Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

It's not Greece. It's Capitalism, stupid!

Lenin via opednews | 03.03.2012 22:41 | Analysis | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles

The Greek crisis provides the best evidence that the Capitalist model of governance has utterly failed and must be overthrown. By Nicolas Mottas

By Nicolas Mottas. March 3, 2012.

If Karl Marx could see the recent developments surrounding the Greek crisis he would certainly feel vindicated. Last Tuesday, the IMF and Eurogroup were trying for hours to reach a deal regarding Greece's new bailout package. In the name of avoiding default, the Greek people will now have to face a new round of extremely harsh austerity policies. But, in fact, it wasn't the country's bankruptcy which the leaders were trying to avoid; the real deal in Brussels was - and still is - to keep alive, at any cost, the politico-ideological corpse of the actually existing Capitalism.

For more than three years now, most international media and analysts refer to a "debt crisis" combined with financial mismagement by domestic governments. This is misleading. The actual truth is that the profoundly unfair and immoral capitalist system we live in - the one which supposedly "thriumphed" over marxist economics, as neoliberals and keynesians use to argue - is the source of it's own crisis. Who can argue that the ongoing crisis, which started with the Lehman brothers scandal in 2008, is the worst episode in a series of free market economy failures since the Great Depression of 1930s? In Europe, as well as internationally, the ruling elites are aware of that, thus making every possible effort to put the weight on people's back.

Today's Greece represents the epitomy of Capitalism's failure in Europe. The devastating results of this failure can be seen in the streets of Athens - in the increasing number of homeless people, in the agony of young men and women who cannot find a job even after two master's degrees, in the downgrade of citizens's living standards. The supporters of neoliberal practices and strick monetarism use to claim that Greece used to be "the last socialist european state". This is an outrageous lie. Greece, like her fellow EU members, was always a Capitalist state, functioning under the rules of free market economy. Between 1990 and 2007, a period during which Greece - governed by both conservative and social-democratic majorities - co-signed the notorious Treaties of Maastricht (1992) and Lisbon (2007).

Let's see some facts which are quite revealing about Capitalist dominance in Greece during the last two decades:

1. In 1990, the GDP of Greece was 38,000,000,000 euro. In 2007 it became 208,000,000,000 euro, thus being increased five times more.
2. In 1990, the profits of the companies (both S.A. corporations and L.L.C companies) were up to 575,000,000 euro. After 17 years, the profits of the Greece-based companies had been increased 28 times thus reaching the 16,000,000,000 euro.
3. While the profits of the private companies were reaching the above extroardinary numbers, the increase in the daily basic salary of the unskilled worker was just 15 euro.

For a period of almost 20 years, while the working people of Greece were contributing to the expanding of the country's GDP - and to the maximization of the profits of the Capitalist elites (28% in 17 years) - the lowest standard salary increased by just 1%. In fewer words, the period from 1990 to 2007 seems to be a period of continuous profitability for the Capitalists while, on the same time, the actual income of the labour classes remains the same as it was in the decade of 1980s. That seems to be part of the price the low and middle classes had to pay for Greece's ambitious aims in the 2000s: the Athens Olympic Games and the participation in the core of the E.U.'s neoliberal experiment - the eurozone.

However, there are still people who regard Greece's membership in the European Economic Community - known as the European Union since 1993 - as the modern "great achievement" of Greek politics. But who really benefited all these years from this membership? Was it the lower and middle classes of the country or specific financial elites in Athens and Brussels? Numbers are quite revealing: ( Rizospastis , May 12, 2009).

