In an open letter published in The Nation, five leading economists - Thomas Piketty, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Heiner Flassbeck, Dani Rodrik and Simon Wren-Lewis, warn German Chancellor Angela Merkel that “History will remember you for your actions this week,” while also reminding her that "Europe was founded on the forgiveness of past debts, notably Germany’s, which generated a massive contribution to post-war economic growth and peace."

They urge the German Chancellor that "now is the time for a humane rethink of the punitive and failed program of austerity of recent years and to agree to a major reduction of Greece’s debts in conjunction with much needed reforms in Greece."

• Greek Programme must be redesigned

In a different line of argument, London Business School academics, Elias Papaioannou, Richard Portes and Lucrezia Reichlin, in an article titled "Before Greece becomes a failed state, here’s how to stop the slide" published by Reuters, explain the necessary reforms that must take place in order to "keep Greece afloat." "The new programme for Greece must be redesigned from scratch, based on a new set of principles that focus on the structural deficiencies of the Greek economy. It must create an environment in which business can function, entrepreneurship is liberated, and investment is profitable.

The state should be a nudge rather than an impediment to entrepreneurial activity."