Resistance in Greece-Vatikiotis- Nikolakaki

8/13/2019 Resistance in Greece-Vatikiotis- Nikolakaki

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From Hill, D. (ed.) (2013).Immiseration capitalism and Education:

Austerity, Resistance and Revolt. London: IEPS

Chapter

!e"i"tan#e in $ree#eLeonida" %ati&ioti" and 'aria i&ola&a&i

*"tra#tIn this chapter we discuss the social and political resistance against the brutal

neoliberal policies that have been imposed on Greece since May 2010 and offer

suggestions how to relieve the societal burden these draconian measures have placed

on Greek society. To begin we set out the situation of the labour and other

movements from the strikes of the trade unions to the assemblies of the s!uares and

the occupation movements. "urther we analy#e the so$called education reforms that

have been instituted since the crisis began and we discuss teachers% resistance to the

changes that have been imposed on them as a result of the crisis. "urthermore weanalyse the effects of the crisis on the working class movement and any kind of social

representation as a conse!uence of the attack of &apital that began in the aftermath

of the structural crisis of the 1'(0s. "inally we offer some considerations about the

necessary restructuring of the labor movement with regard to its structure and aims.

This restructuring is absolutely necessary for a more effective resistance and its role

in building for a better future.

n+er, #tii"m, and Prote"t" a+ain"t -roi&a and 'emorandaCapitalism, under the neoliberal facade, has been destroying the social contract and existing

notions of liberties. Politically, debt economy seems to be a more appropriate term thanfinance economy, not to mention financial capitalism (Lazarrato, 2!!, p. 2"#. $remendous

debt has been a feature of %irtually all the countries of the neoliberalized &orld. 'll member

countries of the uropean )nion, the )*', and +apan seem to o&e money some&here. ith

this debt economy, there has been an excuse to extend class &arfare to the &est. 'fter the

pri%atization of the state infrastructures, it seems that the pri%atization of social insurance

mechanisms, the indi%idualisation of social policies, and the dri%e to ma-e social protections

a function of business, constitute the foundations of the debt economy (Lazaratto, 2!!, p.

2#. /emocracy seems to become slashed and slaughtered and transformed into a debtocracy.

$he transformation of 0reece into the guinea pig of ne& Capital1s attac- has been

implemented in a massi%e &ay and on a national le%el through ) shoc- therapy (lein,23#. $he hurricane of austerity measures found &or-ing people unprepared in many

respects. $he first implementation of austerity measures began 4ust a fe& &ee-s after the

election of the go%ernment of 0eorge Papandreou in 2 &ho had defeated his ri%al by

promising increases in &ages. hen the anticipated economic impro%ement did not

materialize, thousands of ordinary people &ere initially unable to react because their dreams

of a better tomorro& &ere crushed by the se%erity of the ne& economic measures. 5ore

importantly, the prolonged political and organisational crisis that confronted the &or-ing

class mo%ement had already paralyzed its organs. 6n this context, 0ree- society &as

confronted &ith the biggest challenge of the post7&ar period (&ith the sole exception of the

military dictatorship, (!837!3"##, threatening achie%ements of a &hole century after ha%ing

lost in the mean&hile almost e%ery form of root organisation and forms of collecti%e action.' third parameter that explains the form and le%el of resistance against the $roi-a1s blitz-rieg


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and resistance from independent and left7&ing trade unions Athe occupy mo%ementA the

solidarity mo%ement and =the mo%ement of the s>uares1A and, finally, mo%ements that

demand cessation of paymentsBbe they tolls, repayments of loans to ban-s, and e%en public

debt. 6t is note&orthy that these forms of resistance, although they are not identical, ha%e

fre>uently de%eloped in close collaboration &ith one another. ?or example, the =mo%ement of

the s>uares1 ga%e momentum to solidarity acti%ities, and trade unions acti%ely supported the&e don1t pay mo%ement.

Closely related to these organised or collecti%e mo%ements, an unusual and intense acti%ism

occurred in terms of &ide scale personal actions. ?or example, for the first time e%er,

conser%ati%e politicians and 4ournalists &ere characterised as persona non grata, and

outraged people &ould attac- them in public places (in streets, cafs, and restaurants# &ithout

being encouraged by parties or other mass mo%ement organisations. 'lthough forms of

protest li-e these gained a massi%e character, especially in 2!! and 2!2 up to the spring

elections 2!2(at such a rate that &ell -no&n ministers such as '. /iamantopoulou, the

ducation 5inister at the time, &ore disguises to reach the Parliament building#, &e are not

exploring them here because of their indi%idual, non7collecti%e character.