1. In 1980 (a year before Greece's accession in the EEC) the country's trade balance towards the rest of the world was 5,200,000,000 euro. Twenty-eight years later it had reached approximately 44,000,000,000 euro.
2. In the period from 1980 to 2008 the deficit of Greece's agricultural balance increased by 934%. Only during the first year of euro's introduction (2002-2003) the agricultural deficit of the country, related to the rest of the world, increased by 74%.
3. Greece's foreign lending: From 1990 to 2000 it increased by 931% (!). In 1980 the Greek public debt was 600,000,000 euro while 19 years later, in 2009, it reached the unprecedented number of 298,000,000,000 euro, thus being increased by 497 times.
4. During the last years there is a propaganda about Greece's benefits from the notorious "community packages" - structural funds that the Greek governments received from Brussels, since 1980s, within the frame of Europe's regional development policies. The total amount of community packages that Athens received in the period between 1981-2009 reaches 43,000,000,000 euro, which seems to be a considerable number. Nonetheless, it's very few related to the trade balance deficit between Greece and the EU. During that the last three decades Greece's imports were approximately 379,000,000,000 euro while the country's exports only 125,400,000,000 euro. (Greek Statistical Service, Bank of Greece & Rizospastis , 20.12.2005). In fewer words, Greece indirectly paid back six times more the money she received from Brussels. As German economist Heiner Flassbeck pointed out "Germany's surplus is the deficit of her partners".

There is no doubt that corruption consisted a major component in Greek politics' failure all these decades. But we should ask ourselves: Which is the system that promotes and advances corruption? Isn't the Capitalist system which "prepares the soil" for the interweaving of multinational corporations (see: 2008 Siemens scandal) with the political elites? Furthermore, there is a tragic irony: the present unelected Prime Ministers of Greece and Italy (Lucas Papademos and Mario Monti) are both former bankers, who worked in the past for multinational buldge bracket investment firms.

Today, a "troika" consisting of the Greek government, the IMF/EU block and Greece's lenders ask from the people to pay until the last drop of their blood. Without any plan for the country's future development, the lower and middle Greek classes are called to rebuild the ruins of Capitalism. Those who are responsible for the crisis now point their fingers to the working class, thus putting on the table outrageously fake dilemmas: Austerity or bankruptcy, neoliberalism or disaster.

The Greek crisis, despite all it's tragedy, became a chance. Gave the opportunity to practically question a political and economic establishment which Francis Fukuyama had called "the final form of human government" ( The end of history and the last man , 1992.). More than 80 years since the Great Depression of the 20th Century, the foundations of Capitalism are trembling. The mass anti-austerity movements in Greece and Spain, the Occupy initiative in the United States as well as the Arab Spring consist proof that people start to wake up from the "hibernation" of Capitalism's illusive welfare.

The crisis in Greece provides the best evidence that the Capitalist model of governance has utterly failed and must be overthrown. It seems to be an extraordinary coincidence that Capitalism is collapsing in the place where, almost 2,500 years ago, Philosophy and Democracy were born.

-
Born in Salonika, Greece in 1984, Nicolas Mottas is a graduate of Political Science, Diplomatic Studies, Conflict Resolution, a political research student (PhD) and a freelance article-writer. He has been a collaborator for the Greek newspaper 'Macedonia' and a commentator for Greek-Australian weekly 'Neos Kosmos'. Mottas has founded the Greek website Guevaristas.net devoted to the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara.

Link:  http://www.opednews.com/articles/It-s-not-Greece-It-s-Capi-by-Nicolas-Mottas-120302-233.html

Lenin via opednews

Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Re-tool the entire industrial revolution.

04.03.2012 01:47

Its not Greece its capitalism stupid.

This title while expressing a known point, should be examined a little closer.
DAS CAPITAL-- Three categories of capital, 1 Constant capital, 2) Variable capital, 3) Surplus Value. Knowing full well that the original class relations set up by the inception of the industrial revolution were not perfect, and that the new class needed to be born which the new industry would produce, Marxism explained to the world that the socialist society could not take place as the capitalist relations had not fully developed. However he fully explained that when the class relations no longer functioned to the benefit of the classes because the modern means of production was developed beyond the original rules and laws of production, then the class pressurers would push the new class, with the knowledge of the entire comming revolution to, of necessity, move to overthrow the old class relations that hinder all society form developing further.

