"Thank god we are not all greeks"

[Sasha]

Found on the german indymedia...
And while i obviously certainly dont agree with the implied equalisation of insurectionary anarchists with the fash i though it might be foor for discussion


thank god, we are not all greeks!

a note on the "we are all greeks" craze amongst our comrades - thank god, we are not all greeks!
1. a new social contract with the “extremes”.
A large part of the population in Greece, a wide middle class, had chosen, for years, to accept that the job of governance is done by politicians. The consumerist clientelist system allowed them the grim luxury not to participate in any active, participative decision-making procedure.
*
Today, they have not moved on (yet?) from their former state of passivity. Now that they are suddenly getting poorer and have suddenly lost their confidence in the system, they are appointing the task of regulation and governance to the “extreme” groups. A very wide stratum of this class, still soaked in the comfortable faith of political representation and spectacle, finds the anarchists’, autonomous’ leftists’ and hooligans’ street fights with the cops, Molotov cocktails and attacks against banks, police stations and corporate property acceptable, necessary and even attractive.
*
To a large extent, it is the same people who feel that the extreme right wing and neo-nazi groups, (almost non-existent before and on the rise through intense State support right now) can do the job of attacking immigrants and refugees.
*
In other words, the Greeks have not all become rebels for social justice. They have just decided, in their media-fed confusion and toxic inertia, that they are willing to exchange their lifelong contract with the parliament with another (maybe brief) contract with “extreme political expression” groups – as long as the image of a united Greece is not shattered: Resistance against banks and against immigrants is the new symbol of national unity. And they happily let others do it – be it anarchists or fascists…
*
On the opposite end, the ruling class and the government, having to deal with a truly radical tendency questioning authority and power both on the streets and through structures of self- organization in everyday life (numerous local assemblies and initiatives and social centers), are happy to promote this new “equalization of the extremes” and seem to love this “we are all Greeks” rhetoric. The populist far-right party LAOS which is the government coalition actually declared its full-hearted support to the masses of demonstrators abroad showing their solidarity to the Greek homeland.
*
The plan of the ruling class and the government is to present the “two extremes” as part of a national unity so that the real radicalization cannot flourish.
*
A very good example of this new tactics of “equalizing the extremes” is the Steel Workers’ strike in Aspropyrgos, near Athens, a very long strike (since autumn) supported materially and politically by anarchists, and the autonomous left throughout the country from the very beginning. Not only did the strikers not become radicalized or interested in social justice in any way, but they let themselves be guided and controlled by the Stalinist party KKE workers’ union PAME. The PAME workers in the strike did not hesitate to receive solidarity and support by the Golden Dawn neonazis: In a recent open, videotaped meeting, a PAME worker introduced a nazi addressing the strikers with the phrase: “All of Greece is on our side”.*
(By the way, this neonazi party is responsible for attacks and actual killings of immigrants and sponsored opinion polls are now giving it 3% of the vote and promoting it for parliament.)
*
It is clear that in this context the emergent populist workerism within the radical (anarchist and leftist) movement does not help. It contributed to a false portrait of social dynamics in the country today, and can easily be usurped and absorbed by the “new national unity in the crisis”… (This is very ironic in a country where the majority of the productive and reproductive workforce is immigrants anyway…)
*
*
2. emptying the terms “direct democracy” and “self-organization” of radical content
*
“Direct democracy” and “self-organization” are truly beautiful practical ideas of movements historically. They are being very widely used today, which definitely points to the fact that they truly inspire people and are based on a real radical impetus. We’re afraid though that slowly they are being usurped and reduced to vacant slogans, generating new passivity and offering new cultural capital to the politicians and* their commercial advisors.
*
A very characteristic instance is the founding of a new political party (in view of upcoming elections) by a nationalist right wing politician fervently against the IMF and ECB “banksters”, calling itself “Independent Greeks”. The new party’s mottos are exactly “Direct Democracy” and “Self-Organization”. The problem that this sounded so natural, nobody was impressed with the use of these ideas in the program of a far right party…
*
In other words: The political purpose of creating a national front (which can nominally easily be “direct-democratic” and “self-organized”) is to channel parts of a real and spontaneous reaction to what is happening towards a late national mass mobilization, similar to the ones against allowing the neighbor Former Yugoslav Republic to adopt the name Macedonia, moblilizations led by nationalists and the Church in the 1990s.
Many say that the “masses have not yet come out to the streets”: Everyone knows that soon people are going to flood the streets again to protest the new dire measures of* extreme impoverishment and total devaluation of any social services. And if widespread disappointment is distorted and controlled through nationalist arguments, social unrest will be an expression of “national indignation”.
*
Yes, the revoltés in Greece do need solidarity.
But not all Greeks are revoltés…
And the revoltés are not all Greeks!

[Rocky Rococo]

Some "pragmatic centrist" SPDer or Green pushing this line?

[Sasha]

No obviously its not, i assume its from hardline anti-nationale autonomous marxists

[GoddessCleoLover]

Seems to me to be a rather negative appraisal of the Greek working class, unless I am somehow misreading the article.

