The Student Room Group

Congratulations to the Greek left! The movement against austerity....

gains a clear win. :colondollar:

Owen Jones writes brilliantly about it. This was a victory of hope against the lies of the post-cold war 'consensus' that only neoliberal capitalism can solve our problems and the lie that we have to destroy our public services, the incomes of more than half the population and the lifestyles we've been used to, because capitalism demands it.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/26/syriza-victory-lifted-greek-politics-cynicism-hope

Syriza's victory in Greece should be a role model for us here in the UK. We do not need to accept the Tory/neoliberal/New Labour line that there is no alternative to massive cuts in public services.

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The rich get richer
The poor get poorer

Enough said
Am I the only one who thinks this 'victory' is synonymous to Hitler's? With similar initial objectives too? Just sayin'.
Reply 3
Avatar for Aj12
Aj12
18
Bit early to be proclaiming some great victory. Sure if Greece rejects austerity and goes on to thrive then go for it. TIll then, its going to be one hell of a bumpy ride, assuming the government actually matches its rhetoric.
Original post by Aj12
Bit early to be proclaiming some great victory. Sure if Greece rejects austerity and goes on to thrive then go for it. TIll then, its going to be one hell of a bumpy ride, assuming the government actually matches its rhetoric.


Austerity is a global movement and Greece is just one particularly extreme case. The destruction of public services, the capitalisation of everything and the reduction in incomes for the majority are now central and guiding principles for our elites. Stealing from the majority and giving it to a tiny minority in a bizarre game of reverse Robin Hood is the major political aim of all of the principal governing parties in the world.

Yes, it will be difficult. That does not mean that the fact that people have seen through the lies of austerity (in reality it is about further transfers of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the already-rich) should not be celebrated.

Obviously we will now see a very large mustering of neoliberal forces to try to destroy their government, or at least to try to ensure that the austerity is still enforced. Greece has had its share of problems and made mistakes, but the way the Euro is being enforced on them was itself part of the mass manipulation of global citizenry by the forces of the new right. It wouldn't be a bad outcome to see Greece withdraw from the Euro, which is an instrument of torture for them. It's a bit of a shame that Syriza are still saying they want to stay in it, but they had to in order to be elected presumably.
I already made a thread about this :hmmm:


There are going to face an uphill battle with lots of vested interests determined to undermine them at every turn.

Also if this had been 50 years ago and Greece had been a south american country a Pinochet would be being put in place right about now.


Another angry voice on it

http://anotherangryvoice.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/what-now-for-greece.html
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by ChaoticButterfly
I already made a thread about this :hmmm:

Oh, sorry! I checked to see if there was one, obviously not hard enough. :blush:

Original post by ChaoticButterfly

There are going to face an uphill battle with lots of vested interests determined to undermine them at every turn.

Also if this had been 50 years ago and Greece had been a south american country a Pinochet would be being put in place right about now.


Very true. :yep: It's really only because it was necessary in order to sell BMWs that Germany dragooned (or kindly offered, depending on which way you look at it) the Euro to the Southern European economies and particularly to marginal Greece. Now they are in it though, the capital elites need to observe at least some decorum, it wouldn't be polite to send in the tanks just yet.
Original post by Fullofsurprises
gains a clear win. :colondollar:

Owen Jones writes brilliantly about it.


Mean while back in the UK Jones is telling us to vote Labour not green :rolleyes:

The Greek equivalent of New Labour got destroyed by a genuine left wing party because people voted for it. Vote Labour, the party so left wing it was responsible for privitising of the Hinchinbrooke hospital and all the *******s PFI schemes. :rolleyes:

This is our opposition to Tory austerity?? We are ****ed.

Maybe Scotland can save us? :tongue: They will probably just vote in austerity for those south of the border whilst they maintain their social democrat paradise up north... Liken when SNPs voted in higher tuition fees for the rest of the UK.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Fullofsurprises
Oh, sorry! I checked to see if there was one, obviously not hard enough. :blush:



Very true. :yep: It's really only because it was necessary in order to sell BMWs that Germany dragooned (or kindly offered, depending on which way you look at it) the Euro to the Southern European economies and particularly to marginal Greece. Now they are in it though, the capital elites need to observe at least some decorum, it wouldn't be polite to send in the tanks just yet.


