Website: http://www.protesilaos.com/
Bio: Thank you for visiting my website and showing interest in it. The following is an introduction of myself. I am Cypriot in origin. I was born in Greece 23 years ago. The country was at the time enjoying its first decade as a full member of the European Union (European Economic Community back then) and overall things seemed to go all well. People were optimist about the future, eager to embrace the new opportunities that were opening up as progress was made and wealth was gradually accumulated. I lived in Greece for eighteen years, attending all levels of primary and secondary education, while I also had the chance to be educated in two foreign languages, English and French, both of which I use in oral and script language. The rich heritage of Greece, coupled with the respect for knowledge and intellect that permeates the modern Greek culture, played a catalytic role in shaping my character, making me willful to follow a path that leads to the academia. After graduating from the lyceum, I took the tough decision to abandon Greece in search for higher education in Cyprus, where I had the luck to receive a scholarship for a bachelor degree in European Politics, Law and Economics. Three were the reasons that led me to the decision of following a degree in European affairs. The first was my connection with two of Europe's greatest nations, the English and the French, a bond that was forged at the very first years of my life when I was introduced to the learning of their respective languages. Being educated in these two languages fueled in me a desire to explore the civilization hidden within and behind them. After knowing more about the musings, adventures and achievements of their great men and women, whose works decisively changed the way humanity perceived the world, I developed a deep respect for them, an affection that will likely be part of me for ever. The second reason I picked a degree in European studies was that I was always fascinated by the prospect of expanding on anything connected to Europe, from history, to literature to political systems. Having already read the history of Medieval Europe, I was looking forward to integrate that part of my knowledge with the knew stuff I was about to learn, in order to understand the grand picture. The third and final reason that put me on the path of studying Europe, was my interest in social and political issues. I wished to accumulate as much knowledge as possible in order to comprehend the manner in which our polities operate as well as the way in which our societies are instituted. Europe seemed ideal for that purpose as it offered a sense of vastness, by the mere fact of being bigger in many respects than the relatively narrow society I grew up in. So I came to Cyprus to get the bachelor degree in European Politics, Law and Economics. Currently I am at the final semester of my studies, with only three courses left to complete with great success my goal. When I first came here and enrolled in the introductory classes of political science and sociology, I started thinking that the best suited field for my future studies would be in political science. Yet subconsciously back then, consciously now, I had great trouble of understanding in full the events in the actual world by just using the tools political science offered me. I sensed that there was something much more to politics than just "politics". This was solved the moment I took a few courses in economics, which shed light to the dark zones of political life, I could not originally see. Prior to studying economics I must confess that I was biased against the study, either because I falsely connected it to mathematics, an abstract science that did not appeal to my tastes, or because I thought that the "market" was completely detached form the "real world". This misconception, this phobia so to speak, was soon transformed into fascination, as I identified in economics the kind of rationality and practical thinking that combined real world with theory, at least that was how I understood those models and theories of micro- and macro-economics. Though I was always fascinated by economics, I never completely abandoned my skepticism towards it, clinging on to my original belief that political science was best suited to my intellectual characteristics. Oh just how deluded I was! The collapse of Wall Street in 2008 and the impact it had, and still has, on Europe, made me realize that political science, without a deep understanding of the economic dynamics, is a study that can only keep one in oblivion, concealing much of the nature of the object she studies, that being the polity. My interest in economics was now preponderant, yet the sort of mainstream economic material I read in the university textbooks, was failing to satisfy my desire to learn something substantial about the economy, as it provided a superficial, simplistic and in many respects unrealistic picture of the human society. I thus decided to research, in parallel to my university studies, the original works of the great thinkers of economic thought. I happened to start from Karl Marx and his Grundrisse. The issues Marx touched upon such as the surplus value, the class struggle, exploitation, troubled me a lot. Most importantly they raised serious questions within me regarding their validity. I thus felt it necessary to venture into the musings of the previous thinkers, starting all the way back from Aristotle and his Nicomachean Ethics, in which he speaks of key proto-economic concepts. Then I read the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation of David Ricardo, and of course The Wealth of Nations of Adam Smith. The quest for knowledge led me to contemporary thinkers such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises. My conclusions from my studies so far is that economics is the science of choice, of understanding how human actors behave, rather than predicting the course of action they can take, for that is immaterial. One cannot possibly speak of the economy without a deep knowledge of history, social relations, cultural heritage and political institutions. The study of economics, as a social science, in conjunction with the background knowledge I possess on Ancient Greek philosophy, have all made me a fervent exponent of individual liberty. An overriding belief in autonomy permeates and penetrates my world-view. Given the influences that have shaped that which I am today, I consider myself a libertarian and a cynic. Special attention should be given to Cynicism, for it has mistakenly been associated with negative characteristics. In short a cynic is one who possesses an infinite capacity of self-criticism as well as an abundant sense of realism. One who seeks to identify the defects in everything that matters, not for the sake of criticism per se, but for the purpose of exposing the weakness that need be addressed, for improvement to be realized. A cynic is never satisfied with the level of achievement, no matter how good that may be, nor can she be driven by romantic ideas and beliefs that do not resemble reality. On the edge is where a cynic lives, on the marginality of all things. This website you have currently visited is part of this drive for never-ending optimality. Currently I am a few months away from receiving my bachelor degree. In parallel I am making all necessary preparations to forward my studies by continuing on with a Masters degree, which I wish to complement with a PhD. My goal is to become an academic, though none can be certain about the future. Finally some words about this website that you might find useful. The articles included here are about the European Union, covering issues of politics and political economy. The purpose is to comprehend the way in which it functions and affects our lives, in every given area of life. My experiences so far have taught me that I may only speak of myself. As such I take full responsibility of what I write and say, without involving a third person in my musings.