Pseudo-leftists, bourgeois Marxists, losers, whatever.
But I'm afraid that Trotskyism is a relic of the past.
I don't think that the next iteration is going to come from either the West or the Global North, which are bourgeois through and through, even most workers.
30 comments:
The unending brutalization of Tsipras by parts of the left is one of the more gross spectacles in recent years.
Basically Greece and Tsipras were just gang banged by 18 European nations. There is nothing Tsipras could have given, done or negotiated to get a better deal. The terms were dictated by vastly more powerful adversaries determined to protect their assets and impose their demands on a country they just spent three years destroying. As Varoufakis has made clear, the end result was hard-coded into the unbending EU dictates from the beginning. Tsipras was left high-and-dry by the "international community" to get his ritual reaming on the world stage. He attempted to represent the tragically conflicted views of the Greek people as best he could, and actually seems to care a bit about democracy (something that the old-style communist thugs at rags like the WSWS don't care a bit about.) Yet people continue to call him quisling, traitor, etc. etc.
The WSWS is a pretty worthless piece of shit. It's economic analysis is weak and ponderously ideological. It doesn't really generate any news or thoughtful analysis - just predictable and repetitive diatribes of canned ideology intoned by sour and humorless mouthpieces. I listened to their podcasts for a couple of weeks back during the earlier days of the economic crisis until I realized how brain-dead they were. Basically, the solution to everything for them is a "global revolution of the working class", and any politician who so much as negotiates a pay raise is a traitor to the revolution. One thing I did conclude is that I would never in a million years want any of those thuggish clowns allowed anywhere near an actual government.
They had a chance to leave the euro, or least it was offered. Varoufakis told Tsipras that it couldn't be done. The blame falls squarely on YV's shoulders. As WM said today, he was in over his head and gave Tsipras terrible advice.
Now Greece is checked into the roach motel that no one can ever leave. See Krugman's blog today.
The deal that Tsipras got was essentially that if Greece "rebuilds trust." that is, carries out the neoliberal reforms that Germany is demanding and privatizes the public sector, then the debt will be restructured, but not before. And Greece had to agree to technocratic oversight that would essentially make Greece an occupied country in the process of "rebuilding trust."
The reason that Tsipras and Varoufakis are being criticized so roundly is for claiming to be leftists. Sort of like Obama being a progressive, or HRC now.
YV has already resigned. Tsipras should to.
There are calls for Schaeuble to resign. He got everything he wanted and Merkel backed him. Why would he resign? Germany owns the roach motel.
Wasted 5 months playing games and posing for the media.
I still don't understand the stigma of default. The Euro was designed so that people default, debts are written off and people revisit their due diligence procedures.
This refusal to default on unpayable debts is like the banks refusing to use the discount window at the central bank. It's irrational.
So the rationale has to be something else - pride, standing in the community, not wanting to be seen to be a loser, etc.
Nearly all of the problems over the past five years have because, once again, the only 'Keynesianism' on offer is to rescue failed capitalist operations that should have died.
It's purely political.
"Default" is associated with creditors recovering what they can from defaulter's assets. This is the model being used to enforce neoliberal "reform," that is taking apart the welfare state, destroying worker bargaining power and privatizing public assets.
That's what is going one here. This is the neoliberal playbook. Nothing surprising about it other than the brash way that Germany is handling it. They are tone deaf like the Americans.
There were plenty of ways this could have been handled and YV explained it to the financial ministers who responded with silence. There never were any serious negotiations. It was a farce.
But their pettiness is going to come back on them. They talk about Syriza destroying trust. Germany has done more to destroy the trust of both its partners and the world than we can yet imagine.
As Krugman says in a blog today, it's now obvious that the EZ is a roach motel and Germany is the owner. If anyone tries to leave, they will be destroyed financially and economically.
This was a blunder of monumental proportions, on the other of the US attacking and destroying Iraq to set an example. "Shock and awe" was for the benefit of Iran, China, and Russia. The result was failed state that spawn more terrorism, and convinced those it was supposed to intimidate to arm up.
