Our club recently discussed the election of Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) to lead the government of Greece. In the last few years, Greek workers have been hit with a 25 percent unemployment rate, and a one-third average reduction in household income. It therefore isn’t surprising that many supported a party that promises to lessen the pain — reduce austerity conditions by raising the minimum wage, shifting property taxes to the wealthy, and beginning a jobs program.
To be able to afford these social programs, the Greek government must convince the other European Union (EU) capitalist governments and their institutions (the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) to allow Greece to reschedule payment of the $373 billion it owes. (A relatively better demand, for debt cancellation, was never on the table.) Many of our friends are optimistic that Syriza will win the battle over the debt, allowing it to improve conditions a bit for Greek workers.
The situation in Greece is a study in contradictions. The other European capitalist nations, led by Germany, have tremendous leverage over Greece, as they have the power to bankrupt the Greek banking system and cause an economic collapse. Yet a collapse of the Greek economy would deepen the recession in Europe and lead to political chaos, which they dread. The Syriza-led government, aware of this dilemma, is hoping to negotiate some flexibility in debt payments so that it can finance a government stimulus program.
Yet EU leaders are playing hardball, because they don’t want to set a precedent that other debtor countries will jump to take advantage of. They have taken steps to weaken Greece’s ability to borrow money, and ultimately they have the power to cut off loans altogether. The capitalist rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, has already downgraded Greek bonds to junk status (high-risk because there is little to back them up), making it harder for the country to borrow.
Besides the contradiction within European capitalism, there is also the contradiction within Syriza. Although it is a coalition of left parties, including those that call themselves communist or socialist, the leadership has made it very clear that they are not trying to implement socialism, but are instead trying, in their words, to “stabilize capitalism.” The second most powerful leader of Syriza, after Prime Minister Tsipras, is the Minister of Finance, Yanis Varoufakis, who refers to himself as a Marxist. Varoufakis wrote an essay last year in which he set out the goals of Syriza:
… it is Left’s historical duty, at this particular juncture, to stabilize capitalism; to save European capitalism from itself and from the inane handlers of the Eurozone’s inevitable crisis.
He goes on to say that if Greek capitalism is not stabilized, it will likely lead to a rise in support for the Golden Dawn fascists, who in alliance with the police and the military will seize power as similar forces did in Europe in the 1930’s, and as they did in Greece in 1967. This fear of fascism and the violence it would unleash upon the working class, is used by Syriza to justify propping up a capitalist system that is abhorred by most of the radical coalition’s members!
However, even if Greek capitalism were to rebound and experience new growth, it would not put an end to destructive economic crises, which occur regularly and are intrinsic to capitalism. It would not put an end to the exploitation of workers, or the gross inequality we see in every capitalist country, or the vile racism endemic to capitalism, or the mistreatment and abuse of immigrant workers, or even the rise of fascism, which develops out of capitalist decay and can only be crushed by an armed working class. Moreover, if the EU capitalists do agree to restructure Greek debt, it will demand significant concessions in return, including a continuation of austerity policies and new rules making it easier to fire workers.
It is certainly true that revolution is not on the immediate horizon, either in Greece or the U.S. But as we actively take part in a thousand reform battles, we remember what Marx and Engels wrote in The Communist Manifesto:
The Communists fight for the attainment of the immediate aims, for the enforcement of the momentary interests of the working class; but in the movement of the present, they also represent and take care of the future of that movement. … The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.
Taking “care of the future” means building a revolutionary communist party with the understanding that capitalism needs to be replaced, even if it takes decades.
We are hoping to have many conversations with our friends, including those from Greece, about the struggle against capitalist austerity and the need for revolution rather than just reform. We hope to make contact with Greeks who share our anti-capitalist vision. We’ll begin by urging all our friends and students to march on May Day to celebrate the fighting spirit of workers from Greece to Ferguson and call for the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.