There is no soviet bogey man anymore though. This is one of the reasons why the fall of the Berlin wall was described as a victory for socialism by some :yes:
Reply 9
Avatar for simon_g
simon_g
16
did you actually read their manifesto?
because there is not enough money to fund their socialist paradise, they "forgot" to mention where would they take it from
Original post by simon_g
did you actually read their manifesto?
because there is not enough money to fund their socialist paradise, they "forgot" to mention where would they take it from


It's not the detail, it's more a question of the general fact that they oppose the Europe-wide and global consensus that "austerity is the only way" - this is not austerity for the rich, who have in many cases hugely boosted their wealth during the aftermath of 2008, but for the majority. This is unacceptable. People are now beginning to wake up and demand that it change.

The detail will work through and as I said, I'm sure they will face many problems. That does not mean this isn't a good day for rational, human economics against the rapacious demands of the super rich and the banking sector that represents them.
Can't wait to see the egg on Owen Jones' face after they screw up, just like with Venezuela.
It's a not success for anyone. If Greece defaults, we will all feel the pain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30978052

Big promises from the new leader... are they even possible?
Original post by The_Mighty_Bush
It's a not success for anyone. If Greece defaults, we will all feel the pain.


Who is the "we" you are talking about? If you mean bankers, then maybe yes.

If it helps contribute to the ending of the austerity ideology, then no, most of us will benefit. At the moment, there is a lack of demand and the governments are reacting in the same way they in the Depression, deflating like mad, cutting spending, engaging in circular devaluations and frantically buying bonds, enriching bankers and corporations.

If you can explain how the latter contributes to our lack of pain, I look forward to hearing it. :rolleyes:
Original post by Fullofsurprises
Who is the "we" you are talking about? If you mean bankers, then maybe yes.

No, we will all suffer if they default because the Euro will plummet which will have a knock-on effect on other Western countries.

Original post by Fullofsurprises
If it helps contribute to the ending of the austerity ideology, then no, most of us will benefit. At the moment, there is a lack of demand and the governments are reacting in the same way they in the Depression, deflating like mad, cutting spending, engaging in circular devaluations and frantically buying bonds, enriching bankers and corporations.

If you can explain how the latter contributes to our lack of pain, I look forward to hearing it. :rolleyes:

Well I'm not going to defend QE because I don't agree with it either but that is generally considered more of Keynesian policy than classical policy.

Why is deflation necessarily bad?

Why not cut taxes as a form of "stimulus" instead of increasing government spending? The state needs to get smaller, not bigger. Increasing the size of the state is very hard to reverse and cutting taxes would more likely benefit the common person than hiring loads of public sector workers.
hah. wow. just when you thought greece couldn't be committing any more economic suicide.
To be honest aside from the debt they are not massively worse than Hollande. It's the Spanish you want to worry about, they'll basically make our UK Greens look tame.
I'm certainly not going to begrudge your average Greek tiring of crippling austerity dismantling their country, especially as it's dictated from elsewhere.

The average Joe Hoi-Polloi doesn't care about GDP, he cares that schools and hospitals are closed.


Let's see how this plays out, might end up worse for Greece, on the other hand the restrictive one-size-fits-all approach to EU/Eurozone economics and finances is clearly not working, and honestly **** capitalism if a 'recovery' means more money for the rich while the poorer are left worse off.

That's from someone who isn't a socialist/communist either.
Original post by Studentus-anonymous
I'm certainly not going to begrudge your average Greek tiring of crippling austerity dismantling their country, especially as it's dictated from elsewhere.

The average Joe Hoi-Polloi doesn't care about GDP, he cares that schools and hospitals are closed.


Let's see how this plays out, might end up worse for Greece, on the other hand the restrictive one-size-fits-all approach to EU/Eurozone economics and finances is clearly not working, and honestly **** capitalism if a 'recovery' means more money for the rich while the poorer are left worse off.

That's from someone who isn't a socialist/communist either.


This is the problem. It is framed that you can only be against this crap if you are an extreme political radical. Being against vindictive austerity based off of pseudo science doesn't make you a socialist/communists by itself.

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