[PhoenixAsh]

Adressed to the author of the article



thank god, we are not all greeks!

I am very happy I am not Greek either. As it stands now I would probably be already homeles and starve in Greece and be death within a few months because I wouldn't be able to afford the medical treatments I need.


a note on the "we are all greeks" craze amongst our comrades - thank god, we are not all greeks!
1. a new social contract with the “extremes”.
A large part of the population in Greece, a wide middle class, had chosen, for years, to accept that the job of governance is done by politicians. The consumerist clientelist system allowed them the grim luxury not to participate in any active, participative decision-making procedure.

Hey....what do you know....truns out we are all exactly like the Greeks. Because perhaps you have failed to notice...but this is what we are doing in all of Europe. Greece is no more or less different in this regard from any other country in Europe and neither is its population. Whatb is different is that there are political groups and organisations in Greece that have for years and decades used direct action on large scales to fight the system. And that is rare in Europe. In that respect we certainly are not all Greeks. Because where Greece seems to have a long tradition of strikes, protests, direct action....many other European countries rely more and more on civil contracts and negotiations which inevitably ALWAYS play into the hands of the established elites and corporate power.

Just as in Greece the voice of the inhabitants of other nations has gradually been taken away. We have allowed this to happen and we stood idly by. Content with our high income, material gains and the idea that parliamentary democracy is a job for those who make a carreer out of it. We have been jaded in our assumption that we are truely democratic. We have been blinded by years of prosperity and we were all more than willing to vote for parties which sold our rights to the highest bidders.


Today, they have not moved on (yet?) from their former state of passivity. Now that they are suddenly getting poorer and have suddenly lost their confidence in the system, they are appointing the task of regulation and governance to the “extreme” groups. A very wide stratum of this class, still soaked in the comfortable faith of political representation and spectacle, finds the anarchists’, autonomous’ leftists’ and hooligans’ street fights with the cops, Molotov cocktails and attacks against banks, police stations and corporate property acceptable, necessary and even attractive.[/qoute]

So you expect millions of people to become class conscious overnight and shake off decades of indoctrination and propaganda? Well...utopian is one word....dillusional is another, and unfortunately one that is pretty much applicable to your criticism. It is unrealistic and doesn't hold any argument based content.

But I will take your argument as a tantative acceptance of bank and corporate dominance. So on one side you argue that no structural changes are made and on the other hand you belittle the direct actions against institutions of capitalism as a form of workers stuggle.

Interesting. And more telling about your politics than about the rise of class consciousness and the direction of the workers struggle in Greece.

[quote]To a large extent, it is the same people who feel that the extreme right wing and neo-nazi groups, (almost non-existent before and on the rise through intense State support right now) can do the job of attacking immigrants and refugees.

Really? Because I do remember a little episode called the proto-fascist Colonels regime. And the existance of groups like Golden Dawn ever since that period ended. Greece has always had a dangerous nationalist and far right movement. And Anarchists who have been fighting them in the streets for as along as I can remember.

But maybe you are a bit shakey on theory. Economic depression and recession always give growth to the extreme far right. It alsways has and always will. This is not a surprise. This is a symptom of the capitalist system which in its last steps will increasingly move towards bonapartism and more direct forms of repression. Why? Because some people will create a false class consciousness and are misled and seduced by easy solutions and actions. Why? Because people are desperate.


In other words, the Greeks have not all become rebels for social justice. They have just decided, in their media-fed confusion and toxic inertia, that they are willing to exchange their lifelong contract with the parliament with another (maybe brief) contract with “extreme political expression” groups – as long as the image of a united Greece is not shattered: Resistance against banks and against immigrants is the new symbol of national unity. And they happily let others do it – be it anarchists or fascists…

I think we can all disspel this argument. A united Greece? Have you looked at the polls recently? Probably not. Greece is as devided on the isssue as it can be.

But across the political lines workers and unemployed are hit extremely hard by the austerity measures. This gives them a common suffering regardless of political colour or creed. Wether they are fascist or anarchist or marxist....they all will feel the pain and more often than not utter desperation about the recent austerity measures.

So that unites people. And their first concern is to alleviate the dire situation in order to survive. It is up to the left wing groups to inform them, to educate them and to direct them.

Some of these groups apparantly think it is an unacceptable tactic to engage in a wider class warfare against the institutions that uphold and represent capitalism: banks and corporations. These groups seem more content in simply criticising the Greeks for what these grousp are doing and seem to be under the impression that banks and corporations are somehow not viable targets. Instead they argue....well...I do not know what the hell you are arguing that the Greeks should do...because you are not making one single argument along those lines. But it seems to me that you are arguing all action is directed at overthrowing the political assembly. It is not that I do not agree...but I think you are making the fallacious argument that this will somehow uproot capitalism.


On the opposite end, the ruling class and the government, having to deal with a truly radical tendency questioning authority and power both on the streets and through structures of self- organization in everyday life (numerous local assemblies and initiatives and social centers), are happy to promote this new “equalization of the extremes” and seem to love this “we are all Greeks” rhetoric. The populist far-right party LAOS which is the government coalition actually declared its full-hearted support to the masses of demonstrators abroad showing their solidarity to the Greek homeland.