//i#ial *rea#rati# trade nion"9e%er in 0reece, at least since the fall of the /ictatorship of the Colonels !3", ha%e so many

stri-es been declared in such a short period as those that ha%e been declared since the

$roi-a1s arri%al. 5ore specifically, in 2! there &ere six general 2"7hour7long Pan7Dellenic

stri-es. 6n 2!! there &ere fi%e general 2"7hour7long stri-es, one 2"7hour7long stri-e only for

state o&ned enterprises, and t&o "E7hour7long general stri-es. 6n 2!2 there &ere four 2"7

hour7long stri-es and t&o "E7hour7long stri-es. 6n 2!:, there has already, as of 'ugust 2!:,

been one 2"7hour7long general stri-e. 6n an addition to these, there &ere stri-es that lastedless than a day (t&o in 2!2#, those that &ere not nation&ide (three in 2!, t&o in 2!2, and

one in 2!: for the 'ttica prefecture#, and there &ere many hundreds concerning specific

factories or &or-places. 'll of the abo%e mentioned stri-es ha%e also been declaredF

supported by the t&o biggest official confederations of trade unions, the pri%ate sector trade

union confederation (0*# and the public sector trade union confederation ('//G#. 6n

the rallies organized during these stri-es, there &ere often more than !, stri-ers,

pensioners, and young people ta-ing part. 'long &ith these aforementioned stri-es, there

&ere also serious, if smaller scale, stri-es in other sectors such as the public utilities, electric

energy, ban-s, health, and so on.

$he 'chilles1 heel of e%ery stri-e in 0reece is the %ery lo& le%el of unionisation in thepri%ate sector. 6n general, there are sectors and firms &here the constitutional right of

participating in a stri-e is being steadily %iolated because it is possible to be fired as a

conse>uence. $he 0eneral Confederation (0*# has ne%er tried to brea- from this negati%e

situation in the 0ree- pri%ate sector, sho&ing in this &ay, its respect for the rule of Capital.

$he stronghold of official trade unions (e%en those of the supposedly pri%ate sector unions

such as those in 0*# is the public sector in the broader sense i.e. public utilities and state

o&ned enterprises. $he pri%ileged membership of these trade unions forms the aristocracy of

the 0ree- &or-ing class.

6t is not ris-y to predict that recent de%elopments in the economy raise doubts about ta-ing

part in stri-es and the effecti%eness of the labor mo%ement. ?irst of all, the right to stri-e in

former public enterprises cannot be ta-en as gi%en because of the massi%e &a%e of


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pri%atization.


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bloody riots in $ahrir s>uare against 5ubara-1s )*7supported dictatorship inspired *paniards

and then 0ree-s &ho increasingly, during their demonstrations, demanded that *yntagma

*>uare in 'thens be renamed $ahrir *>uare.

$he mo%ement of the s>uares spread >uic-ly to the entire country, in spite of the fact that the

biggest political party of the Left (that used to be the , prior to the elections of spring2!2# denounced it publicly. ithin about six months the s>uares of the biggest cities of

0reece (approximatelyII of them# &ere occupied by young people &ho organized

discussions and assemblies, film %ie&ings, and concerts in an attempt to gi%e continuity and

depth to their struggle against the 5emoranda and the $roi-a. or-ing groups formed by the

assemblies &rote informati%e contributions summarizing and explaining economic, legal, and

historic arguments against public debt, austerity, and so forth. 9e%ertheless, the scope of this

mo%ement &as limited and its presence &as seasonal. ?or many thousands of young people

*yntagma *>uare &as their first brush &ith collecti%e and political processes. $he radicalism

and democratic %ision of the 5o%ement of the *>uares failed to produce a more permanent

radical political foothold because of its intrinsic contradictions. 6ts fate &ould ha%e been %ery

different if its political stigma had been influenced by the independent class labor mo%ement.

$&o issues closely related to *yntagma *>uare deser%e special attention. $he first is the

phenomenon of solidarity economy, &hich first appeared in the summer of 2!! in the

s>uares, encouraging the interchange of goods and ser%ices &ithout the use of money. 6ts

proliferation through the opening of hundreds of non7profit cooperati%es from one side of

0reece to the other &as the result of increasing po%erty that led to thousands going hungry.

