The Greek left tradition and the SYRIZA phenomenon

The Greek left tradition and the SYRIZA phenomenon

 May 3, 2016  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

AFTER THE OUTBREAK of the global economic crisis in 2008, Greece was actually the first Euro-area country where the neoliberal “shock doctrine” was imposed. (I thank Professor Vassilis Droucopoulos for his comments on an earlier version of this article.) This was an attempt to place the fallout of the systemic capitalist crisis on the shoulders of working people. These extreme austerity policies were disputed. A series of mass demonstrations and strikes ensued. [Read More]
Greece  SYRIZA  The European Union 

The crisis in Greece and the prospects for the Left

The crisis in Greece and the prospects for the Left

 November 20, 2015  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

THE POLITICAL LIFE OF GREECE during the last months has been determined by the quick and complete failure of SYRIZA to achieve its goals through negotiations with the leading powers of the European Union (EU): relaxation of the harsh austerity policies being applied to the country, a partial write-off of its unbearable debt, and thus mitigation of the humanitarian crisis. Though quite modest, SYRIZA’s aspirations were not therefore more realistic. Because of its commitment to Greece’s Eurozone and EU membership, SYRIZA from the very start subordinated itself to the operating principles of these institutions and the negotiating framework set by the creditors. [Read More]
Greece  SYRIZA  European Union 

Trotskyism in Greece

Trotskyism in Greece

 March 2, 2014  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

ON NOVEMBER 22, 2013, Nikos Manousakis, a member of the Platypus Affiliated Society in Thessoliniki, interviewed Andros Payiatsos, Secretary General of Xekinima or “Start,” the Greek chapter of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). What follows is an edited transcript of their conversation. A demonstration in Athens on November 18th, 2013. Banner reads: 'it's (rather) us or them' and Xekinima. Nikos Manousakis: Tell us about the Greek chapter of the CWI. [Read More]
Andros Payiatsos  Greece  Trotskyism  Xekinima 

Crisis of the eurozone and the Left

Responses to the global economic downturn

 July 3, 2012  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

THE FOLLOWING TRANSCRIPT is from an event that took place on April 2, 2012 at the University of Chicago, in conjunction with the 2012 Platypus International Convention, titled “Responses to the Global Economic Downturn.” Members and contacts of the Platypus Affiliated Society in Europe were invited to speak on their experience of leftist responses to the economic downturn. The speakers included Haseeb Ahmed (Netherlands), Valentin Badura (Austria), Cengiz Kulac (Austria), Moritz Roeger (Germany), Jerzy Sobotta (Germany), and Thodoris Velissaris (Greece). [Read More]
Crisis  Eurozone  Germany  Greece  Occupy 

Responses to the Global Economic Downturn

 April 2, 2012  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

A public forum with students, activists and organizers from across the globe held on April 2, 2012. Audio Recording Your browser does not support the audio element Transcript in Platypus Review #48 Panelists Haseeb Ahmed (Maastricht) Valentin Badura (Austria) Cengiz Kulac (Austria) Moritz Roeger (Germany) Jerzy Sobotta (Germany) Thodoris Velissaris (Greece) Moderated by Pam C. Nogales C. Description From teach-ins in the UK, occupations in Austria and Germany and protests in the Netherlands and Greece, responses to the economic downturn are international in character. [Read More]
Platypus International Convention 2012  Austria  Crisis  Europe  Germany  Global financial crisis  Greece  International  Internationalism  Maastricht  Netherlands 

Letter from Greece: Brief notes on Revolt and Crisis in Greece and the Greek situation

Review of Antonis Vradis and Dimitris Dalakoglou, eds., *Revolt and crisis in Greece: Between a present yet to pass and a future still to come*

 November 1, 2011  |  The Platypus Affiliated Society

Oakland: AK Press & Occupied London, 2011 What is happening here exceeds us. (199) THERE IS A BAD THEORETICAL HABIT common among leftists: the confirmation of revolutionary aspirations through an unmediated verification by the “facts” or “data.” The ghost of an “objective” reality obscures the effort to grasp the “concrete” as the combination of many abstractions and, instead, “a chaotic representation [Vorstellung] of the whole” (Marx) is preferred, offering a temporary foundation for self-affirmation and miraculously turning a “bad” reality into a “good” one. [Read More]
Antonis Vardis  Dimitris Dalakoglou  Greece  Europe  European Union