Right....so...basically you are now confusing a very diverse mass movement and political stratgey of the establishment? How wonderful.

So first the extremes are bad. But it has been the extremes that have always propagted these tactics you now fly in your banner. This makes no sense except when you are equating apples and oranges. Which you are in fact doing.

Offcourse the establishhment will try its utmost to exploit any group in order to gain power. Especially when that group represents a huge recruiting ground. It is blind of you not to realise this. And it says nothing about the movement.


The plan of the ruling class and the government is to present the “two extremes” as part of a national unity so that the real radicalization cannot flourish.

Yes. And the plan of the two extremes is to not let this happen. Welcome to class warfare.


A very good example of this new tactics of “equalizing the extremes” is the Steel Workers’ strike in Aspropyrgos, near Athens, a very long strike (since autumn) supported materially and politically by anarchists, and the autonomous left throughout the country from the very beginning. Not only did the strikers not become radicalized or interested in social justice in any way, but they let themselves be guided and controlled by the Stalinist party KKE workers’ union PAME. The PAME workers in the strike did not hesitate to receive solidarity and support by the Golden Dawn neonazis: In a recent open, videotaped meeting, a PAME worker introduced a nazi addressing the strikers with the phrase: “All of Greece is on our side”.*

Gasp...you mean, you mean....some workers are not radicalised and not yet class conscious? But you overlooking the fact that they are engaging in class warfare.

You forget that there has not been one single revolution in history where everybody woke up being completely class conscious? But that this is fact is a process that may take years?

And what do you mean not radicalised? Where to radicalise to? To your own little sectarian believes? Because they are striking over 120 days now. One of the longest strikes in Greece. Direct class warfare. Wether conscious or not. Not to mention that you have no idea whhat the status of their political believes are.

Now I agree on your criticism of the KKE and PAME. And I do think more could and should have been done to politicise the workers there. But the fact of the matter is that this passage in your article sounds more like hurt sectarianism than any form of ideologically motivated criticism. In fact....this is not different from the KKE tactic. If you are not with us: you are wrong, bad, evil and need to be prosecuted.

There is ample fair criticism on the KKE and PAME and there is nothing wrong with attacking their methods or goals or their actions. But you are not using one of them.


(By the way, this neonazi party is responsible for attacks and actual killings of immigrants and sponsored opinion polls are now giving it 3% of the vote and promoting it for parliament.)

Yes....since 1980. Interesting...because you told us they were largely absent in Greece. Argumentative consistency is not your strong point now is it?


It is clear that in this context the emergent populist workerism within the radical (anarchist and leftist) movement does not help. It contributed to a false portrait of social dynamics in the country today, and can easily be usurped and absorbed by the “new national unity in the crisis”… (This is very ironic in a country where the majority of the productive and reproductive workforce is immigrants anyway…)

Yes...this seems to be the body of your argument. Blindcriticism instead of saying what actually should be done. You can't. Because obviously you have no understanding of the situation in Greece and in fact have no idea what should be done.


2. emptying the terms “direct democracy” and “self-organization” of radical content
*
“Direct democracy” and “self-organization” are truly beautiful practical ideas of movements historically. They are being very widely used today, which definitely points to the fact that they truly inspire people and are based on a real radical impetus. We’re afraid though that slowly they are being usurped and reduced to vacant slogans, generating new passivity and offering new cultural capital to the politicians and* their commercial advisors.

A very characteristic instance is the founding of a new political party (in view of upcoming elections) by a nationalist right wing politician fervently against the IMF and ECB “banksters”, calling itself “Independent Greeks”. The new party’s mottos are exactly “Direct Democracy” and “Self-Organization”. The problem that this sounded so natural, nobody was impressed with the use of these ideas in the program of a far right party…

*gasp* no, you don't say :rolleyes: +10 points for stating the obvious. This is what always happens....it happened throughout history. It is the tactic used to disspell social upheaval and unrest. It was practiced in Russia, Cuba and many other places. Establishment adopts few rethorics and tactics and points from the opposition to gain more support.

Wauw...we really needed you to explain this.

So then what....o great Guru....do you think should be done? O...wait...that is not your intent. Your intent is to criticise without offering alternatives.


In other words: The political purpose of creating a national front (which can nominally easily be “direct-democratic” and “self-organized”) is to channel parts of a real and spontaneous reaction to what is happening towards a late national mass mobilization, similar to the ones against allowing the neighbor Former Yugoslav Republic to adopt the name Macedonia, moblilizations led by nationalists and the Church in the 1990s.
Many say that the “masses have not yet come out to the streets”: Everyone knows that soon people are going to flood the streets again to protest the new dire measures of* extreme impoverishment and total devaluation of any social services. And if widespread disappointment is distorted and controlled through nationalist arguments, social unrest will be an expression of “national indignation”.

