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I submit that Louis's essay, “Against Manichaeism” is itself an example of the Manichaeism of go-with-the- flow. On the one side is arrayed the great global army of all those in combat against (in Theodore Roosevelt’s phrase) the “malefactors of great wealth”, and on the other small clots of sectarian purists, i.e. genuine sectarians and all those who, unlike Proyect, refuse to trade in their critical faculties for a seat in the left-reformist cheering section. Take Syriza. Louis assures us that its victory will “swell the army” of all those fighting injustice around the world, and justifies its coalition with ANEL on the grounds that it is a minor compromise in the service of their larger goal of “beating back” austerity . Now granted that the party’s electoral victory is acting as a major fillip to Podemos and other anti-austerity forces throughout Europe and beyond. But has Proyect ever stopped genuflecting before Tsipras-Veroufakis long enough to consider the prospect that Syriza may just fail? What effect would that have on anti-austerity forces? Let us take stock. I don’t claim to know how things will turn out, but if I were a pro-austerity Eurocrat or banker, I might calculate as follows: “We have within our power an enormous capacity to make the Greek economy scream even louder than it already is, and to underwrite anti-Syriza forces. Greece is a small country whose default, even exit from the Eurozone, is something we can withstand. It therefore makes more sense to tighten the screws and make an example of Syriza now than pursue some genuine compromise that will only embolden Podemos and others. We can certainly offer Tsipras a few sops in return for his agreement to act as the human face of austerity. But, beyond that, what’s to be gained by compromise?” How could Syriza respond? Its base has indicated that it is fed up with austerity, but not fed up enough to leave the Eurozone, and Alexis Tsipras has put himself forward as the political conjurer who can fulfill this self-contradictory dual desideratum. But can he? What would be his options in the face of EU intransigence? Proyect never seems to ask himself these questions, let alone answer them. There may perhaps be a Russian card to play here, in light of the growing Russian-NATO falling out, and Tsipras seems not entirely unaware of this option. But it would also be difficult to imagine an effective counterthrust without strong measures against Greek and foreign capital, which would in turn require mass support and mobilization. But it seems to me that such a mobilization would demand, inter alia, a strong alliance between the Greek working class and the immigrant population—two major groups on the receiving end of austerity. Is such a potential alliance made more or less likely by the coalition with ANEL? Will the hundreds of thousands of immigrants now in detention centers, or under threat in their neighborhoods from fascist thugs, be inclined to regard this nod in the direction of anti-immigrant demagogues as a minor tactical expedient? Will this lash up enhance or retard the possibilities of a unified fight against Golden Dawn, which is likely to supply Greek capitalism with needed shock troops should the confrontation with the Eurocrats move from parliament to the streets? One pole of Proyect’s Manichean political universe obviously consists of non-dogmatic, with-it, up-to-date progressive-ecumenicists like himself, who seize every opportunity to burnish their anti-sectarian credentials with effusive praise for the left-reformist flavor of the month. At the opposite pole are the Socialist Equality Party, the Spartacists, etc., who reflexively denounce any left-tending popular movement for non-conformity to their preordained ‘revolutionary’ script. Joined by the latter at this pole—and virtually indistinguishable from them according to Louis—are all those in the least inclined to evaluate the slogans and promises of left-reformists in the light of past experience and present possibilities rather than simply enthusing. A Manichean universe, if ever there was! Jim Creegan _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
