Question about the Greek Crisis

[sally]

Hello,

I am still in 2nd (high school) year and not really very political. I have been watching the news about the greek crisis and people talking about the fact that it might spread through Europe. Please tell me if I have got this right.
The Greek goverment were done out of a lot of public money by some huge american bank and even though the people responsible are going to jail the people who have to pay for it are the ordinary people of greece who will lose benefits and public services?
I have also heard that as a result of the current economic crisis (also caused not by ordinary people but by rich bankers) that countries thoughout Europe will also have to as a result of bailing out the banks take massive cuts to benefits, public services and workers rights.

Now I may have the above wrong and I don't know anything politics but that just seems so wrong to me! Why are working people being punished for something they didn't do while the real criminals are getting away scot free and even rewarded for their crimes?

We had a discussian in class today and when I said that the teacher said "I see we have a little marxist in our midst" I'd heard of Marx but didn't really know what it was all about but I've been reading about him online tonight and I felt like someone read my mind or something, why aren't we living as he says we should?

[Spawn of Stalin]

Yes, it is wrong that working people should have to pay for the capitalists ills, and that is why you should join the proletarian revolution my friend!

marxists.org (http://www.marxists.org/)

[FSL]

Hello,

I am still in 2nd (high school) year and not really very political. I have been watching the news about the greek crisis and people talking about the fact that it might spread through Europe. Please tell me if I have got this right.
The Greek goverment were done out of a lot of public money by some huge american bank and even though the people responsible are going to jail the people who have to pay for it are the ordinary people of greece who will lose benefits and public services?
I have also heard that as a result of the current economic crisis (also caused not by ordinary people but by rich bankers) that countries thoughout Europe will also have to as a result of bailing out the banks take massive cuts to benefits, public services and workers rights.

Now I may have the above wrong and I don't know anything politics but that just seems so wrong to me! Why are working people being punished for something they didn't do while the real criminals are getting away scot free and even rewarded for their crimes?

We had a discussian in class today and when I said that the teacher said "I see we have a little marxist in our midst" I'd heard of Marx but didn't really know what it was all about but I've been reading about him online tonight and I felt like someone read my mind or something, why aren't we living as he says we should?

"I'd heard of Marx but didn't really know what it was all about... and I felt like someone read my mind or something"

I think I was 15 or 16 too when the exact same thing happened to me. Just happened to be watching the news and I'm thinking "Damn, this world is horrible, isn't it?".
After a few months in which I became more interested in politics and tried to read some things, I could say I considered myself a Marxist.
Anyway, this really made me feel all nostalgic.

Yes, Goldman Sachs made an agreement with a previous government in 2001 and took a few hundred million dollars in exchange for helping them cover up some debt and get into the Eurozone. So the government looked succesful, the bankers got rich and we are paying the price. No one went to jail for that, by the way.

Now, on why life is like that. Well, you used to have slaves and slave-owners. When Spartacus and other slaves rebeled against the Roman Empire they were crucified.
You used to have feudal lords and serfs. Everytime the peasantry would refuse to pay the taxes they'd be attacked by soldiers.
Nowadays, you have workers on the one side and bankers, walmart owners and industrialists on the other. As before, they enjoy getting wealthy on someone else's back. As before, they are willing to stop any workers who refuse to accept this situation. And as it happened with slave-owners and kings, they are not invincible.

The reason we're living in an "unjust world" is because we haven't yet overthrown our modern "rulers".

[Spawn of Stalin]

Also: Beginners Guide to Marxism (http://www.marxists.org/subject/students/index.htm)

[Raúl Duke]

The Greek goverment were done out of a lot of public money by some huge american bank and even though the people responsible are going to jail the people who have to pay for it are the ordinary people of greece who will lose benefits and public services?
I have also heard that as a result of the current economic crisis (also caused not by ordinary people but by rich bankers) that countries thoughout Europe will also have to as a result of bailing out the banks take massive cuts to benefits, public services and workers rights.

The Greek government, from what I heard, amassed a large debt. At some point, creditors began to rate Greek bonds to a low status or maybe even junk status. The current government felt pressured to create austerity measures and/or even accept an IMF loan package (which comes with special austerity terms that spell misery for the common Greek people).

However, the social upheaval did start a little before than, with the murder of a young anarchist back in the late 2008. This murder coupled with the than conservative government talking about doing a few austerity measures led to waxing-waning social upheaval that led to them being voted out by a "socialist" party. There was some slight labor union action during this period but to my knowledge the communist party, especially the KKE, were not involved much (Syriza on the other hand, I think were more involved) with the protests.

When the socialist party came into power, they also began to say that austerity measures were necessary (leading to increase cynicism of electoral politics) and this plus the stuff I mentioned in the first paragraph sparked more fire into the social upheaval, as in now labor unions, workers, the communist parties, and anarchists were all now protesting/etc against the government.


The reason we're living in an "unjust world" is because we haven't yet overthrown our modern "rulers".

Basically this, around the world the rich are making the working person pay for their mistakes and follies.

[AK]

We had a discussian in class today and when I said that the teacher said "I see we have a little marxist in our midst"
"Damn free-thinking kids. We all ought to be corporate stooges, dammit!"


and that is why you should join the proletarian revolution my friend!
You make it sound like it's a weird cult - sacrificing virgins and burning things for the sake of burning things.