$he second issue is a tragic incident that occurred in *yntagma *>uare@ the suicide of

the 337year7old pensioner /imitris Chistoulas on 'pril ", 2!2. 5r. Chistoulas

committed suicide as a form of protest in front of dozens of eye&itnesses passing by

*yntagma *>uare. Dis clear political message &as imprinted in the note that he left@

$he $sola-oglou!occupation go%ernment has literally reduced to nothing my

sur%i%al capability &hich depended on a respectable pension &hich, o%er :I

years, 6 solely (&ithout state contribution# ha%e paid into. 's 6 am at an age

&here 6 no longer ha%e the po&er to resist acti%ely (though of course 6 donJt rule

it out, if any 0ree- too- up a alashni-o% 6Jd be the second to do so#, 6 can find

no other solution for a dignified end before 6 end up see-ing through garbage to

feed myself. 6 belie%e that the youths &ithout a future &ill someday ta-e up

arms and &ill hang the national traitors upside do&n in *yntagma *>uare, li-e

the 6talians hanged 5ussolini in !"I Kin the Piazza Poreto in 5ilan.

'oement" a+ain"t priate and p*li# de*t5any months, e%en years, before slogans against the public debt and ban-s dominated 0ree-

s>uares, thousands of people demanded that the go%ernment stop ser%icing the debt by no

longer paying the bills.

$he birth of the 0ree- mo%ement against the payments under the slogan e don1t pay

(&hich later added the phrase &e don1t o&e and in the next step &e don1t sell# dates bac-

to 2E before the appearance of the so%ereign debt crisis. $he mo%ement &as the citizens1

response to the continuous and un4ustified increases in motor&ay toll fees. $he phrase &edon1t pay highlighted the ac-no&ledgment of, yet simultaneous re4ection of personal


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responsibility, &hile its message &ent beyond the call for massi%e demonstrations. 6t called

on 0ree- citizens to refuse to pay tolls, fees in hospitals, extra taxes in energy bills, and to

decline to ma-e payments to tax authorities, pay for bus tic-ets, and many other charges to

protest against successi%e tax increases. $he mo%ement disturbed authorities and the

establishment, leading them to ad4ust again and again the la& by either ma-ing it more

flexible as a form of retreat (allo&ing pensioners to pay less for bus tic-ets# or ma-ing itmore puniti%e (prosecuting those &ho refused to pay toll fees#.

' much more ambitious initiati%e unfolded against the public debt by the 0ree- Public /ebt

'udit Committee (L in 0ree-#, &hich &as formed in 5arch of 2!!. 6ts founding

members &ere economists, constitutionalists, members of Parliament, and militants of the

labour mo%ement &ho as-ed to open the boo-s of the 0ree- public debt. Comparable

initiati%es in many other uropean countries formed >uic-ly and started the social struggle

against public debt.

Impli#ation" and !e"i"tan#e in Ed#ation9eoliberalism targets education in manifest &ays. 's Compton and einer(2E# ha%e

obser%ed, the global pro4ect to destroy education as a publicly7funded cornerstone of

democracy has been >uite o%ert for more than four decades, if one loo-ed for e%idence in the

right places@ reports from the orld Han-, 4ournals of finance, and prospectuses for

corporations penetrating the Meducational mar-et,1 and research. ?or the &ealthy, po&erful

elite, public expenditures on educating &or-ers beyond the s-ill le%el needed for lo& paying

4obs seem to be a foolish &aste of money.

$o understand educational =reform1, &e must see the bigger picture of the restructuring of

capitalism and debtocracy. $o comprehend their goals, &e need to loo- beyond employer

protestations that they &ant &or-ers &ith more education because the reality is that more thanIN of the 4obs that ha%e been created need only an E thgrade education (2ndgrade of lo&er

high school, age !8#.

Impli#ation" /or #ompl"or ed#ation)nder the 5emorandum regime that re>uires the citizens of 0reece to pay bac- an alleged

and unscrutinised debt, social ser%ices such as education and health care ha%e been

significantly reduced. $he per capita expenditure for education before the 5emorandum &as

:.3N of the 0/P (2#, and no& (2!:# it has been reduced to 2.2N total, ma-ing 0reece a

country &ith one of the smallest percentages of the 0/P spent on education in the ). 6n the

5emorandum there is a clause that says that education expenses must be reduced by :N, so

more than :, teachers &ill ha%e to be fired. 't the same time, :N of uni%ersitydepartments &ill close.

6n primary and secondary education, massi%e cuts ha%e already ta-en place in education,

resulting in school closures, o%erlarge classes, lac- of materials and boo-s, crumbling

buildings, and the destruction of support ser%ices.

's Lois einer (2!:# remar-ed, the aim is to ma-e public education a Mfree mar-et1 open to

entrepreneursA create a re%ol%ing door of minimally7trained teachersA reduce the curriculum

to basic math and literacy content that &or-ers &ill need to compete for lo&7paid 4obsA

control teachers, students, and future citizens &ith standardized testingA and &ea-en public

o%er%ie& of education by brea-ing up school systems, replacing them &ith pri%ately operatedschools and net&or-s. $his is part of a global pro4ect. /ebt ma-es it seem inescapable.