Revolution becomes the mid-wife of the new society. We do not wish to abolish capital but for the workers of the societies to take hold and own and control the main means of production, so that a new set of class relations can take place and thusly the liberation of the majority workers can put in place a new harmonious and joyous planned society that ends the exploitation of present aggressive wars as foreign policy, and the pollution, poverty, gender, race, and religio discrimination. That ending the aggressive war machine and its manufactury contributes to world peace with justice.

Gender parity is a natural necessity to harmonize the entire specie. That requires doubling democracy, not as the fascist-nazis-axis powers, who wish to abolish democracy. That communist side is the most perfect relation of classes known, and when it creates the workers state the workers will have the power to end all forms of exploitation of the worlds' working classes, and then the state will have no more reason to exist, and whither away from disuse as a former tool for the exploitation of one class by another. [science-Marx and Engles]
The immediate goal is the workers state and the need for the workers to take hold of the main means of production, the banks and distribute the wealth from their value added labour each and every year to guarantee full employment, free education and free medical including natural medicine, massage therapy, and dentistry in the medicare package. Marx dicovered that the workers are the source of all wealth, and that the monopoly capitalist, feudal and enslaving classes, have kept that truth hidden from them.

However, the workers are the only class that can weild the means of production to end all forms of exploitation. Thusly viva socialist liberation. End pollution wars not endless wars for more and more pollution. What is to be done?
RE-TOOL THE ENTIRE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

Coal, gas, oil, and atomic energy is destroying the planets livability, and therefore the last forty-eight years of ecological green revolution has brought into being the hi and low tech tools to put in place wind, tidal, and solar power, which transforms to electricity and is more power than can be used by society. No more blackouts. This non-pollution is given freely in natures kinder laws and provides work for all and forever more.

Also as the new millenium is upon us make sure to double democracy and elect woman equally at all levels, thusly restoring the matriarchy, which is the Holy Grail. Fifty-fifty electing is natures way of committing to natural ecological organic balance of the web-of-life on the planet. Workers of the world, unite!! You yet have a world to win!!

Union Jack


Dream On Sparty

04.03.2012 07:47

Of course it would vastly enhance your credibility if you could spell Das Kapital, Engels etc.

Muppetwatch


Oh and another thing, Sparty...

04.03.2012 07:54

It's not capitalism that's the problem in Greece anyway - it's the bloated, inefficient state taxation and welfare apparatus, antediluvian trade-union posturing, coupled with rampant corruption and milking of the system, not least by all those benefit-receiving, soap-dodging, black-clad "anarchist" hoodies who are causing most of the trouble. When did any of them last contribute anything constructive to the Greek economy or society? They can only maintain this lifestyle choice because of the unsustainable generosity of the Greek welfare state.

Muppetwatch


Muppet Watch the product of neo liberal programming.

04.03.2012 22:09

The welfare state was won by the working class after WW2 when neo-liberal cyber borgs like you were still nought but a twinkle in mom and pops eye.

Faced with a returning army of people trained to kill who had just defeated fascism with a hankering for a more just society voted in a socialist labour party and demanded free education, free health care and a welfare state, this is democracy. Of course the rich can't afford it well that's democracy so tough.

What have anarchists contributed, well I can only speak personally, but I was chair person of a housing co-op that prevented houses in my area from becoming derelict and falling into dis uses we housed peole in housing need at fair rents. Round the corner from me is a successful ethical food wholesaler a co-op. Anarchists here are involved in the local credit unions, ethical green energy web service providers.

So stop blaming the victims of this hideous extremist capitalist catastrophe that you wet yourself over every day. You are the product of false prophets like Milton Friedman, the rediculous Ayn Rand and right wing ideology. You are an ideologue and are full of the same shit as the Cato institute among other multi million dollar think tanks set up by the ruling class in the 50's and 60's because the extremist fundamentalist capitalists were losing the moral argument.

