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as I suddenly notice a stencil\Non the pavement in front of me,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.70,0:00:39.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a graffiti:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.18,0:00:44.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,white letters painted\Non these dark grey bricks.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.98,0:00:46.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It says,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.47,0:00:51.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Where is your responsibility?"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.90,0:00:55.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question stopped me in my tracks.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.10,0:00:59.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I'm standing there\Nconsidering its meaning,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.81,0:01:04.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I notice I'm standing outside the Riga\NMunicipality Social Welfare Department.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.66,0:01:09.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it appears that the author\Nof this graffiti, whoever it is,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.51,0:01:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is asking this question to people\Ncoming to apply for social assistance.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.84,0:01:17.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That winter,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.33,0:01:22.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had been doing research on the aftermath\Nof the financial crisis in Latvia.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.74,0:01:27.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the Global Financial Crisis\Nerupted in 2008, Latvia got hit hard
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.85,0:01:29.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a small, open economy.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.44,0:01:31.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To balance the books,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.64,0:01:35.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Latvian government chose\Na strategy of internal devaluation.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.44,0:01:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, in essence, that meant drastically\Nreducing public budget spending,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.04,0:01:42.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, slashing public sector workers' wages,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.91,0:01:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,shrinking civil service,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.42,0:01:47.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,cutting unemployment benefits\Nand other social assistance,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.49,0:01:49.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,raising taxes.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.72,0:01:53.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My mother had been working\Nas a history teacher her whole life.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.58,0:01:59.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The austerity for her meant\Nseeing her salary cut by 30 percent
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.06,0:02:00.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all of a sudden.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.56,0:02:03.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there were many in a situation\Nlike hers or worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.80,0:02:08.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The costs of the crisis were put\Non the shoulders of ordinary Latvians.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.06,0:02:13.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a result of the crisis\Nand the austerity,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.12,0:02:17.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Latvian economy shrank\Nby 25 percent in a two-year period.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.66,0:02:20.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only Greece suffered\Nan economic contraction
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.55,0:02:22.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of a comparable scale.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.77,0:02:27.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet, while Greeks were out\Nin the streets for months
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.12,0:02:31.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,staging continuous,\Noften violent protests in Athens,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.28,0:02:34.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all was quiet in Riga.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.50,0:02:39.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Prominent economists were fighting\Nin the columns of "The New York Times"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.24,0:02:42.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about this curious extreme\NLatvian experiment
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.88,0:02:45.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of this austerity regime,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.10,0:02:46.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they were watching on in disbelief
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.100,0:02:49.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the Latvian society\Nwas putting up with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.61,0:02:52.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was studying in London at the time,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.48,0:02:55.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I remember the Occupy movement there
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.24,0:02:57.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how it was spreading\Nfrom city to city,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.76,0:02:59.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from Madrid to New York to London,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.92,0:03:02.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the 99 percent against the one percent.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.50,0:03:03.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know the story.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.53,0:03:06.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet when I arrived in Riga,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.92,0:03:09.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there were no echoes of the Occupy here.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.90,0:03:12.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Latvians were just putting up with it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.89,0:03:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They "swallowed the toad,"\Nas the local saying goes.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.20,0:03:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For my doctoral research,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.99,0:03:24.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to study how the state-citizen\Nrelationship was changing in Latvia
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.52,0:03:26.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the post-Soviet era,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.21,0:03:28.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I had chosen the unemployment office
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.56,0:03:30.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as my research site.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.55,0:03:34.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as I arrived there\Nin that autumn of 2011,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.04,0:03:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized, "I am actually\Nwitnessing firsthand
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.86,0:03:40.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how the effects of crises are playing out,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.43,0:03:44.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how those worst affected by it,\Npeople who have lost their jobs,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.50,0:03:46.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are reacting to it."
