Depressing economic illiteracy on the left

Just been reading an article on the BBC website about how saying "no" to austerity is gaining ground in Europe. The comments really have to be seen to be believed, with most people blaming corruption, capitalism, "the market" and so on for the debt overhang. Once commenter rejoices that people are starting to tell their politicians to chose growth rather than choose austerity. Really? Do they think that politicians come into work and say "What shall it be then, growth or austerity? Shall we all earn more and consume more or shall we pay off debts and earn less? -- I know, let's choose austerity! -- OK then, austerity it is." The whole mindset on the left is completely infantile.

Politicians haven't "chosen" austerity at all, they've borrowed for absolutely as long as they've been able to, in order to finance consumption which they euphemistically rename "investment in people", and now that they can't borrow -- either at liveable rates of interest or, in some cases, at all -- the path of austerity is forced upon them. At this point, of course, leftists always decry the evil influence of "moneylenders" (i.e., investors, pension funds, etc.), saying that, of course the country could achieve growth "if only" the moneylenders would do what they are supposed to do and, well, just keep on lending us money. That way it becomes somebody else's fault if we can't do what we want to because we haven't got the money: in the case of the international markets, it's "moneylenders", in the case of the Eurozone, it's Germany. What a convenient excuse!

Let me try to paraphrase the arguments that are being made:

"Life on Earth is a bit grimy and hard work, so we've decided to decamp en masse and go to live in Heaven instead.

"The window's open, let's all jump out together and zoom off up to Heaven then.

"Oh noes! Something is wrong! We seem to be going down, not up!

"This is unfortunate and completely unforeseen. If we continue to go down, as we are now, at an ever increasing pace, innocent people could get hurt, and it will all be the fault of the force of gravity. It really would be so much more convenient if only we could float upwards instead, but this cursed force of gravity won't let us."

Combine this with the natural tendency on the left to see agency where there is only the working out of cause and effect, and you have the essence of the "international financiers won't let us be free" theory so ably displayed by Occupy Wall St. and its clones.