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No Anti-Austerity Campaign Can Be Successful Under Capitalism
Communist Insurrection
The entire debate as to whether Greece should stay within the Euro or not is a bourgeois debate of no real relevance to the working class. The Greek working class have no option but the promotion of European communist insurrection to abolish the EU and the capitalism that it supports. The Greek working class cannot achieve communist on a national basis. A revolution confined to Greece would be strangled at the hands of European and US capitalism. Greek society is too weak to successfully transform itself on a nationalist basis. Communism in one country is an impossibility.
Staying in or out of the Euro is not an option for the Greek working class since both options will involve austerity for it. Only communism precludes austerity. Syriza's anti-austerity platform is based on the false view that an austerity free membership of the capitalist Eurozone is possible for the Greek working class. Events are verifying the pro-austerity nature of Syriza. Even if Syriza was to take the working class out of the Euro austerity will still face it.
Consequently the entire debate as to whether Greece should stay within the Euro or not is a bourgeois debate of no real relevance to the working class. It is an option presenting itself within the limits of capital. Indeed present conditions concerning Greece are acutely manifesting capital's limits and the need to transcend them in the form of communism. Much of the Left, such as the Irish Socialist Party, show solidarity with Syriza in its pseudo anti-austerity campaign. In this way it is promoting capitalism and deceiving workers. Of course in Ireland the active politics of the Socialist Party suggest that anti-austerity is possible under Irish capitalism.
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opinion/analysis
Friday July 10, 2015 14:45
by Paddy Hackett
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Comments (4 of 4)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4It might well be true that there would be no fair way to share out the pain in Greece without eliminating capitalism is Greece. But that does NOT mean that doing so would eliminate austerity, just austerity imposed from without with other people deciding who bears what burdens.
Greece's problem isn't EXISTING debt. A sovereign borrower, socialist OR capitalist can always escape that at the drop of a hat if willing to pay the price that nobody will lend any future amounts. It is only Greece's need for continuing borrowing that might force them to knowtow to the bankers. Ending capitalism doesn't help with this problem if the new socialist paradise needs to borrow funds to stay afloat.
I rather suspect that the Greek government's last offers are based on their assessment of the pain that leaving the Eurozone would create. Understand what I am saying? The capitalists WILL sell to socialist customers if the latter can pay and in a currency those capitalists will accept. On the other hand, can't pay, no goods.
Are people willing to lend to Iceland Mike??
Iceland is not in the EU/EZ
And also look at the article on which I was commenting. Ask WHY is Iceland succeeding. What DON'T they have to worry about? (when deciding how to share out the pain).
1) When you don't have "credits" for international trade you have to do barter deals. How hard or easy that is depends on how universally desired is what you have to export. Eat fish?
2) If you choose to take control of sharing out the pain internally, how compact and stale is your society. The Icelanders in a good position not to fear they would end up in a civil war from arguing about that. Icelanders haven't fought Icelanders in a long time but that is not true for the Greeks.
3 You should have noted that Icelanders managed WITHOUT changing their economic system.
And WHY (ask yourself) did you interpret what I wrote as either suggesting that the Greeks shouldn't choose to stiff the foreign bankers. It was the claim that eliminating capitalism INTERNALLY would PREVENT austerity. I might even choose (for myself) a bit more austerity where I get to choose how distributed rather than a bit less (if they could get such a deal) but who pays the worst price imposed from without. But that's NOT my call, I'm not a Greek.
Nor was I even arguing that ending capitalism internally wouldn't make it easier to share out the pain of austerity more fairly. If ypou think I am arguing against socialism you simply aren't reading what I write. What I consistently write against are false claims of the benefits of socialism, promising things it cannot be counted on to deliver.