Yes very well. So now how to avoid this.....o...wait...I keep forgetting. :rolleyes:



Yes, the revoltés in Greece do need solidarity.
But not all Greeks are revoltés…
And the revoltés are not all Greeks!

Misunderstanding slogans much? We are all Greeks is a phrase coined to iullustrate what could and is going to happen to all of Europe. Wether we like it or not. As I argued in the first response....ever citizen in Europe is in the same situation. Greece is no different from us. When things go to hell we are all in the same situation faced with equally devastating livelyhoods through austerity measures.

It is not a phrase which indicates that Greeks are all revolutionaries....or confused proto-marxists like you....but instead that we as a European nationals are all in the same fucking boat. We are all suffering from the ame institutions and we all could have been in the same spot.

But offcourse you do not get it. That much is so glaringly clear from your article.

[GoddessCleoLover]

Thanks to Hindsight 20/20 for dissecting that article. It seemed to be unusual in its criticisms. "We Are All Greeks" seems like an excellent slogan to express solidarity with the suffering Greek people.

[PhoenixAsh]

Wether or not we agree with tactics. Radicalising a class is not an easy matter. Making people class conscious is perhaps harder still. Years, decades and even centuries (when you take into account the developmental influence on social structures and interactions) of propaganda and influence have to be overcome.

So how can this be obtained? Well there are different tactics and strategies and these largely depend on the ideological perspective of the organistions and groups active in these fields.

In fact strategies are so diverse that we could debate the issue untill we are all blue in the face. My personal opinion is that diversity of tactics is key. That clear formulation is key. And that consistency is key. But most of all it is winning the trust of the people you are aiding in becomming class conscious and speaking on their level (in other words...you tailor wwhat you say to their specific needs as much as possible).

And this is difficult. Very difficult. And several things need to be taken into account.

As long as people are happy and satisfied and feel safe and secure they will rarely be moved to see the world for what it is. Sure we see wrongs and we see dramatic cases, but we consider them to be abborations, things which are more exception than rule, and we try to explain them away.

The notion will persist, in some variety or other, that as long as it is not happening to you or your friends and family then "it is not of your concern". It won't happen to you. After all you have a job, and income, a house, you can affrod your one or two time a year holiday. You can see this in all newsgroup discussions. This is caused because people generally have a narrow focus on life and draw from direct experience from their immediate social networks and surroundings.

These notions will get strained if economic depression persists and starts to affect a wider range of people....sometimes even people from your own social groups and surroundings. Even then people are often hoping that they will be spared. That this is something that will blow over. They blind themselves for the possibilities and the sorrow which comes with them because they are unequiped to deal with them. Acknoweldging they are being played has huge consequences for their perception of reality and huge life consequences. We have to reject everything we were taught was true from the day we were born.

Unfortunately we do not get a blue or red pill to suddenly see behind the curtains, to suddenly wake up and see reality. A select few may. They may realise that they are toys, puppets and numbers and in fact have no influence, matter zero to nothing, and have a price in their lives. This usually only happens when they are directly hit by economic recession.

And even then...we try to look for quick solutions. We want it fixed now. We want to do something. Feel like we were not at fault. We made no mistakes. It were the "others" that made mistakes. Wether we define the others as "bank managers" or "foreigners" or "politicians" we are all blaming somebody. Because somebody must have fucked up! Because how could this otherwise have happened? The system works! Because that is what we have been taught from birth....so it can't be the system!! It must have been somebody messing with the system or exploiting it or whatever.

This is a dangerous stage. People getting this feeling are easilly persuaded one way or the other. As long as it is easilly consumed and as long as it offers a quick promise of rescue.

And IMO this is where the left in all her sectarianism fails more often than not. Generally speaking the left gets bogged down in the fallacy of "right and wrong technical rethorics" which most people do not understand and which are completely alien to them. And this is why economic depression creates such an unproportionally large support for the extreme right. They are not complicated at all. They point and say: "there is your guilty party. Exclude them and your problems will be fixed. Women wearing viels, people with a different culture...they exploit the social systemm and cost tons of money. Money that should be spend on you."

This is easy to understand. Easier than saying: well you are a worker and therefore you are exploited. To stop being exploited you have to take out capitalism. All true...but most people have no fucking clue what capitalism is. And even when they do get it....you are expecting them to go against their entire way of "how things always have been".

For a worker to go from one day being a happy and productive little asset for their bosses to going on strike, even for 24 hours, even for an hour, is actually a huge step. It is a risky step, most of them are new to it, they do not know and they definately do not like the insecurity and the pressure that comes with it. Sure they can be very motivated....but it is a motivation which comes from trying to alleviate a very concrete wrong. But they want that situation to end, to reach some kind of agreement. And as soon as they get that they more often than not continue along the way of being happy working assets.

You can criticise this. And offcourse we always need to analyse things critically so we can learn and draw lessons. But for a worker to actually go on strike, for someody to actually become critical and start to criticise....is a HUGE fucking step. It is class warfare in its infant shoes. And it is a first step for any induvidual to question the "truth" about society.

