the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Aug 17, 2015
After the Greek population voted “no” to the conditions demanded by the Euro zone, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras stepped back, turning his back on the voters’ decision. Without that, Greece would have exited from the Euro zone? Maybe, maybe not.
In reality, from the perspective of ordinary people, the issue in Greece is not whether the country stays in or breaks with the Euro. But the path chosen by Tsipras to accept the demands, to aggravate the measures that have weighed for years on ordinary people, is a dramatic step back.
After the about-face of Tsipras, his Economic Minister Yanis Varoufakis denounced the blackmail exercised by the European leaders, and chose to resign. He said that there was a path other than staying in the Euro Zone. He joined a position defended by political currents who, in France, Spain, Portugal, and other countries, denounce the policies of the European leaders. They claim that their solution would allow them to escape from the dictates of the bankers and the imperialist leaders. It is an illusion.
In reality, what weighs on the working population of Europe is the pillage of their wealth: it is the exploitation imposed by the financiers and industrialists. This situation does not require the existence of European institutions. Financiers and industrialists impose their law on every economy, those within the Euro zone and without.
Even if Greece leaves the Euro zone, it will continue to be pillaged by the most powerful capitalists. That is why the nationalist answer is a mirage, if not a mystification. The Greek economy will not be stronger or more independent from the dominant financial companies if it is no longer a member of the Euro zone.
The European institutions are not at the service of the people they group together. They give a framework for economic and commercial exchange. But the law of the strong really governs. The strongest rule within Europe, but also outside the borders of the European Union. It is this law that crushes people all over the planet.
So yes, it is necessary to find a path other than that of giving in which Tsipras proposes. Another path also than the nationalist reply proposed by Varoufakis of Greece, Melanchon or Montebourg in France, Pablo Iglesias in Spain.
The problem is not whether to be or not be part of the Euro zone, but to work so that the exploited can decide to take on the capitalist system.