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Why is it a bigger deal for Greece to default than certain African countries
If Greece's economy was that bad then why would it be such a big deal if it and potentially even Portugal left the Eurozone? And why doesn't the media give as much press for struggling African economies, or is it just cause Europe, the U.S., and Asian countries want to cover up the corruption they contribute to in Africa? But somehow I should feel more anguish over Greece, which has been bailed out numerous times, than African nations where politicians get bribed for their counties' resources, inhibiting growth? If not for the slave trade and colonialism, how wealthy would all of Europe even been today? Africa is rich, it just continues to be pilfered...
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As bad as colonization is, and was, it isn't reasonable to compare the economic reality of the Eurozone to the continent of Africa. The African Union has no shared currency, the Eurozone does. That may seem like a small difference, but it's a huge one. It means all those countries came together and agreed to something as huge as a sharing a currency. So fundamentally, they also share that debt, If Greece leaves, it could leave all those other nations holding their debt.
If one African country defaults on their IMF loans (and many, many countries have - not just African ones - and have been bailed out, or forgiven or had their debt restructured) it certainly has an impact, but it doesn't undermine the currencies of neighbouring nations to any great extent, or embarrass the politicians and effect the politics of 19 other nations - including some very powerful ones.
What is unique about Greece is that it's part of that Eurozone - one of the most wealthy and peaceful areas in the world - most other nations that have defaulted have been at war when they had to do so.
Places with ongoing struggles will never get the kind of a media attention that an immediate crisis like Greece will get. You can say it's unfair - it is - but it's also human nature. We slow down and stare at the car crash, but we can't take Global Warming seriously because it's happening slowly and is kind of boring. We freak out about a total preventable measles outbreak at Dinseyland, but don't hear much about yet another preventable malaria outbreak.
You're not wrong about anything you've said about Africa, or the effects of colonization, but none of that changes the the problem that the Eurozone is currently facing. It's easy to say things like "People are starving in X! Isn't that more important?" but that doesn't matter much to the people in Greece who are facing the loss of their savings, of jobs, of pensions, of public programs, of their homes. For better or worse, how big a problem is to you, will almost always depend on how close to home it hits.
So by all means, continue to work and educate people on the problems faced by nations in abject poverty, but I'd suggest you not use the crisis in Greece as a jumping off point. Telling people "Hey, others have it worse" when they are legitimately frightened and terrified, isn't a good way to draw attention to your cause. Greece is in serious trouble. It's perfectly fair that Greeks are frightened and that people in neighbouring nations are confused and scarred too. Other people having it way, way worse, doesn't take those feelings away.
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The Greece issue is a big headache for the European Economic Comunity (Eurozone) rather than global economics directly. Mainly because, if they default it sets a precedent. If they are not penalised in some way it may encourage other countries to default. If Greece are expelled or allowed to leave, and the country does somewhat better in terms of trade and economy OUTSIDE the EU than it did INSIDE then other countries may well in effect think "Hang on...maybe we would be better out than in?". And the whole EU would begin to collapse. That's basically why it is such a big issue. I think it's fair to say Greece will never be a major player in trade and commerce. It's more the effect their very public problems may have on the whole EU. As far as industrialised nations 'writing-off' third-world debt, to be honest it's an academic exercise. Or a show of goodwill and generosity of spirit at most, because they are never going to able to recover the debts anyway.
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