Revolutionary Praxis, “Solidarity with the Greek People”

New post by Revolutionary Praxis out of the UK. I don’t necessarily agree that capitalism has to go as they say, but they are right that the current model is failing badly.

People are saying that social democracy is failing, but social democracy didn’t cause the crisis. Capitalism did. The capitalists did. The more unregulated the system was, the worse your country got hammered. Parasitic financial capital caused a worldwide crash of the entire world capitalist system. This was due to radical neoliberal reforms in the financial sector of the US, which caused a crisis in the US. The crisis then spread from the US around the globe. Europe was particularly hard hit.

When capitalism hits one of its neverending crisis, it’s always the socialist aspect of society that goes to the chopping block. Capitalism blows up the system, and socialism gets executed for the crime. And in this way, critics are correct about the flaws of the social democratic model.

But the flaws are not the problem of social democracy. They are the fault of capitalism.

Capitalism will always tend towards deregulation, and the more deregulated it is, the more crises will result. Radical neoliberalism as tried by the Chicago Boys in Chile and the US since 1980, but especially since 2000, always blows up the system and causes an economic crisis. It’s so regular a part of the model that we might even say it’s a law of the system. And when neoliberalism inevitably blows up as it always does, sure, social democracy gets the ax. So in periods of predictable economic crisis, the social democratic model will get hacked up.

The alternative is a pure neoliberal model.

So this is the error of saying, “The problem is socialism,” when looking at the present crisis. The alternative to socialism of any kind can only be neoliberalism, and that’s horribly unstable, blows up all the time in the worst ways, only works for the top 20% of the population while screwing the bottom 80%, and furthermore is so immoral that it’s evil.

The only alternative for the Greeks is to default on their debt. There’s no other way out of this. The Greek people kept electing politicians who said they would do the people’s bidding, but once they got in, they always voted with the bankers and the 1%. In the UK, we have three parties, of the Left, Right and Center. All three points on the political compass are voting with the banksters and 1% and screwing the 99%. Even socialist parties as in Greece are lining up with the banksters. There doesn’t seem to be any hope.

It seems that under the present model of capitalism, or under any capitalism, the leaders, particularly in times of crisis, will always side with the rich and the 1% and attack the poor, the workers and the 99%. There doesn’t seem to be any way around it. Instead, it seems to be built right into the system itself.

Given that, why is the system worth having or saving? Someone explain this to me.

On Tuesday, February 14, a demonstration in support of the struggle of the Greek people was held in Nottingham, England. A member of Revolutionary Praxis gave the following speech:

The Greek people are under attack from international bankers, EU governments and the Greek government. As a result of the machinations and blundering of bankers and politicians the Greek people are being subjected to massive austerity measures – higher taxes, big cuts in wages and pensions, slashing of social services, record unemployment.

The Greek Parliament has voted for even more severe austerity measures demanded by European Central Bank, IMF and various banks. But the Greek people have had enough. They are rising in revolt as we saw in Syntagma Square. This is just the beginning. There will be more militant protests. The Greeks are showing the way forward for the rest of the people of Europe.

Greece was the birthplace of democracy, which means rule by the people. But in Greece today, it is not the people who rule but the capitalist bankers and their political representatives. The same is true in Britain where all the main political parties – Conservative, Liberal-Democratic and Labour – are imposing massive cuts in public spending to prop up the capitalist system. This is rule by the rich, for the rich.

But capitalism is in trouble. That’s why the political leaders have started burbling about we must have “fair” and “responsible” capitalism, telling bankers to reduce their massive bonuses. Don’t be taken in.

The real problem is capitalism itself, a system of oppression and exploitation. It is a system reaching its end, becoming ever more decrepit and dysfunctional. Capitalism only works for the rich 1% but is no good for the 99%, the rest of us, who do most of the work. If we do not destroy capitalism, it will destroy us.

In Britain, the Coalition Government is holding down earnings, reducing welfare benefits, cutting public services and attacking pensions – all to pay back the bankers the British government borrowed from to prop up the bankrupt bankers. At the same time, Prime Minister Cameron rejects a financial transactions tax claiming that he is defending the British people. In reality he is defending the interests of his rich friends and relations in finance capital. He defends the rich, not the poor.

Here in Nottingham the Labour City Council is about to bring in its second cuts budget, knocking £20m off public services while raising Council Tax by 3.5% (Should we pay it?). It is services for vulnerable groups such as the old, disadvantaged children, young unemployed and the homeless who are particularly hit. Also 195 council workers will lose their jobs.

People have been protesting about both national and local public service cuts but we must do more. The politicians don’t care if all we do is sign petitions and demonstrate. More direct action is necessary and the Greek people have shown the way forward. We need to confront politicians and administrators who are implementing the cuts. We need to give them a hard time, make them feel nervous, to become afraid to face the people they are attacking.