Sure as hell most workers who strike aren't revolutionaries. Workers who complain aren't all either. Neither are the ones demonstrating against austerity measures. But they have taken their first step in class warfare. The first steps towards becomming class conscious and the first steps, how little they may sometimes seem, towards radicalisation.

So then what is our job?

Well...our job is not to criticise them. It is not to point to them the futility or how they are wrong....and it is sure as hell not our job to overload them with rethorics that are alien to them.

It is to aid them, to win their trust. To be consistent and to tailor our message towards them so that they will reach conclusions on their own.

Because it is quite simple. If a stranger walks up to you in the streets and tells you how life works...you are probably going to be sceptical. But if somebody you know, who has been there before, who supported you and who aided you comes to you and tells you...you are more inclined to listen. And even then...when you absolutely trust that person...it is absolutely vital for class consciousness that you reach this consciousness on your own time, in your own thoughts! You can NOT force this process.

The Greek workers are on strike. This is a hige step in class warfare. This is a huge step in radicalisation. They have continued the strike against many odds...during hardships we can not even begin to phatom unless we have experienced them ourselves. To criticise them for not being radical, for not being class conscious or politicised is beyond contemptuous and exactly the kind of sectarianism that alienates the working class.

Now you know my position on the KKE and PAME. You know what I feel and think about these organisations. And I think they have not done enough based on what I am reading in the news and based on their own webistes I feel they are exploiting the situation for their own gain rather than for that of the workers. And I am not saying they have done enough to politicise the strikers, but I am sure as hell not going to say that they have done nothing. And I refuse to blame the workers for allowing the support and assistance of PAME and KKE. And I am sure as hell not going to conclude that they are not radicalised....because 120 freaking days on strike is pretty fucking radical.

Wether I like PAME and KKE is irrelevant. These workers are an example to others not yet there. They are showing what they can do. And for me it matters little that they are not all hardline marxists or anarchists. That will come later, perhaps in years. Now I certainly hope KKE and PAME will politicise the workers further, eventhough I think it is a crying shame if they went over to their party line. But psychological barriers need to be broken.

Unity and feeling of mutual shared dire straits is IMO one of the best ways of people moving away from the old "truths" and becomming open for new ones.

Where we need to succeed is in tailoring the message to the recipient. I can quote Das Kapital to a worker...but this means nothing to him or her. I can quote Bachunin or even Pratchett for all I care...again...this meanns nothing. What means something is if I can manage to explain the situation in a way that directly relates to his or her induvidual situation....and if I can get them to think for themselves and to question things for themselves. This is IMO vital....more vital than having them "chose" and "goated" into the right ideological sectarian club.

What we need to realise is that people do NOT FUCKING CARE about wether ML's of different persuasion once took a questionable position on Israel. They do not care about how Marx or Lenin differed of opinion. They do not care if sectarian club A likes or dislikes sectarian club B for whatever reason.

What they freaking care about is their jobs, their lives, their ways of providing. The revolutionary left has ONE common goal: create class consciousness so that the class warfare can continue towards revolutionary action. Wether we reach that stage by all waving flags of Stalin or Trotsky is absolutely subordinate to this goal.

So for all I care sectarian A can fight sectarian B about ideological futilities that matter zero to the avarage workingman or woman...hell I will even participate. It is fun. But....


WE DO NOT CRITICISE WORKERS FOR NOT BEING CLASS CONSCIOUS ENOUGH.


We aid them in becomming more class conscious. This is our job. This is our purpose. We are not in this for our own glory, we are not in this for the glory of our sects....we are in this for the class. Sure as hell we can say: "beware, we may have scored a success but here are the facts....we still have miles to go"

But that has nothing to do with saying: well they are jaded lazy asses....like the author of the above article does.

This is a surefire way to alienate people and drive them into the arms of other groups who have less than savory intentions.

[pax et aequalitas]

After that awesome post, hindsight, I want to have your babies so badly. o.o

[Sasha]

I invited the authors to reply: http://linksunten.indymedia.org/en/node/55732

[o well this is ok I guess]

This guy is talking as if far-right groups haven't been on the rise throughout Europe.

[PhoenixAsh]

I am just going to post this here because it is related. Word of warning...below I am generalising to emphasize a point. I am not really talking about specific induviduals, but I try to illustrate a societal view point. Wether a specific induvidual complies to the description I am giving is causal and dependent on many factors.


As we all know the burgeosie is poised to devide the working class. The adage: "devide and conquer" applies very much to a capitalist economical system.

Continuous and increasing terminological emphasize is placed on the vague term "middle class". There are no more working class people in burgeosie terminology and a lot of effort is put into disassociating people from the term working class. The working class no longer exists in this mind set. We are either lower class, lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class or even the lower upper middle class. Terminology designed to Create a sense of division.

The term worker is increasingly being associated with manual laborers and given a negative connotation of mindless beer guzzling, fast food eating drones who live in crime invested "working class neighborhoods" who have kids with behavioural problems and learning disabilities. Almost reminiscent of the English term: "the great unwashed".