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5ore than !,:: schools &ere closed during the 2!!72!2 school year, ma-ing 0reece the

country &ith the most school closures in the ). ?or the next year 2!:7!" more school

closures are under &ay. $his year (2!:72!"# !!E schools are going to close, :! of them in

primary education and EE in pre7school education, &hile : schools are being merged.

$argeting and scapegoating teachers is one of the means of neoliberalism in this globalpro4ect. $he orld Han- calls for teachers to become more accountable. Hut the report has an

important shift, noting that proponents of these reforms

should recognize up7front that accountability7oriented reforms implemented at

any scale &ill li-ely face challenges, from both teachers1 unions and education

bureaucracies. or-ing as much as possible to create coalitions for reformB

and using information and communications channels to dri%e home the goals

and benefits of the reformsBis criticalOHut humility and flexibility may be

e>ually important factors ( orld Han-, 2!!, p. 2"3#.

e see this ne& stance of humility and flexibility as rhetoric that can easily be read as

humiliation and degradation of teachers. $a-ing the spirit out of the souls of the teachers is a

primary goal of debtocracy.

Cuts in education in 0reece include cuts in teachers1 salaries of up to "N. 's a result,

teachers are li%ing at the edge of po%erty and are demoralized. $eacher e%aluation la&s &ere

passed in 5arch 2!:, according to &hich teachers &ill be e%aluated by their head teacher,

by the inspector, by the le%el of, student performance (standardised testing#, and by parents.

$his multi7le%el e%aluation of teachers, including standardised testing in the follo&ing years

&ill ma-e teachers responsible for the results of the crisis. 5ass media and go%ernmentofficials ha%e already started to blame teachers for not &or-ing enough and for there being

too many of them.

6t is true that not enough teachers are informed of this neoliberal pro4ect and are con%enient

%ictims of the system. $eacher e%aluation has not existed in the educational system since

!EI, and this fact ma-es the rhetoric on the matter seem to be based on remo%ing bad

teachers, an argument that pacifies many teachers &ho do not regard themsel%es as bad.

't the same time, teaching hours ha%e been increased. 6n addition, but !:, short term

(ad4unct# teachers in secondary education &ill not be assigned, that is, gi%en 4obs, again on

the same status ( month contract# $he ministry claims that out of these, E,I &ill be

rehired &ith a &age of " euros, less than the minimum &age . $he burden for teachersincreases, along &ith class size. Conse>uently, there &ill be less money, more hours of

teaching, more students per class, and more insecurity. 5ore flexibility and humility as the

orld Han- demands.

$he 0ree- educational system has al&ays been highly centralized. $extboo-s are the same

for all classes around the country, and they ha%e been distributed for free to all students since

the mid7&ar period. $his practice &ill be changed this year since textboo-s &ill ha%e to be

returned. Hecause students are supposed to &rite in these textboo-s, it &ill be >uestionable

ho& this goal is to be achie%ed.


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attempted to amend the constitution to allo& for pri%ate uni%ersities and to facilitate a radical

change in the frame&or- of the public uni%ersities to allo& pri%ate enterprise to fund public

education. 'll of these plans failed because of the massi%e protests by students and staff that

erupted in the spring of 28 and the &inter of 23. 6t &as a %ictory &ith further

implications since, as much as the go%ernment &ants to, they still, at the present time, cannot

demand fees from students for higher education.

' first attempt in the further neoliberalization of higher education &as through the la&

"F!!, &hich decreed that the uni%ersities &ould be ruled by 'dministrati%e Councils

including substantial representation from business people. $his proposal &as dismissed by

the ma4ority of academia, &ho resisted &ith passion. /espite that, more than 2I out of :

5Ps %oted for that la&, e%en though the ma4ority of academics opposed it.

$he 'dministrati%e Councils had to be elected by the uni%ersity professors of each

uni%ersity. $he professors refused and resisted using e%ery possible means. 'll elections

across the country &ere dismissed. $he students &ere %ery acti%e and supported this

resistance. $his occurred at the first le%el of resistance.

$he la& &as then re%ised by the la& "3I, of 'pril 2!2. and it &as made mandatory to %ote

for or against the 'dministrati%e Councils electronically. $hus, because academics &ere

afraid of potential repercussions for their 4obs if they did not %ote, since electronic %oting is a

shado&y electoral process, the la& &as applied. 't this point, electronic super%ision became

possible, and democratic principles, such as the secret ballot, &ere %iolated on a massi%e

scale.