"Sew the wind and reap the whirlwind."
"This refusal to default on unpayable debts is like the banks refusing to use the discount window at the central bank. It's irrational. "
It seems there was a bit of a stigma attached to going to the discount window, so the Fed came up with Term Auction Facility:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/reform_taf.htm
And presto chango, no more "Walk of Shame" and everybody lived happily ever after.
I agree with Dan that most criticism of Syriza up to now was unreasonable, facile, a stopped clock maybe being occasionally right like WSWS. But it seems Tsipras, who does care a bit about democracy, didn't know how to care enough. Machiavelli said "men seldom know how to be wholly good or wholly bad."
Caving to the Troika now was usurpation. The people of Greece - his boss - had just spoken pretty clearly. They're grown-ups. They knew what they were saying - don't back down. It was time to heed them. They, not he would bear ultimate responsibility for failures, and successes. Acting this way as if you are magically smarter or wiser than the people who elected you is hubris in an inglorious cause.
Germany should remember its own rules and proverbs. Herrhausen's rule and "Man kann sich totsiegen."
He really needed a "Plan B", even if his aim was to transform the Euro/EU. If Greece could have been prepared to switch over to Guro (or even convincingly faked such a preparation), he might have had at least a temporary impact on the ability of the Corporatism Clown Troupe to execute their beheadings (or re-headings). That would have been the only chance that I can think of to lend the EU a soul, a debt that it surely would have defaulted on.
"The unending brutalization of Tsipras by parts of the left is one of the more gross spectacles in recent years."
OMG, Kervik, you should write operas.
"They're grown-ups. They knew what they were saying - don't back down."
That's not what they said. They said: "Negotiate a better deal than the last guys, but don't leave the euro."
Germany and the rest of Europe said, "Eat this deal or you're out of the euro." That was it.
In the lead-up to the referendum, it was the Eurocrat leaders who tried to say that a "no" vote was a vote to leave the euro. Tsipras had to assure Greek voters that the "no" vote would not be a vote to leave the euro, and was just on the most recent package. If he had not given those assurances, he would have lost the vote.
Greece should re-think Grexit now. It's clear that as destabilizing as Grexit might be, it probably can't be worse than the endless austerity hell. But what a lot people here on this site have consistently failed to appreciate politically is how overwhelmingly opposed are Greeks to leaving the euro. You might think they are confused or stupid for that reason, but that commitment to the euro defines the political parameters in which an elected politician like Tsipras has to work.
Greece's parliament can still turn this down if they want.
The sad fact is that the best deal Tsipras could possibly get out of the Europeans is a piece of shit deal. There was no better deal he could have gotten by "not backing down." When they've got you by the balls, they've got you by the balls.
What the Greek people would like, no doubt, is a deal where the Eurocrats let up on all the austerity, but keep rolling over the regular and emergency loans to the Greek state, and maybe forgive a big wad of debt.
Europe just laughed at those Greek "preferences". And then doubled down on the insults and thumbscrews. Tsipras is the sap the Greeks sent to negotiate a fantasy-land deal that Europe was never going to give them. He deserves criticism for being naive himself, when he was running for office, about what he could get. But the idea that this rotten deal was dumped on Greece only because Tsipras "caved" or "surrendered" is stupid. There was no other deal to be obtained. Greece doesn't run Europe. The rest of those countries do.
So now Greece can try to go it alone financially and choose a different path if they want.
Ha he can certainly wield the pen that is for sure Mike...
Dan seems the Pope is with them he recently advised young people in the southern hemisphere to make a mess... UFB.
The WSWS type people just seem to want to continuously complain and "revolt"...
