Social movements have been mushrooming, one taking up where the other leaves off, uniting, building and gaining strength. This is the situation in Greece these past few weeks – a situation the bourgeois media throughout the world tries to hide, or worse, distort. The extent of censorship in the news media reveals the international capitalist class’s greatest fear: that this situation will spread, and that the main player in this brewing Greek tragedy, the working class, will set an example for workers of other countries.
The Greek working class fights back in force
The latest plan the country’s government announced was a powerful offensive as taxes went up by 21%, salaries slashed (reduction of 60% by the 14th month and of 30% by the 13th), public and private pensions frozen, with massive tax hikes (on alcohol, tobacco and fuel), with increases in other taxes (housing and property). These vicious attacks have a fundamental and direct impact on the working class. Capitalism intends to force the working class to pay for its crisis.
The country’s overall bankruptcy and its current attacks on the working class are in their entirety the complete responsibility of the bourgeoisie – and not just in Greece. This is the real significance of the European Union’s "recommendations", with the German bourgeoisie leading the way, along with the IMF who, with its "support" of Papandreou, the Greek First Minister, will oblige the Greek bourgeoisie by making its own working class pay.
Such attacks are currently underway in Spain as well as in Portugal. Similar attacks will hit the working class of other countries in the weeks to come.
Facing these attacks, struggles, strikes, street demonstrations, massive delegations and assemblies, are erupting and spreading throughout Greece, in opposition to this scandalous bourgeois plan. In all sectors, in all categories, the working class is mobilizing in its anger and refusal to endure circumstances whose sole responsibility lies with the capitalist system.
These workers are showing the way for their class brothers throughout the world
-On a mass scale, it’s through struggle that their furious rejection of the anti-worker government and its bosses’ policies are expressed – and not through the sterile means offered by bourgeois democracy (elections, referendums, social dialogue, union negotiations, etc.). They inspire us to do likewise and more.
- They demonstrate because these days they no longer have any choice – their unfailing determination pushing them into direct confrontation with any and all forces blocking their just struggle – escalating clashes with the forces of capitalist order sent by the "socialist" government of Papandreou; expelling all "false-friends" from their street demonstrations – particularly union pontiffs whose organizations are party to government policy. For workers the world over, the determination of the Greek working class should be welcomed and adopted.
Though still dispersed and still expressing themselves through the trap of corporatism (with union encouragement), they are clearly attempting to spread, to join and to unite their struggle with others, mutually expressing their solidarity, realizing that their concerns and their interests are the same. This is what we’ve seen in the willingness shown by workers in separate demonstrations – to converge, to coalesce and to unify their forces, which the unions knowingly organized in separate locations.
For the working class to impose a balance of forces to force the bourgeoisie to retreat, understanding the unity of its struggle is indispensable and in fact vital. Such unity is achieved through the spread of active solidarity within each movement to other sectors and corporations, by dispatching mass delegations to factories and companies in each area. There is no worse or greater source of defeat than a fragmented and dispersed social front; it is just what the capitalists order and often get, thanks to the sabotage of the unions.
The confrontations unfolding in Greece show us that, if we are to develop our fight, spread our struggles, and unite them into a massive and powerful common front, then we must take things into our own hands. We must lead, control, and organize them ourselves. General Assemblies are a means to this end, for as many workers as possible must be gathered to decide the major objectives, directions and demands of our struggle, nominating elected delegates subject to immediate recall – delegates to represent us in the strike committees. We can't let our class "war" fall into the hands of so-called "specialists"!
Capitalism’s crisis can only get worse. Let there be no illusions. We can no longer buy the lies of the government and the media in the pay of the capitalist class! Today, the states of certain countries at the heart of capitalism are already on the verge of bankruptcy – Spain, Italy and especially Great Britain – with all states deeply in debt.
The entire international capitalist class intends to make the working class to pay for its crisis in all sectors, public and private, active workers, unemployed and pensioned, in every country, on all continents, from capitalism’s periphery to its center. None of us will escape. We can have no illusions!
Just as our class brothers in Greece are doing, we have to reject the fate that capitalism has in store for us. We must enter en masse in struggle, organizing a large, compact and powerful battlefront to drive back the bourgeoisie.
This is how our consciousness will develop, in our realization that capitalism is a deeply bankrupted system leading humanity to yet more misery and to its ultimate destruction through generalized war. It must be smashed. The only force capable of doing this is we, the international working class.
The world’s bourgeoisie wants the working class of all countries to pay for its system’s crisis.
Capitalism’s bankruptcy has only one outcome: a deepening misery for all of the exploited before demanding their lives be sacrificed in a world war, as we’ve already seen in 1914 and 1939.
Today, workers everywhere must reject the enormous sacrifices the bourgeoisie is imposing on them, so that tomorrow they will have the strength to do away with this class and its system.
March 9th, 2010
The Internal Fraction of the International Communist Current.
The Internationalist Communists of Montréal (Canada)
E-mail of IFICC : inter1925@yahoo.fr
To see our site : :www.bulletincommuniste.org
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