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Gary (and others) may be interested in the following methodological reflection. In order to understand the Syriza crisis, it is helpful to think in terms of causally efficacious absences. This posting enumerates several concrete cases where it is more instructive to think in terms of what did *not* happen, than in terms of what actually happened. This is a kind of dialectical thinking. One absence: why did the institutions not give any concessions to the Syriza negotiators? Because they wanted to force Syriza to act against their mandate, so that the disappointed Greek voters would vote them out of office again. I think Tsipras saw this and his reaction was apt. Through his actions he said: if you want the masses to lose trust in us, then let us ask them directly whether they still support us. He called the referendum combined with an offer to let others continue the negotiations. This caused the other side to panic and deliver another instructive absence. When Tsipras announced the referendum, the negotiation partners did not say: "we understand, we all derive our power from the popular mandate, and we gladly give you the ten days of time necessary to hold a referendum." Instead they took offense. They withdrew their offer and broke off the negotiations, and caused a closure of the banks in the week leading up to the referendum. This cracked the democratic veneer of the Institutions and revealed that there are two different conceptions of democracy: carrying out the mandate of the voters on the one hand, versus mining the consent of the voters in order to impose disaster capitalism on the other. It also cracked the unity of the Institutions: the World Bank released a report supporting the position of Syriza that the debt burden was unsustainable. After the landslide win of the oxi vote, the ECB and Schauble repeated their dismal performance. Instead of finally offering small concessions, they tightened their negotiation position even more. This is not only immoral and undemocratic but also irrational, and here one has to wonder if they were still in control of the situation (another absence) or whether their hand was now forced by their own earlier propaganda: that Merkel would not get parliamentary majority if they offered concessions. Tsipras's conciliatory offer shows that he is the only adult in the room. He tries not to be the trigger forcing Germany to irreversibly damage the European project. He tries to act as a force for the better, similar to what the Soviet Union often did in the past. Greece may be forced out of the Euro nevertheless, but I think this effort should be counted to Tsipras's credit. We can no longer consider politicians to be representatives of their own country only, especially inside the EU. He acted as a EU citizen as much as a Greek citizen. (Obviously I do not think the EU should be smashed. The EU is the world leader in sustainability and de-carbonization, it is needed for a livable planet in the second half of this century.) Here is another fundamental absence, a big question mark ever since Syriza came to power: why did a leftist coalition, after coming to power, engage in diplomacy instead of building a socialist infrastructure on the ground? I think this absence is simply a matter of time. They are doing as much as they can to build a socialist infrastructure on the ground, win the masses over to self-determination and co-operative production, etc, but this cannot be achieved in a few weeks or months, and until now they did not have the resources to do it at the necessary scale. They have the resources now. If they stay in power without splintering and see it as one of their priorities, they can be the catalyst for profound developments in Greek society, so that an eco-socialist Grexit, or even a stronger eco-socialist current in the EU itself, becomes a possibility later. This is why I find it so important that Syriza stays in power and continues to get the support of the international left. If they do not build this infrastructure on the ground, their failure to do it is generating another efficacious absence: others either in Greece or elsewhere will draw the lessons and do what Syriza did not do. Yes we are learning, the only question is: are we learning fast enough? Hans G Ehrbar. _________________________________________________________ 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