I see a parallel with how the Hollywood lefties keep pounding out the dystopian movies... its like they enjoy it or something... I would hope that one of those Hollywood lefties would make $bazillions off of one of those dystopian movies but then take the profits and plow them back into a Progressive organization (become like the anti-Peterson) but instead they just plow the profits back into making 2 more dystopian movies and we keep rolling on.. never getting anywhere and dispensing even more dystopian fantasies...
The only mistake Greek govt did was believing their own bullshit and putting all the eggs in one basket. It's disheartening how little politicians believe in their own people capabilities to adapt to a new situation, instead they keep hearing to the clueless doomsayers. And in the end the results are worse.
Oh well, the history of humanity.
Podemos in Spain is another example of the pseudo-Left. Don't have to be a Trotskyist to see the writing on the wall. MMT could be the source for an economic narrative that challenges austerity and the status quo, but the Left is seemingly incapable of changing gears. What we get is a lot of posturing, followed by the harsh reality of "Leftist" and "Socialist" governments carrying out neoliberalism's dirty work.
Dan has written an opera where he gets to play the world's smallest violin.
Varoufakis on the government's preparation in the event of a Grexit:
'As a responsible government, knowing full well that there was a very significant alliance within the eurogroup whose purpose was to throw us out of the euro, we had to make contingencies,’ he said. ‘We had to have a small team of people in secret who would create the plan in case we were forced to exit the monetary union known as the eurozone.’
‘Of course, there is a conundrum (dilema) here. Once this plan begins to be implemented, once you go from five people working on it to 500—which is the minimum you need to implement it—it becomes public knowledge. The moment it becomes public knowledge, the power of prophecy creates a dynamic of its own … We never made that transition from five to 500. We never felt we had a mandate to do it. We never planned to do it. We had the design on paper but it was never activated.’
Greek bailout 'a new Versailles Treaty', says former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/greek-bailout-deal-a-new-versailles-treaty-yanis-varoufakis/6616532
Excerpt from Bill Mitchell's blog:
http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=31364
While it might be difficult to pin down what a left-wing position is, the following propositions appear obvious:
1. A left-wing government would not accept policies that worsened unemployment.
2. A left-wing government would not accept policies that made the material standard of living of the most disadvantaged citizens worse off.
3. A left-wing government would not attack social welfare programs, including old-age pensions, minimum wages and housing subsidies.
4. A left-wing government would not seek to reduce job protections.
5. A left-wing government would not agree to privatise essential services (power, transport etc).
On all those accounts, the Syriza government is acting as a right-wing force in Greek politics.
Saying Tsipras was naive is the understatement of the year. The idea that the putative leader of the EZ, Germany, would give Greece any quarter in debt relief along with scaled back austerity was in every sense of the term myopic on Tsipras' end.
Tsipras was a strident Europhile, which certainly limited his ability to negotiate. Sure, it didn't help that Grecians are overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the euro, but another more open minded leader/ statesman could at minimum have used the bully pulpit given them the previous five months to articulate the impossibility of remaining in the EZ if no more rigid austerity is desired.
It's simply one or the other. The choices of staying in the euro vs no more austerity are/were mutually exclusive propositions. Even with this argument many Greeks, especially middle class Greeks, would choose the euro. Yet, with insightful leadership, commencing when Syriza took hold of power, it's not too far fetched to posit significantly more citizens might have chosen exit given the alternatives (or at least had that possibility as a bargaining chip).
Perhaps, even after a clear laying out of all Greek options, the vast majority of Greeks would still desire EZ membership over curtailing austerity then democracy rules the day and Tsipras either resigns because he can't deliver on a dual contradictory mandate or he rides the Pyrrhic victory to the next democratic election or until his likely now very shaky coalition dissolves.
Unfortunately Greek citizens never received this kind of pedagogical, dispassionate leadership from Tsipras because he himself was trapped ideologically in a Euro-centric rather than Greek-centric vision, which he wore on his shirtsleeve from day one.
In the end it's clear that Tsipras, having to choose one or the other avenues for his country going forward, prefers crushing austerity to exiting the euro. Time will tell if he has a mandate for that result. My guess is a resounding no.