' further reaction of 0ree- academics &as to start an international petition against this la&,

and more than intellectuals from "8 countries supported it. 9oam Choms-y, *la%o4

Qize-, Denry 0iroux, /a%e Dill, +udith Hutler, and others lent their %oices to this petition in

'ugust 2!..

Digher education in 0reece, as in much of urope, has been battered by the recession and

austerity measures. Hudget cuts of " percent since 2 mean, for example, that buildings

are not heated in the &inter. *chools ha%e slashed faculty salaries, and ne&ly hired

professors ha%e been &aiting for their appointment since the regulations of the 5emorandum

came into effect.

Hecause of the debtocracy, this crisis, and the denigration of the uni%ersity, the academic

character of the uni%ersity as a public commodity is in retreat. $he discourse and reform

policies of the $roi-a, alternating in go%ernment o%er the past three years, occur on threele%els@ first, that of internal reform on the basis of neoliberal technocratic modernization of

mainly structural7functional characteristicsA second, that of adapting to, and fulfilling the

re>uirements of the establishment of a modern Panopticon (9i-ola-a-i R Pasias, 2!#A

and third, that of restricting budgets for higher education by "N.

$he ne&ly formed 'dministrati%e Councils of the uni%ersities reflect an effort at neoliberal

reform. *pecifically, people from the mar-ets are appointed, and it is their tas- to ma-e

decisions about the future of higher education in 0reece. $his great transformation of

go%ernance of higher education can be read as surrendering uni%ersities and polytechnic

schools to the mar-ets.


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't the le%el of internal reform, there is clear e%idence of the influence of a technocracy based

economy characterized by, first, the ideology of the neoliberal model of the mar-etA second,

the promotion of management based on the enterprise modelA and, third, the technocratic

concept regarding assessment and accountability processes (9i-ola-a-i R Pasias, 2!#.

$he bul- of criticism concerning the changesFreforms in the area of tertiary education underthe $roi-a reform refers to processes of promoting the gradual deconstruction of the

academic character and the decline of the uni%ersity as a public good through the promotion

of a neoliberal technocratic modernisation based on the enterprise model and economic

efficiency.

's part of the resistance to neoliberalization of the 0ree- uni%ersity, the follo&ing critical

>uestions or issues ha%e been raised by 0ree- academia@ *tate responsibility cannot be

restricted to the proper functioning of e%aluation, sur%eillance, and accountability

mechanismsA the state cannot turn into a super%ising agent but should be a guarantor of

stability of the uni%ersity1s function as a public good to the benefit of both sides. 6n other

&ords, a basic issue concerning the role of administrati%e councils that &as &idely raised&ithin 0ree- academia is the emergence and ascendancy of the ideology of a sciento7

technocratic hybridisation and the creation of a neo7technocratic elite managerFtechnocrat.

$his is associated &ith radical changes in the Mpo&er7-no&ledge1 relations concerning

go%ernmentality issues of higher education, about &hatF&hose needs uni%ersities should

ser%e, society1s, the indi%idual1s,or the mar-et1s. $his ne& technocracy is to establish

regimes of truth, such as accountability, performati%ity etc., &hich legitimize and promote

an educational MPanopticon1 (go%ernmentality based on sur%eillance %ia a frame&or- of

international rules, e%aluation by technocrat7managers based on performati%ity,

accountability based on efficiency in the attainment of target7oriented actions, funding

contingent upon performance#. (9i-ola-a-i R Pasias, 2!#. $his is a ma4or shift in the

significance of higher education for society, &hich has al&ays been, until no&, the

construction of the critical and &ell7 rounded educated manF&oman &ho fulfills hisFher

potential and gi%es real meaning through hisFher contribution to the public space, social and

economic.

-he atta#& a+ain"t oth in $ree#e


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ith such high unemployment, if youth does not depart, it &ill go bac- to li%e at home. $his

dra&bac- of a combination of capitalism &ith patriarchy has a significant impact to the role

of &omen. *pecifically, at a time &hen young and not7so7young people (e%en up to the age of

" or "I# are obliged to go bac- to li%e &ith their parents because they are unemployed and

can no longer pay their rent, their electricity bills, their groceries, it is their mothers and theirsisters &ho ha%e to feed them, to attend e%ery day to their physical but also psychological

needs. $hey cannot start a life, they cannot find a house, get married, ha%e children. $hey are

not entitled to lea%e their print in this &orld. $hey are not entitled to their dignity.

ducation is an ideological apparatusFmechanism of the state in order to create the suitable

citizen according to the status >uo. )nder debtocracy, the aim of the system through

education is to crush the soul of the youth as Denry 0iroux has extensi%ely argued, before it

can undermine the system. *ince there is no more intention of creating 4obs, security, or a