This goes to such an extend that construction workers or toilet ladies/men these days get nice little titles such as "construction expert" or "fascilitary operations" and garbage men get the title "waste management experts". Ridiculous titles to give an air of status. Status which seems to be lacking from the association people have with the term: "workers".

Many people want to see themselves as workers. Tell a secretary she belongs to the working class and you will get the immediate defensive reply that he or she is either part of the middle class or a management assistent. People do not see themselves as workers, nor want to see themselves as workers. Because the term worker has throughout the decades been deminished and given a negative connotation.

So what is so wrong about labelling yourself as a worker?

The term worker is being associated with lack of succes in life. Success which we are all brought up to believe defines us as a human. Success in capitalist terms is defined by the income you gain and the subsequent social status you have acquired. Success is not defined in terms of happyness or in personal development outside the employment status or how satisfied you are with your place in the world or how good you are as a parent. Succes is limited to financial and material gain and perceived status. Being a worker means admitting you have lacked succes in the light of these terms and in this capitalist context. A worker as a person is seen as somebody who either has limited capabilities and is therefore "worth" less to society than somebody with a university degree. Or, they are seen as people who just want an "easy" life.

We are trained from birth that spending and aqcuiring material things is good and is in fact the purpose of life. We see this in the educational system (children in the ages 12-15 these days believe and expect they will be making € 5000 a month according to studies) and we are constantly bombarded with advertisements which urge us to spend, spend, spend. You can't buy your girlfriend €2.50 ear rings on valentines day!! O god forbid! No! there needs to be at least €50 spend for your gift to mean something. Advertisements are poised to generate a perception of wealth=good. Ergo...a low income means you have failed. Not being able to take your partner out to dinner is seen as failure.

So people have been educated through burgeosie educational systems by parents who have gone through the same. And as a result people grow up to believe this complete and utter bullshit. But people by and large, wether they behave like it or not, often have these barriers in their minds.

We are also taught to compete with one another. Wether it is for the higher grade and praise and recognition to getting the best job, getting a higher salary. Now there is nothing wrong with a healthy competition. But we even have to complete on the job markets against our own class.

There is no interest from the capitalist system to reach full employment. In fact, in capitalist economics full employment is a bad thing because it drives up wages and therefore reduces profits and the competing status of a company or bussiness. So in a capitalist system it is seen as natural and good that some people are reduced to living in the economic margins of society.

Capitalism also needs a "lower" class to keep people afraid to fall from grace. The spectre of unemployment keeps people on their toes, obedient and maleable. So we are taught to do whatever it takes to keep our status and economic position and to increase it.

This mindset is prevalent in societal behaviour. We are taught to live, breath and believe in the system from the day we are born. From our educational situation, our home live, to our professional life...everything revolves around survival of the fittest.

And the further you are from the people that require aid and assistance the more prevalent and noticeable this gets.

The increasing resistance to foreign labourers comming here to "take our jobs" and "drive wages down" is one nice example of this. We are taught to compete. We are expected to compete. And the system is designed to work through competition. So new ways are designed to increase the feeling of competition and pressure and keepour minds occupied so we can not focus on the systemic nature of this competition and distract us from the real problem that is causing the stress an strain. So when cheaper workers are introduced....we do not blame the system. We blame them. After all...they are our competitors, they are responsible. They come here and they "steal"our jobs because they are wage cutting.

We do not see the systemic nature of this because we are led to believe that the system can't fail. As I mentioned earlier. The banking system isn't designed to do what it does...no...bankmanagers are evil and exploit the system. If only there was more control and supervision....if only there were more rules this would never ever happen. At least...that is what we are led to believe. The banking crisis has shown one thing. Dispite the cry for more regulation...since 2008 NOTHING changed.

In Holland a few years back both employee and employer needed to contribute to the financial barrier from which unemployment support was paid. Then neo-liberal governments decided to reform this system and employers were exempted from contributing. This would create more spendable income because the cost per employee would be reduced and therefore would increase employment rates because hiring somebody would be cheaper. This offcourse did not happen. It wasn't designed to happen. It was the rethorics in which a nice profit increase for employers was wrapped so that we would think things would get better. But it didn't. All it did was reduce the income for unemployment benefits.

So now employment is rising. Thanks mainly through the economic recession. Within three years after the economy going down the buffer for unemployment benefits has been consumed. And we are now roughly 2 billion short. What is more the Bureau for statistics has just announced they expect a further rise in unemployment.

So not only did the government on the eve of a huge recession decide to decrease its income to help those who need it...they also failed too create a system in which those who need it can get help. Reducing spendable income and therefore reducing the chance of economic revival.

But what is more...on the eve of the economic recession...when unemployment was already rising. The government launched incentive plans to get people to work. Reducing benefits in scope and amount so that people wouldn't stay home. Therefore increasing the number of people who were forced on the job markets. They also reduced the possibilities of early retirement....even further increasing the number of people who were looking for a job in an ever decreasing job market.

The logical result of this is an army of people who are barely getting by. An increasing threat of losing a job and losing survival perspective. It increases debt. It reduces spendable income. It also drives prices up because companies need to protect their profit margins. Further decreasing spendable income annd thefore further reducing the chances of economic recovery.

