In autumn 2008, the global capitalist system fell into a crisis from which it has yet to emerge. What initially appeared as a crisis of solvency in the banking sector has morphed and shown itself time and time again around the world, taken on new and varied forms. The most alarming manifestation is as a crisis of sovereign debt, especially in the European Union.

The major European banks, in their never-ending quest to squeeze profit out of thin air, lent more money than they could afford to lose to governments on the “periphery” of the EU —specifically Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. Since these loans were seen as riskier than loans to more stable economies like the United States or Germany, the banks charged higher interest rates. With the global recession, though, government revenues have decreased and banks have come to understand just how unaffordable any loss on these loans would be.

Enter the “sovereign debt crisis.” In order to ensure their loans would be repaid, the major banks have insisted that these countries —especially Greece— institute programmes to decrease government spending by reducing public sector wages, pension and employment, as well as scale back social services and workers’ rights.

This will not solve the crisis, though. Every attack on the working class decreases its ability to buy things, which in turn forces production to slow down, the economy to stagnate, and government revenues to decrease. The capitalist system here is caught between a rock and a hard place: they could increase concessions to the working class, which will boost demand and economic growth, but they cannot afford to pay for those concessions; or they could institute austerity and cause economic stagnation.

The Greek sovereign debt crisis risks “contaminating” many other European countries’ financial systems —the most pressing threat being to Italy and Spain, which are the Eurozone’s third and fourth largest economies. This would be a disaster both for the EU and for the global capitalist system, and would plunge the world’s economies into yet another tailspin.

In order to ensure that these governments will be able to repay their debts, the capitalist class has demanded austerity from them as well. If they continue to be successful in instituting their austerity throughout Europe, the capitalists will set off workers’ resistance on a scale not seen for decades. It will also make them bolder, instituting similar policies in all the advanced capitalist world —Canada included. It is our responsibility to build a movement capable not only of combatting this incoming wave of attacks, but destroy the system which gives rise to them in the first place.

The Greek working class is more and more rejecting the programme of the capitalists and is fighting back!

The tactics utilized by the Greek working class in order to combat recent austerity measures imposed by the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund gained particular notoriety due to its widespread coverage on both domestic and international media. In early May, the workers of Greece, deeply affected by widespread layoffs, privatization, the gutting of social services and rising prices, responded to public call outs encouraging the Greeks to stand in solidarity against further austerity measures.

Hundreds of thousands of used and abused workers and young people gathered in and proceeded to occupy Athens’ Syntagma Square, chanting “We won’t pay!” —a slogan in opposition to consistently rising prices in recently privatized social services. Throughout the following weeks, the ‘Squares Movement’ could not be contained to Athens by teargas on the part of the police or reassurances on the part of politicians, but instead spread to other Greek city squares equally affected by austerity.

As Greek Parliamentarians prepared to debate a new round of austerity measures on June 15th, the protesters of Syntagma square attempted to block MPs from entering Parliament. These protesters were now joined by workers engaging in a 24-hour general strike in oppositions to the measures. In late June, when the time for Greek’s parliament to vote on the new round of proposed austerity measures had come, ADEDY and GSEE (Greek’s largest unions representing millions of public and private sector workers, respectively) organized an extended 48-hour general strike.

While the bourgeoisie’s personal puppet show deliberated on the finer details of robbing the working class, those same workers demonstrated their strength and solidarity by throwing their bodies upon the gears of Greek society. The operation of schools, banks, courts, trains, planes and ports halted to a stop, powerfully demonstrating not only the collective will but the ability of the Greek working class when faced with such a bold attack by the bourgeoisie.

Although the majority of the Greek leftist community attempted to organize anti-austerity sentiment around electoral reform, many communists headed straight to the squares in order to engage the masses in conversations about building real people’s power outside of a powerless parliament. The message of the KOE (Communist Organization of Greece) in particular focused upon building a revolution straight from the city square.

We salute the Greek working class for their determination and fighting spirit. Their fight is also ours, and it is upon us to see that they do not fight it alone.