%iable future of any -ind, as 0iroux (2"# has pointed out, the system insidiously promotes

the limitation of personal creati%ity and freedom, &hile it attempts to create a culture of fear

to ensure that young people &ill not resist the dominant ideology in its %ariousmanifestations. $he system1s ultimate goal is to subordinate the youth, &ho, left to their o&n

de%ices, might perform actions, &hose implications the system definitely &ants to a%oid. 't

the same time, the youth, no longer a social in%estment, has lost its established cultural

position, &hich is hard for society to s&allo&. 's 0iroux (2"# notes, 's despairing as

these conditions appear at the present moment, they increasingly ha%e become a basis for a

surge of political resistance on the part of many Gouth, intellectuals, labour unions, educators

and social mo%ements (p. !:#.

!e"i"tan#e in Primar and Se#ondar Ed#ation

$here ha%e been many manifestations of resistance in education o%er the last three yearssince the implementation of the 5emorandum. 6ndeed, these manifestations ha%e ta-en

%arious forms. 't the school le%el, teachers of both primary and secondary education ha%e

created mo%ements to compensate for the neoliberal measures that ha%e hurt the students.

$utorpool, a solidarity form of assisting &ea- students &ho could not afford pri%ate tutoring,

has been established by secondary teachers &ho &ant to support poor students and -eep them

on trac- in educational achie%ements.

hen hunger struc- at poor 0ree- students1 doors, it &as primary and secondary education

teachers, &ho mobilized and tried to find food to pro%ide for their students, from churches

and other social institutions. 's pedagogues, they al&ays sought to do this discreetly, and

many times they had to buy food themsel%es to pro%ide for their students.

$eachers across the country are concerned about the fact that e%er more students turn to the

political message of the neo79azist party 0olden /a&n as a result of the crisis and because of

their o&n ignorance and frustration. $he teachers recognize the potential threat the

recruitment by 0olden /a&n &ill ha%e on their students1 morality and the future of 0ree-

society, so teachers ha%e been informing students about the brutal facts and implications of

9azism. 5any teachers ha%e been %ictimized and are under threat of being fired although

they are public ser%ants. *o far, in 0reece, being a public ser%ant has meant ha%ing a

permanent 4ob. Do&e%er, under the demand of the $roi-a a total of :, public ser%ants

ha%e to be fired by the end of 2!". $hus, the 5inistry of 6nternal 'ffairs established that

anyone &ho is under any -ind of legal procedure &ill be fired. 5any 0olden /a&ners ha%esued teachers in order for them to be in%ol%ed in litigation and thereby able to be fired. $hese


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measures demonstrate the absolute demolition of democracy since in democracies the

accused are innocent until pro%en guilty.

hen school closures -noc-ed on their doors, there &as resistance by the teachers1 unions

(


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police state that has been established in 0reece during the debtocracy regime and the %iolence

against demonstrations has curtailed, to a significant degree, the potential resistance against

the measures that are ta-en. Do&e%er, although it seems as if the educational mo%ement has

been hurt for the time being, it surely has not been defeated, and there are many goals to be

accomplished in the future.

-he e#e""ar r+aniation o/ the !e"i"tan#e. Loo&in+ /or4ard to a

Strate+i# Contertta#& o/ the La*or 'oement'ccording to the 0ree- ruling class, the mainstream Press, the uropean )nion, and the

6nternational 5onetary ?und (65?#, the 0ree- crisis &as an outcome of the o%er7expansion

of the public sector and the sharp increase of public spending. Conse>uently, the measures

that could confront the crisis &ere aimed at reducing public sector and other rele%ant

spending and at increasing public re%enues. 't the same time, designers of the 0ree-

structural ad4ustment program did not hide their focus on the producti%e base of the 0ree-

economy, in terms of capital accumulation@ $he structural fissure is in &ea-

competiti%eness, %oiced by the representati%es of creditors from the %ery first moment (65?,2!#. 6n this &ay, e%en the ruling class had accepted that it &asn1t mainly fiscal

paraphrasing a term used against 65? (6t1s 5ostly ?iscal#O

6n reality, the 0ree- crisis &as a mixture of many different -inds of crises. $he inability of

the ruling class to gi%e a safe and permanent solution to the crisis e%en three years after its

inception, despite the draconian austerity measures, is transparent. 6n essence, the 0ree-

crisis is a classic so%ereign debt crisis, triggered by a huge budgetary deficit and public debt

caused by the 0ree- ruling class (Uati-iotis R osmas, 2!!#. 6t is a crisis of the falling

tendency of the profit rate that brings to the surface the structural &ea-nesses of the 0ree-

economy (5aniatis R Passas, 2!2#. 6n addition, it is a crisis of the uropean monetary union

of &hich 0reece has been a part since 2! (Lapa%itsas et al., 2!2#. $he 0ree- crisis cannotbe explained on a strictly national le%el because it is the reflection of an international crisis as

it appeared in the )nited *tates in 2E &ith the collapse of the subprime mortgage mar-et

(*hai-h, 2!!#.