But what the hell...it also reduces the wages. Therefore bussiness have an increased profit capacity or have reduced costs. Again...the argument for this
is that this will increase the spending on creating new jobs because the redcuction in costs will increase the amount of money that a company can spend on hiring new people.

Eh...yeah...right :rolleyes: Dream on. We are in an economic recession coupled with a huge financial crisis. So this is not bloodly likely. And that this isn't going to happen is pretty damned obvious because of the economic predictions.

This offcourse is now being peddled as "we are out of cake, oops, sorry"...and under the guise of solidarity we need to " all" contribute. This sounds fantastic. But in effect this means that since government is only focussing on the employer side of the story and holds the false philosophy that employers need the reduction in costs....it means the ones who are hit the hardest are going to have to contribute more. Ergo...unions are now calling to increase the contribution to unemployment funds by increasing the employee contributions to it. :thumbup1:

So what does all of this have to do with Greece and why the hell are we talking about economics when you started out by talking about creating devision?

Well...here is how it works.

We do not have enough money to pay further unemployment benefits. So we are going to reduce length and amount and increase workers contributions to the unemployment funds.

In the mean time we spend billions on banks and subsidies for companies who keep firing people and reducing their amount of employees and therefore are directly contributing to the rise in unemployment.

We are doing this under the guise of the EU. (unelected) president Ven Rompuy said that Holland leaving the Euro would be disasterous and would be the death of the Euro and the monetary union. But we are required to stay within the 3% gap in GDP. Which is currently 4.5%....so billions need to be cut from expenditure. Other countries can go over this 3% requirement with no consequences but not the Netherlands.

In the meantime we have to spend billions on Greece. To somehow save Greece. In the media and political propaganda we are led to believe that Greek workers are lazy, do nothing and are leeching in us. This continuous stream of propaganda is designed to put pressure on our international solidarity.

Why?

Well...first we were bombarded with possible austerity measures which were needed to reduce costs and increase employment. Pensions would be down. The eligable age for pensions would go up three years. protection laws for employees would be "simplified" (meaning it would become easier to fire somebody). Social Security measures would be reduced. Etc.

In the meantime we were pointed out that the workers of Greece had pretty decent social standards when it comes to pensions. They retire in their 50's instead of in their 60's. And look at that.....Greece is doing very bad economically and is now almost bankrupt. So....if you want to avoid that....please sign here in your blood and sell away your rights so that we can sell them to increase profittability for the companies. We are doing this for your own good. So begrudgingly we were led to believe that if we didn't agree we would suffer the same faith as the Greeks.

But then it turned out that the situation in Greece was somewhat more dire than we expected. Billions were needed to cover bad investments, bad monetary choices by the commercial sectors and banks and years of exploiting the system. Agian we were led to believe that corrupt politicians in Greece were the result. So they needed to be dismissed. And we should make the Greeks pay..because it is their fault we are now in an economic recession (!!). This last bit is vital.

The consensus in Holland is that the Greeks are responsible for dragging us down!! Just like the cheap laborers from eastern europe and the immigrants from non-western descent...or other nice euphemisms.... we are given a guilty party: Greedy and corrupt Greek politicians and lazy "living it up" Greek people.

In the meantime the spectre of what is happening in Greece...is being dangled before our eyes. Do as we want because otherwise you will be next.

And this is used as an excuse the extract horrible austerity measures. It is used as an excuse to disassemble democracy in Greece....to effectively abolish souvereignity and place Greece under heave restrictions.

We also need to pump billions of billions in Greece. We are peddling this as aid for the Greek workers. But instead it is aid for the Greek economic system....which needs to get back in shape so we get paid. We have little sympathy with the Greek workers...because after all...they are lazy and they chose corrupt politicians.

Again the focus is being dragged away from the real problem...the system itself. The fact that we exploit the working class and the fact that the Greek workers are in fact no more or less guilty than we are for this event occuring.

We do not realise this because this devision between workers is designed to keep the system running...and more specifically to draw our focus away from it. If you can blame somebody the solution is easy. I f you need to change the system, your way of life...well...than that requires a little more.

People are becomming aware. It is a slow process. Because of the way I explained the system works. But there is more and more criticism. More and more people are fed up. And more and more people are seeing beyond the lies and the tricks. This starts with questioning the logic behind saving Greece. It starts with egocentrism. Why them and not us? Why do we need to help when we can't help ourselves. Some go further and strike or protest. Some riot.

Mostly this is undirected class warfare. Undirected, or issue directed instead of truely seeing the machinations of the system. But it is a sign more and more people start looking for alternatives.

And yes...the easy solution is to believe the "others" are responsible and the "enemy". This comes after years and years of propaganda and divisionary tactics. This is shown in Russia where both Yeltsin and Putin used nationalism and ethnicentrism to trump up political support and devisions. And devide the opposition to their rule. Only when that worked a little too well and the far right grew exponentially did they prohibit the organisations they themselves build and financed.