Bob, all those "should" sound great. But Syriza did not "agree to" or "accept" all of those things. They had them rammed down their throats. Greece is a component part of the eurozone, and they do not even run their own banking system. The EZ made it clear that they were even willing to shut down the Greek banking system in order to get their way. They made it clear that they are willing to seize Greek assets in order to get their way. Tsipras walked into those meetings with his people taking 20s and 40s out of ATMs all across Greece and the economy grinding to a halt.
DK, so what? Just Grexit.
Or sue the ECB, etc. Or at least do SOMETHING.
TINA Dan?
"Greece is a component part of the eurozone, and they do not even run their own banking system"
Yes they do. All the NCBs run their own banking system. They don't have an independent banking system, but then none of the banks across the globe are really independent of each other since they are run by the banking class.
Hence why they all run for the same door when there's a panic. Not an independent thought amongst any of them.
"Sure, it didn't help that Grecians are overwhelmingly in favor of remaining in the euro"
Are we sure of that, or is it truth by repeated assertion?
The polls in Greece before the Referendum weren't exactly accurate.
Neil,
I've wondered about the polling on that question myself.
I've never seen a poll which asked the Greeks the question which had them choose between austerity or remaining on the euro (plus now giving up a degree of national sovereignty)--to pick one or the other, which is what Greece must do at present. Could be closer to a dead heat, if not slam dunk Grexit under those parameters.
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/06/16/poll-7-in-10-greeks-want-the-euro-at-any-cost/
56% choose to stay in euro even under harsh austerity measures, which isn't the 7 out of 10 wanting to stay in at all costs as the headline reads. BTW, it's the same polling group that claimed a 50/50 split right before the OXI vote on July 5. Would also like to see one more important caveat added to the polling question such as would you like to stay in euro if it meant harsh austerity plus becoming a vassal state governed by the Eurogroup? That's the question being debated in Parliament right now.
LOL, talk about a schizo electorate or simply bad polling metrics but in May Poll: 52% of Greeks Want the Euro at Any Cost, But 70% Don’t Want Concessions -
See more at: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/07/poll-52-of-greeks-want-the-euro-at-any-cost-but-70-dont-want-concessions/#sthash.UAMzyAyL.dpuf
All along, right up to the end, the Greek people were led to believe that a deal relaxing austerity was possible, when there was no such basis in fact to believe that.
Varoufakis, and Tsipras had 5 months to plan for the aftermath of a grexit, and turn the Greek people away from the Euro, they had 5 months to put a clear message across, and they failed to do so. You're not telling me that hammering home the reasons for a grexit on a daily basis wouldn't have shown in polls, instead they chose to play silly games, with incredibly silly people, it was an orgy of technocrats wasting time.
I don't think that the people of Greece are so stupendously attached to the Euro, or that there is any real evidence of it, as others say. There was one Gallup International poll in 2014 that showed a majority preferring the drachma, that Greece was the nation least attached to the Euro in the EU.
Dan K:That's not what they said. [by the referendum]
Tom:All along, right up to the end, the Greek people were led to believe that a deal relaxing austerity was possible, when there was no such basis in fact to believe that.
These presuppose that the people of Greece are mentally retarded, of subnormal intelligence. Didn't really matter what the referendum question said. It's like saying that someone who is being clubbed within an inch of their life needs a pamphlet explaining the health hazards of being beaten.
No, Tsipras did something consistent with subnormal intelligence. "Do you not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?" Less wisdom than ordinary people navigating ordinary life.
That's why the greedy bankster neoliberal corporocrats win so much. They follow a nearly mindless greedy algorithm - which is often a damn good one - and don't outsmart themselves.
Random:Or sue the ECB, etc. Or at least do SOMETHING. Yup, do something - FDR's policy - is one of those simple-minded things that winners usually do. It seemed to me that Greece is / was building up a damn good legal case.
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