*ubse>uently, the labour mo%ement has been obliged to gi%e a strategic response to the

current attac- of capital, to challenge capital1s dominance, intensified by its o&n side of the

class conflict (Dill, 2!2#. $he most crucial area &here this response &ill be 4udged is that of

the demands, &hich concentrates the political direction and the content of the struggle.

'gainst this strategic attac- of capital, there is an imminent need for a program of demands

that could relie%e the social ma4ority. ach of these demands could be realized today under

pressure from the social mo%ements, but they cannot be realized as a &hole &hile thedemands exist as a radical program of claims and are not in synch &ith today1s system. $heir

common character is that they challenge the po&er of capitalA they are aggressi%e and they

are in a position to impro%e the situation of the &or-ing and middle classes. $hese demands

are@ cessation of payments and the abolition of debt, exit from the urozone and the uropean

)nion, nationalisation of ban-s and of firms of strategic importance, increases in &ages,

salaries, and pensions, and the empo&erment of the public sphere. $he adoption by the labour

mo%ement of these demands &ill determine the shape of ho& the 0ree- crisis de%elops..

Ce""ation o/ pament", a*olition o/ the de*t$he position that borro&ers should honor their debt obligations could not be further from the

truth &hen &e focus on states, and remember that in the pri%ate economy ban-ruptcies and

refusals to pay off one1s debt are a matter of cost7benefit analysis &ithout ta-ing into


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consideration moral issues. Loo-ing at the bigger picture, it &ill be e%ident that in the course

of history, state ban-ruptcies are the rule, not the exception. 5ore specifically, bet&een !E

and 2 at least 2I so%ereign external default episodes ha%e been recorded, and at least 8E

cases of default on domestic public debt ha%e occurred (;einhart R ;ogoff, 2#.

'ccording to the same authors, it is far from the norm the current period of honoring the

debt obligations. 6n this long history of defaults the protagonists1 role does not belong tocredit un&orthy rogue states of the $hird orld. 6t belongs to 0ermany, the nation that

today has placed under its direct tutelage, 0reece and other countries of the urozone

periphery because of their debts 0ermany is responsible for the biggest ban-ruptcies during

the 2thcentury. $hree times it defaulted on its debts@ in the !:s (on a huge debt that &as

e>ual to the cost of 2E financial crisis#, in !I: and in !. 's a result, 0ermany is

characterized by the prominent 5unich7born economic historian 'lbrecht ;itschl &ho

teaches at the London *chool of conomics as the biggest debt transgressor of the 2 th

century (;itschl, 2!!#. ' %ictim of this transgression &as 0reece &hich had to forgo the

reparations, paying t&ice for 0erman imperialism. 9o& 0reece pays for a third time.

)ndoubtedly, defaults are not all of the same -ind. ?irstly, &e should dra& a basic di%idingline bet&een the creditor7led defaults, &hich are those that are imposed by lenders and

debtor7led defaults, &hich are those defaults that are imposed &ithout the creditors1

agreement. $he most stri-ing example of the first, creditor7led case is the 0ree- restructuring

of debt in 5arch 2!2, as &ell as the Hrady Plan, &hich &as named after the ).*. $reasury

*ecretary 9icholas Hrady, and referred to the restructuring of the public debt of tens of

countries during the !Es. $heir common feature, in a %ast ma4ority of the countries, is their

puniti%e character due to austerity measures that accompanied &riting off part of the debt and

the priority gi%en to the creditors1 interests and not to those of the people and nations. 6t

should be stressed that both defaults (the Hrady Plan and P*62# had the same architect@

Charles /allara. 6n the !Es, he spent !I months at the ).*. $reasury managing the Latin

'merica crisis, and from 2!! to 2!2 he spent many months in 'thens, as managing

director of the 6nstitute of 6nternational ?inance &or-ing &ith the political leadership and

urozone officials on behalf of ban-s and financial institutions (?idler, 2!!#.


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one fifth and tripling of the reser%e army of labour &ere the cost of the surrender of 0reece to

its creditors. *caremongering that is &idely repeated by the Press and mainstream political

parties about the damaging conse>uences after a default (international isolation, expulsion of

mar-ets, transformation to a closed economy, etc.# are not confirmed by recent history and

sound li-e threats from the creditors1 side.

