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Thursday July 07, 2011 21:55 by WSM - WSM
Commentators and politicians insist on explanations of the crisis wracking the Greek state that are rooted in perceived national characteristics; in this view the Greeks - all Greeks, rich and poor - are exuberant, colourful, corrupt, inept, inefficient etc. and therefore to blame for “their own” crisis. The same, often racist, stereotypes are applied to the millions of Greeks protesting against their political and economic elites and the austerity measures, which, just as in Ireland, are the means by which working class people are being made to pay for “ their” political elite’s fuck-ups. While the protesters are right in clearly identifying the culprits as being the rich elites in Greece and in the world of finance, the Greek government is using a nationalist frame to try to get them to go along with the austerity; “we all have to tighten our belts, we are all in this together, for the good of the nation”. The same process is used in Ireland, with nationalism being invoked (“we are all in this together”) and, from abroad, national stereotypes are similarly being used to tar the Irish working class (“lazy, inefficient, corrupt, overpaid, incompetent, greedy”) with the same brush as the gombeen political class. This is part of a concerted effort to make it take the blame and shoulder the burden for the screw-ups of the Golden Circle and international finance capital. In this way, capitalism uses nationalism to marshal the working class to go along with the wishes of national elites and accept austerity and other measures. At the same time capitalism uses nationalism to actively discourage the working class in Ireland from identifying with their working-class sisters and brothers in Greece, Portugal or Spain. An anarchist worldview rejects nationalism as an ideology that is ultimately rooted in authoritarianism and bigotry, recognising that it is an ideology that came into its own with the flourishing of the capitalist state. Anarchism, which upholds the value of solidarity among the working class, instead advocates internationalism to break down ideologically-imposed national divisions in order to reveal the real divisions which our rulers are constantly trying to mask; the division between rich and poor, between capital-owners and workers, between the international financial elites and the rest of us. As ordinary people we must struggle to break from the nationalist framework that opinion-formers propagate. We must see that our interest is really the same as the interest of the working class internationally. We must find ways of expressing solidarity with our Greek sisters and brothers, of standing beside our Spanish sisters and brothers, and so on. The capitalist rulers of the world know their interests lie in working with each other more than with the workers they keep in line with nationalism. It’s time that we did the same and recognised that our fundamental interests are defined by the fact that we are workers, not Irish or Spanish or Greek or Nigerian or Colombian. It’s time we saw ourselves for what we are; the international working class.
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The capitalists know how to organise on that level and how to adopt the treaties they expect to seal peoples’ fates with. We, the working men and women of Europe, have not yet achieved this level of organisation, even though alternative forms of trade union organistion have found ways to converge. This effort must be pursued, and a response organised on an international level. [Français] [Ελληνικά] [Nederlands] Solidarity with the European peoples in struggle! 18:50 Fri 10 Dec 0 comments Faced with this situation, we must respond with struggle and solidarity between the workers in affected countries. Faced with attacks like these, internationalism is more necessary than ever: we need a Europe-wide social movement! 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Several topics in Marx's economic theory are discussed, criticisms reviewed, and responses given. more >>Announcing "The Value of Radical Theory" Mar 18 0 comments Annnouncemt of a new book by Wayne Price which is an introduction for anarchists and other libertarian socialists to Karl Marx's crtique of political economy. In what ways can Marx's economic critique be of assistance to anarchists? What are anarchists' critique of Marx's economic theories, goals, and method? We won’t pay their debt - let's move away from capitalism! Feb 23 Anarkismo European Coordination 0 comments To move ahead and build international solidarity, all the movements must come together on a European scale. The capitalists know how to organise on that level and how to adopt the treaties they expect to seal peoples’ fates with. We, the working men and women of Europe, have not yet achieved this level of organisation, even though alternative forms of trade union organistion have found ways to converge. This effort must be pursued, and a response organised on an international level. [Français] [Ελληνικά] [Nederlands] Solidarity with the European peoples in struggle! Dec 10 Anarkismo 0 comments Faced with this situation, we must respond with struggle and solidarity between the workers in affected countries. Faced with attacks like these, internationalism is more necessary than ever: we need a Europe-wide social movement! [Français] [Ελληνικά] [Deutsch] [Dansk] Solidarity with the European peoples in struggle! Dec 01 AL 0 comments In recent weeks, the signs of anger among the peoples of Europe have been increasing: a general strike in Portugal, demonstrations of historic proportions in Ireland, the student movement in England and, hopefully, the beginning of a lasting movement following the mobilizations over pension reforms in France. [Français] [Castellano] [Português] [Italiano] [Català] Gas, gas, gas, tovarishch Gazprom! (English) Jan 07 FdCA 0 comments In the tragic and bloody framework of the wars (both geopolitical wars and wars for the sake of war) for the strategic control of raw materials, which from the Middle East to Central Asia sees a clash of imperialist interests for the control of energy resourses and of the various corridors needed to bring oil, gas and water out of the area, the stakes have been raised by Putin's (and Gazprom's) Russia on the very eve of Putin taking over the presidency of the G8 and Gazprom placing 49% of its juicy shares on the market. more >> |