So after years of being devided it is hard to shrug of the sympthoms of this and therefore the logical conclusion is people swinging to the far right and clining to what they know. When all is uncertain then what you know is the only hold on life you have left. And it is extremely hard to let go.

So yes. With growing dissatisfaction the burgeoisie will adopt the terminology, phrases and slogans of their opponents. They will try to do whatever it takes to keep hold on society. They will adopt reforms under the guise of socialist demands. They will reform under the guise of other extemes. Because this is what the elite does: cling to power. Try to survive. And when one political ideology has served its purpose it is rapidly traded for a new one. As long as control remains.

So people are continuously misled and led to believe that with a few changes the system will work again. If only we can get rid of the others....if only we can build in more checks. If only people get more "choice"...etc.

That is class warfare. It isn't fair, it isn't pretty and it sure as hell can be confusing.

Especially when you have never bothered with politics....and when you have always been brought up to believe that the system works.

It is the job of the revolutionary left to provide explanations. To show people the relationship they have to capital....to the means of production.
And to show them alternatives. It is the job of the revolutionary left to again define workingclass and to take away the negative connotation.

We do that by being consistent and by being united. Not by discussion who did what wrong 100 years ago. We can do this amongst ourselves...fine. But we present an open alliance towards the working class.

[l'Enfermé]

Thank you hindsight20/20 for your input, it's always a pleasure to see good posts.

[dodger]

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012
Statement from Communist Organisation of Greece (KOE) and Greeks Look to the Left for Solutions interview with Costas Lapavitsas

Press Statement of Communist Organisation of Greece (KOE)
• Down with the coup of the Bailout Agreement, down with the illegal Papadimos’ government
• Overthrow the whole rotten political system
• Democracy, Independence, Productive Reconstruction, Emancipation
The Communist Organization of Greece salutes the hundreds of thousands of people who swamped Athens yesterday and protested throughout Greece, resolutely opposing the new bonds that the IMF-EU-ECB troika imposes. The Greek people proved their advanced readiness for combat, and showed increased endurance and courage facing the ruthless attacks of the “special police” forces. Despite the state terrorism and the blackmails of the establishment, the fighting spirit of the people against the new occupation and the tyranny is raging.
The new Bailout Agreement is imposed entirely as in a coup, by an illegal government, and “approved” by a parliament that has lost any legitimacy. The Papadimos’ puppet government, the three bourgeois pro-Agreement parties and the politicians who voted for and supported the new disastrous Bailout Agreement are continuously violating their own Constitution and the country’s sovereignty. Their whole political system is hence entirely illegitimate. They have definitively taken a divorce from the people, and must leave immediately.
Since the appointed “prime minister”-banker Papadimos and his entourage didn’t manage to terrorize the people with the default threat (besides, the Bailout Agreement leads to default with mathematical accuracy), they found as sole refuge the ruthless police violence and terror. They unpretentiously suffocated Athens with chemicals, not hesitating to use their “weapons” in the most ferocious way even against two emblematic figures, like our National Resistance hero Manolis Glezos and the internationally famous compositor Mikis Theodorakis.
The illegal and completely illegitimate government, with the full support of most mainstream Media, resorted to violence and invested in terror. The “journalists”-parrots of the system and the apologists of the troika talked systematically only about the damages provoked in buildings. They “forgot” to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who, despite the barbarous police attacks and the chemicals, remained in Syntagma square and the rest of Athens’ centre during 5 hours. For what happened yesterday, as well as for what’s coming, the sole responsible is non other than the illegal government, which in full contrast to the will of the people and with repeated coups is delivering the country, the life and the future of its people, to its patrons.
The political system that robbed and destroyed Greece, that leads it to default and is now delivering it as a colony to foreign commissioners and foreign “courts of justice”, is crumbling in front of our eyes. They cannot even convince themselves any longer: 45 MPs of the bourgeois parties, under the popular pressure, voted against the Bailout Agreement and were immediately expelled from their respective parties. For the first time since the fall of the dictatorship in 1974, fewer than 200 MPs voted “yes” at a decision that had the support of both the two big bourgeois parties.
The intensified crisis of the political system is an opportunity for the promotion of a social and political front that will put a stop to this illegal regime and set the country in a different course, materializing what the people want and claim for. A social and political front which will pave the way for the salvation of the people and the country: Real Democracy. Independence. Productive Reconstruction. Stop the payments NOW – Not one more euro to the loan sharks. We can break the chains, the fight continues!
Forward, to a radical political change led by the people!
*************
No talk of being European here. Greek problem, Greek solution. A mature approach. interesting to see what comes of it. Any loosening of the fetters will serve as a positive example. There is life after Europe....Madam Merkel can go whistle for 'er money. Does she want to be the next president of Greece. Lets hope they wrest some sort of national sovereignty. The triumvirate of EU-NATO-US is FORMIDABLE AND SELF CONFIDENT. It will put a step wrong one day, storm a bridge too far. We'll all know when the Greeks are doing something right, there will be a crescendo of orchestrated abuse, against them.

Never has the term "nothing to lose but your chains" seemed more apt.