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.67,0:03:52.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I started interviewing people\NI met at the unemployment office.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.95,0:03:58.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were all registered as job seekers\Nand hoping for some help from the state.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.69,0:04:03.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet, as I was soon discovering,\Nthis help was of a particular kind.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.20,0:04:04.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was some cash benefit,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.78,0:04:09.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but mostly state assistance came\Nin the form of various social programs,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.31,0:04:11.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and one of the biggest\Nof these programs was called
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.77,0:04:14.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Competitiveness-Raising Activities."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.28,0:04:17.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was, in essence, a series of seminars
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.25,0:04:19.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that all of the unemployed\Nwere encouraged to attend.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.95,0:04:22.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I started attending\Nthese seminars with them.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:23.98,0:04:26.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a number of paradoxes struck me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.05,0:04:28.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, imagine:
Dialogue: 0,0:04:29.44,0:04:32.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the crisis is still ongoing,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:32.30,0:04:34.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Latvian economy is contracting,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.44,0:04:36.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hardly anyone is hiring,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.54,0:04:38.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and there we are,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.05,0:04:41.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in this small, brightly lit classroom,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.10,0:04:43.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a group of 15 people,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.38,0:04:47.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,working on lists of our personal strengths\Nand weaknesses, our inner demons,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.01,0:04:51.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we are told are preventing us\Nfrom being more successful
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.13,0:04:52.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the labor market.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.73,0:04:56.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the largest local bank\Nis being bailed out
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.64,0:05:01.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the costs of this bailout are shifted\Nonto the shoulders of the population,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.27,0:05:06.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are sitting in a circle\Nand learning how to breathe deeply
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.69,0:05:08.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when feeling stressed.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.58,0:05:11.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Breathes deeply)
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.26,0:05:15.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As home mortgages are being foreclosed
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.74,0:05:18.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thousands of people are emigrating,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.32,0:05:22.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are told to dream big\Nand to follow our dreams.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.52,0:05:24.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a sociologist,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.71,0:05:29.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know that social policies\Nare an important form of communication
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.26,0:05:31.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the state and the citizen.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.75,0:05:33.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The message of this program was,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.52,0:05:35.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to put it in the words\Nof one of the trainers,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.74,0:05:36.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Just do it."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.93,0:05:38.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She was, of course, citing Nike.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.48,0:05:43.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So symbolically, the state was sending\Na message to people out of work
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.65,0:05:47.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you need to be more active,\Nyou need to work harder,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.37,0:05:50.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you need to work on yourself,\Nyou need to overcome your inner demons,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.67,0:05:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you need to be more confident --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.27,0:05:56.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that somehow, being out of work\Nwas their own personal failure.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.04,0:05:59.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The suffering of the crisis
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.64,0:06:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was treated as this\Nindividual experience of stress
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.80,0:06:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be managed in one's own body
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.69,0:06:06.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through deep and mindful breathing.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.02,0:06:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These types of social programs\Nthat emphasize individual responsibility
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.04,0:06:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have become increasingly common\Nacross the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.12,0:06:20.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are part of the rise\Nof what sociologist Loïc Wacquant calls
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.90,0:06:23.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the "neoliberal Centaur state."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.72,0:06:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, the centaur, as you might recall,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.57,0:06:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is this mythical creature\Nin ancient Greek culture,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.25,0:06:29.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,half human, half beast.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.86,0:06:34.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It has this upper part of a human\Nand the lower part of a horse.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.81,0:06:37.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the Centaur state is a state
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.42,0:06:42.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that turns its human face\Nto those at the top of the social ladder
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.28,0:06:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while those at the bottom\Nare being trampled over,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.51,0:06:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stampeded.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.78,0:06:49.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So top income earners and large businesses
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.28,0:06:52.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can enjoy tax cuts\Nand other supportive policies,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:52.85,0:06:55.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while the unemployed, the poor
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.37,0:06:58.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are made to prove themselves worthy\Nfor the state's help,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.70,0:07:00.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are morally disciplined,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.55,0:07:03.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are stigmatized as irresponsible\Nor passive or lazy