Troll Botherer


It's stupid, the economy

04.03.2012 22:24

Capital - the social relationships it constructs - is precisely the thing that needs overthrowing (unless you fancy repeating the communist state).

a


reason why anarchists prefer bank robbery

04.03.2012 23:33

What a joke: Max 450 Euros (no rent paid) max 12 months in your whole lifetime, now it's 359 Euros. After one year you get nothing, no healthcare and you get dropped out of statistics. Greek welfare state isn't existing but you jerks think pensions are welfare allthough one pays an insurances for it.

Welfare State?


Pins and Needles.

07.03.2012 18:55

Its true, he Capitalist system is its own nightmare.

If you think it through you will find that we here in the west have two separate economic systems in place. The first being the base market economy which pre-dates Capitalism by many hundreds of years...and the second is a veneer layer of economic varnishing that has grown up around population growth.

The first market economy is a simple and basic type economic arrangement which allows for those with goods and services to act as seller and the buyer who requires those goods and services. The two meet and you have a very basic transaction. Both parties determine the outcome of that transaction. This is the base economy of all nations. It is morally impossible to object to this type of system. But there is scope for environmental objection.

And then you have Capitalism.

Capitalism is when you have both buyer and seller being kept apart in order to facilitate a middle man who has neither goods and services, nor money. The middle man acts as a paid go between and makes a living off taking control over the transaction.

Capitalism allows for those without goods or services, and those without money...to live outside of absolute poverty. Without Capitalism, you have limited carrying capacity in terms of population size. The UK having a population of 65 Million people would be impossible without Capitalism because we are poor in resources. Social Care, welfare and contingency would not be possible either.

But Capitalism is also the worlds leading cause of inequity now. Simply complaining about Communism during the 20's or National Socialism during the 30's and then claiming that modern Capitalism is competent by those standards just doesn't cut it. Modern day Capitalism is feeding a cycle that is no longer valid.

Simply put, infinite growth is just not possible in a finite world. The superstructure that underpins and validates Capitalism has always been one of eventual collapse and chaos. This is because the Capitalist mindset is not capable of sustainability. The Capitalist mindset is short term and stridently exploititive. When Capitalism brings us all to a state of failure...most Capitalists will abandon society and head for the hills. During the great plagues in Europe, the people were abandoned by their elite and simply left to die. Capitalists are not here to make the nation wealthy, nor are they here because they have a sense of the public duty. They are here for themselves only. They always have been.

It is the nature of the Capitalist to live off the wealth of others. This might seem parasitic and in many cases it is, but we also have to keep in mind that the Capitalist shares a bed with the worlds disabled, the worlds poorest, the worlds pregnant and the worlds most needy. They all have lack of goods, services and money. They must be looked after.

And so you must have centrally controlled contingency to ensure adaquate taxation can be raised to provide welfare for those needy.

If you leave that to the Capitalist...you will see generic widespread and pandemic poverty worldwide. The Capitalist is not capable of public duty unless it entails taking control of the public wealth...for a profit! You must NEVER attempt to wring profit from essential services.

In the UK, we are in an advanced state of neglect. We have a Capitalist veneer on top of our naturally occuring market economy and that veneer has led to the appearance of Capitalist ideology being inserted into the welfare provison itself. This amounts to the privatisation of welfare provison and critical services. This is NOT a sign that our economy is becoming more developed...this is a sign of our developed economy becoming unstable...as a result of over-Capitalisation.

The anti-Capitalists role is clear. It is the veneer we are after...and we should guard against allowing the Capitalist to re-formulate our narrative into an assault on the underlying market economy and its inhabitants, in order to ingratiate themselves further.

You cannot defeat an empire by throwing stones at it. The empires vandals will simply throw larger stones at their enemies within the empire...with us a ready made culprit. To defeat this empire, you must filter it!

anonymous


Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech