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An Alternative for SYRIZA
Achilleas and Eleni
http://solidarity-us.org/site/node/4449Date Written: 2015-06-12 Publisher: Solidarity Year Published: 2015 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX17640 In order to regain sovereignty, a country has to exit not only the EZ, if a member, but the EU itself. Liberated from the noose of the EU treaties and regulations, Greek people will have the freedom to follow a sovereign monetary and fiscal policy and form trade and international alliances to the best of their interests. Abstract: - Excerpt: The roots of the crisis lie in the very structure of the capitalist system. This is a structural, systemic problem. Capitalism promotes uneven development of world economies, according to the role assigned to each country based on its position in the world economic net. One need not be a proponent of dependency theory to agree with this observation. Today we experience globalized capitalism, and more specifically its fierce evolution to neoliberalism. Once a small economy like Greece is fully integrated in this globalized system, it has no other choice but to try to be competitive by adopting some of the most inhumane and socially destructive remedies: massive privatizations, fiscal austerity, deregulation, flexible labor markets, low wages, implementation of an extroverted production/consumption model, leading to the disruption of social cohesion and solidarity of any kind. Countries integrated in the globalized economy clearly have almost zero degrees of freedom. The more attached they are to globalizing institutions, the more distant the potential of escaping the grasp of neoliberalism becomes. In Europe, the dominant institution of global capitalism is no other than the EU. Therefore, it becomes crystal clear that, as explained above, in order to regain sovereignty, a country has to exit not only the EZ, if a member, but the EU itself. This exit, although not sufficient, is necessary for a country to pursue a different fate. The above analysis prescribes a possible viable solution to the Greek crisis: exit the EZ/EU, issue a national currency, and immediately impose unilateral debt write-off. Liberated from the noose of the EU treaties and regulations, Greek people will have the freedom to follow a sovereign monetary and fiscal policy and form trade and international alliances to the best of their interests. Pressured by the people, the government will be able to increase and reprioritize public spending so as to effectively and rapidly fight unemployment, to control capital movement and achieve redistribution of wealth through taxation, to enhance and reconstruct domestic production, to strengthen democracy, transparency, and social control of all aspects of public life. It should be clear that such a solution does not even remotely constitute an end of the social struggle towards a fair and equitable democratic society (such a teleology is in any case foreign to democracy). However, given the realities of the devastated Greek economy and society, this solution may provide a fruitful beginning. It is, for sure, a steep path to follow. Nevertheless, it is more immediate than a generalized social revolution (which part of the radical left sees as a prerequisite for change), which would require vastly different objective and subjective conditions. At the same time, it is not a reformist approach, as it identifies the core of the problem, which is the globalized neoliberal capitalist system, and aims for direct, substantial changes outside this system. Subject Headings |