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.96,0:07:05.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or often criminalized.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.06,0:07:10.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Latvia, we've had\Nsuch a Centaur state model
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.67,0:07:12.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,firmly in place since the '90s.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.97,0:07:17.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Take, for example, the flat income tax\Nthat we had in place up until this year
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.24,0:07:19.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has been benefiting\Nthe highest earners,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.62,0:07:23.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while one quarter of the population\Nkeeps living in poverty.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.82,0:07:29.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the crisis and the austerity has made\Nthese kinds of social inequalities worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:29.09,0:07:33.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So while the capital of the banks\Nand the wealthy has been protected,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.58,0:07:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those who lost the most
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.36,0:07:38.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were taught lessons\Nin individual responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:40.10,0:07:44.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, as I was talking to people\Nwho I met at these seminars,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.47,0:07:46.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was expecting them to be angry.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.16,0:07:48.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was expecting them
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.49,0:07:51.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be resisting these lessons\Nin individual responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.38,0:07:55.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all, the crisis was not their fault,\Nyet they were bearing the brunt of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.42,0:07:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as people were sharing\Ntheir stories with me,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:59.69,0:08:02.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was struck again and again
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.25,0:08:06.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the power of the idea\Nof responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.60,0:08:10.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the people I met was Žanete.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.30,0:08:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She had been working for 23 years
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.31,0:08:18.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,teaching sewing and other crafts\Nat the vocational school in Riga.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.79,0:08:21.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And now the crisis hits,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.13,0:08:24.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the school is closed\Nas part of the austerity measures.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:24.28,0:08:30.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The educational system restructuring\Nwas part of a way of saving public money.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.24,0:08:33.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And 10,000 teachers\Nacross the country lose their jobs,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.33,0:08:34.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Žanete is one of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.96,0:08:37.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I know from what she's been telling me
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.92,0:08:40.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that losing her job has put her\Nin a desperate situation;
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.69,0:08:44.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she's divorced, she has two teenage\Nchildren that she's the sole provider for.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.90,0:08:47.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, as we are talking,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.42,0:08:51.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she says to me that the crisis\Nis really an opportunity.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.58,0:08:56.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She says, "I turn 50 this year.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.10,0:09:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I guess life has really given me\Nthis chance to look around, to stop,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.05,0:09:03.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because all these years\NI've been working nonstop,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.45,0:09:04.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had no time to pause.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.94,0:09:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And now I have stopped,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.79,0:09:11.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I've been given an opportunity\Nto look at everything and to decide
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.46,0:09:13.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what it is that I want
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.04,0:09:14.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what it is that I don't want.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.88,0:09:18.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All this time, sewing, sewing,\Nsome kind of exhaustion."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.78,0:09:23.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So Žanete is made redundant\Nafter 23 years.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.55,0:09:25.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But she's not thinking about protesting.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.92,0:09:29.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She's not talking about the 99 percent\Nagainst the one percent.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.82,0:09:31.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She is analyzing herself.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:32.31,0:09:35.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And she was thinking pragmatically\Nof starting a small business
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.36,0:09:36.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of her bedroom
Dialogue: 0,0:09:36.95,0:09:40.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making these little souvenir dolls\Nto sell to tourists.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.44,0:09:43.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also met Aivars\Nat the unemployment office.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.02,0:09:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aivars was in his late 40s,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.16,0:09:49.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he had lost a job at the government agency\Noverseeing road construction.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.33,0:09:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To one of our meetings,\NAivars brings a book he's been reading.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.44,0:10:01.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's called "Vaccination against Stress,\Nor Psycho-energetic Aikido."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.03,0:10:05.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, some of you might know\Nthat aikido is a form of martial art,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.29,0:10:07.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so, psycho-energetic aikido.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:08.78,0:10:11.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And Aivars tells me\Nthat after several months
