ICC-Real Democracy Now! A dictatatorship of the assemblies? [Archive]

Commie73

23rd June 2011, 10:56

Ive linked to this article before in regards to Greece, it is by a Greek revolutionary communist, his final analysis might be wrong on the need for a front and on the idea of multitude, however what he says on the early syntagma protests is quite important in understanding why the ruling class supports this kind of assemblies for true democracy:

The first reaction by many observers was that the occupation of Syntagma square was just a “copy-paste” internet trend from Spain, based mainly on people clicking “like” on Facebook, rather than committing themselves to any serious political action. The gathering in the first couple of days seemed apolitical and there were no claims or any will to spread the “frustration” in universities, workplaces and so on. Some striking workers that also had a demo in the first day were booed and declared unwelcome at Syntagma. They were accused for demonstrating as union members and not as individuals.

All this signified a trend that could transform such an a-political procedure into anti-political populism. The prevailing attitude was that all the politicians (including the Left) are thieves and corrupted, that the workers’ unions are equally blameful for being controlled by parties, and that all ideology is unwelcome in Syntagma square. The agreed form of protest was to issue a collective moan and curse against the walls of the parliament and pleas to the police to join the people, as they are “also Greeks”. A mentally handicapped person (a well-known mascot figure that has been participating in almost every protest for years) was kicked out of the gathering for carrying a red flag and some grassroots union-activists were made to put down their banner. In reality, this was a form of politics serving the elites’ best interests, and this is why the media and politicians who are usually hostile to any form of radical protest rushed to congratulate the “frustrated” of Syntagma and advised them to keep it non-violent, apolitical and to stay away from parties and unions[5] (http://www.criticalglobalisation.com/blogs/nikoss_rise_of_greek_multitude.html#_edn5).

This a-political/anti-political nihilism seems hazardous and could be hiding a more reactionary politics beneath the nationalist populism, especially combined with the attempt of some right-wingers to present the situation as a “gathering only for Greeks”. The principal demand was to change the political scene by the substitution of “corrupted traitors” for new politicians and technocrats. It was as if people demanded a total change by making sure that nothing would really change; a “revolution without revolution”, as Zizek would put it. Predictably, postmodern individualism is partly to blame, with many protesters describing the protest as a life-changing experience, as it “made us all feel happy and close to each other after so many years”, thus lacking any need for escalation beyond the limits of individual gratification with the experience. Many mentioned how the atmosphere was similar with the nights of festivity when Greece won the European Championship in Portugal in 2004. The above can be easily understood by considering the absence of the radical Left and of radical politics in the movement.

The Left, initially caught by surprise by these spontaneous events, could follow two paths. The first was to stay at a safe distance and mock this “petite-bourgeois frenzy”. This was what the Greek Communist Party and some hardcore anarchists did. Such an elitist approach makes sure that the streets would be left to those who considered that gathering and screaming curses against all politicians is the final horizon of political imagination.
(criticalglobalisation.com/blogs/nikoss_rise_of_greek_multitude.html)