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.58,0:10:15.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of reading and thinking and reflecting\Nwhile being out of work,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.16,0:10:20.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he has understood that his current\Ndifficulties are really his own doing.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.31,0:10:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He says to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.88,0:10:24.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I created it myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.84,0:10:27.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was in a psychological state\Nthat was not good for me.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:27.90,0:10:31.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If a person is afraid to lose\Ntheir money, to lose their job,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:31.25,0:10:34.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they start getting more stressed,\Nmore unsettled, more fearful.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.28,0:10:35.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what they get."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.50,0:10:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I ask him to explain,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.42,0:10:42.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he compares his thoughts poetically\Nto wild horses running in all directions,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.76,0:10:45.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he says, "You need to be\Na shepherd of your thoughts.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:46.76,0:10:49.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To get things in order\Nin the material world,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:49.06,0:10:51.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you need to be a shepherd\Nof your thoughts,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.10,0:10:54.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it's through your thoughts\Nthat everything else gets orderly."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.51,0:10:56.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Lately," he says,\N"I have clearly understood
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.78,0:10:59.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the world around me,\Nwhat happens to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:59.31,0:11:02.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people that enter in my life ...\Nit all depends directly on myself."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.91,0:11:08.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So as Latvia is going through\Nthis extreme economic experiment,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:08.06,0:11:11.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aivars says it's his way of thinking\Nthat has to change.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:11.22,0:11:15.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's blaming himself for what\Nhe's going through at the moment.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.80,0:11:21.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So taking responsibility\Nis, of course, a good thing, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:21.69,0:11:23.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is especially meaningful
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.88,0:11:26.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and morally charged\Nin a post-Soviet society,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.48,0:11:30.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where reliance on the state\Nis seen as this unfortunate heritage
Dialogue: 0,0:11:30.04,0:11:31.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the Soviet past.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.89,0:11:34.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I listen to Žanete\Nand Aivars and to others,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.96,0:11:38.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also thought\Nhow cruel this question is --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.52,0:11:40.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Where is your responsibility?" --
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.44,0:11:41.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how punishing.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.69,0:11:45.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because, it was working as a way\Nof blaming and pacifying people
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.77,0:11:48.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were hit worst by the crisis.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.07,0:11:51.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So while Greeks were out in the streets,\NLatvians swallowed the toad,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.64,0:11:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and many tens of thousands emigrated,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:54.96,0:11:57.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is another way\Nof taking responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.01,0:12:03.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the language, the language\Nof individual responsibility,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:03.32,0:12:05.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has become a form of collective denial.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.34,0:12:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As long as we have social policies\Nthat treat unemployment
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.47,0:12:11.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as individual failure
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.27,0:12:15.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we don't have enough funding\Nfor programs that give people real skills
Dialogue: 0,0:12:15.21,0:12:16.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or create workplaces,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.81,0:12:19.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are blind of the\Npolicymakers' responsibility.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:20.02,0:12:23.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As long as we stigmatize the poor\Nas somehow passive or lazy
Dialogue: 0,0:12:23.89,0:12:26.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but don't give people real means\Nto get out of poverty
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.51,0:12:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other than emigrating,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.05,0:12:31.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are in denial of\Nthe true causes of poverty.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:31.97,0:12:33.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the meantime,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.84,0:12:35.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we all suffer,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.06,0:12:40.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because social scientists have shown\Nwith detailed statistical data
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.30,0:12:44.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that there are more people with both\Nmental and physical health problems
Dialogue: 0,0:12:44.89,0:12:49.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in societies with higher levels\Nof economic inequality.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.12,0:12:54.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So social inequality is apparently bad\Nfor not only those with least resources
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.56,0:12:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but for all of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:55.77,0:12:58.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because living in a society\Nwith high inequality
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.28,0:13:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,means living in a society\Nwith low social trust and high anxiety.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.93,0:13:04.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So there we are.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.13,0:13:06.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're all reading self-help books,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.04,0:13:07.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we try to hack our habits,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.77,0:13:09.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we try to rewire our brains,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:09.64,0:13:11.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we meditate.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:11.36,0:13:13.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it helps, of course, in a way.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.41,0:13:17.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Self-help books help us feel more upbeat.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.12,0:13:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Meditation can help us feel\Nmore connected to others spiritually.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:22.95,0:13:24.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I think we need
Dialogue: 0,0:13:24.61,0:13:29.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is as much awareness of what connects\Nus to one another socially,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.66,0:13:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because social inequality hurts us all.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.60,0:13:36.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we need more\Ncompassionate social policies
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.46,0:13:39.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are aimed less at moral education
Dialogue: 0,0:13:39.71,0:13:44.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and more at promotion\Nof social justice and equality.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.27,0:13:45.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:45.49,0:13:47.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)