$he precedent of cuador sho&s the huge %alue of the auditing of public debt as a means to

pro%e that public debt is illegal, illegitimate, or odious and for this reason should not be paid

(0o%ernment of cuador, 6nternal 'uditing Commission for the Public Credit of cuador,

2E#. 6n this case, the concept of odious debt pro%ed to be %ery useful. *uch a debt is

defined as follo&s@ first, it does not ser%e the interests of the people or the stateA second, the

go%ernment had no legitimacy or citizens1 agreement to underta-e this debt, and, third, the

creditors &ere a&are of this situation (*ac-, !23#. $his understanding, &hich &as used by

cuador1s president ;afael Correa in 2E, had been used for the first time more than a

century before, in !EE, by the )*' after the annexation of Cuba. $hen ashington &anted

to get rid of the loans that had been left behind by *pain1s colonialism.

$oday, 0reece should refuse to pay off its public debt, announcing imminent cessation of

payments and denunciation of t&o loan agreements due to the follo&ing fi%e reasons. $hese

examples gi%e 0reece a solid base to demand, and succeed in, the abolition of its public debt@

?irst, 0ermany, according to the ?rench economist and consultant to the ?rench go%ernment

+ac>ues /elpla, o&es I3I bn. euros to 0reece from orld ar 66 obligations (/elpla, 2!!#.

)ntil no&, 0ermany has been refusing to pay its obligations to 0reece arising from the

occupation loan and &ar reparations. $hese amount to !.I times the current %alue of the

0ree- public debt. Conse>uently, &ith e%ery attempt to enforce international economic

liabilities and transactions, 0ermany should ac-no&ledge its obligations to 0reece and

transmit immediately I3I bn. uros to 0reece. 6t is unacceptable from e%ery aspect (moral,

political, historical, and economic# that 0ermany refuses to pay off an occupation loan &hose

legal character &as e%en recognized by 'dolf Ditler, &ho ga%e orders to start its repayment.

$his repayment process has been left unfinished until no&.

*econd, 0reece should resort (again# to the clause of emergency situations that &as used

for the first time in !:E by the representati%e of the 0ree- state before the Permanent

6nternational Court. 's the representati%e claimed, &hen a state is charged &ith liabilities

against its creditors, &hich it cannot fulfill concomitantly to its obligations to its o&n people,

then it must prioritize basic social needs, e%en if this is at the expense of the creditors

(Permanent Court of 6nternational +ustice !:E7!:#. 5ore specifically, no country isre>uired to fulfill, in &hole or in part, its financial obligations, if this 4eopardizes the

functioning of its public ser%ices and results in disorganizing the country. here the

repayment of loans threatens financial life and the administration, the go%ernment is obliged

to halt or to reduce the ser%icing of its debt (,earbook of International -aw &ommission

!E#. $he %alidity of this precedent &as re7asserted %ery recently, &hen 9estor irchner1s

go%ernment declared a default on 'rgentina1s so%ereign debt in%o-ing a state of public

emergency in the social, economic, administrati%e, financial and exchange rates &ith the 9o

2I.I8!, &hich &as adopted by the 'rgentinean Congress on +anuary 8, 22 (atrougalos,

2!!#.


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6n 0reece, there are all the preconditions that allo& the state to in%o-e these successful

examples and default on its public debt@ explosion of unemployment, po%erty and hunger,

homelessness, and suicides in addition closures of schools, uni%ersities, and hospitals.

$hird, the agreements &ith the $roi-a %iolate national and international la&s. $he loan

treaties ha%e not been ratified by the 0ree- parliament, not e%en through simple ma4ority%oting, despite the fact that the constitution re>uires an increased ma4ority since these are

international commitments for 0reece. $he %iolations of the la& do not stop here. $he legal

edifice constructed since 5ay 2! constitutes a legal coup@ in particular, the suppression of

legal minimum &agesA the application of 'nglo7*axon and Luxembourgian la&, and the

recognition of the uropean Court of +ustice1s 4urisdiction in case of disputesA the &ai%er of

immunity on reasons of national so%ereignty, as &ell as the blo& to basic social rights,

constitute a %iolation of the 0ree- Constitution, of international labour la&, and )9 $reaties.

?ourth, the agreements &ith the $roi-a, not only in 0reece but also in 6reland and Portugal,

&ere imposed in a context of blac-mail %iolating the ethics and the trust that usually go%ern

transactions ($oussaint R Ui%ien, 2!!#. 9ot only in 0reece but also in 6reland and Portugal,the $roi-a exploited its superior negotiating position imposing its o&n terms on the other

party, &hich had no room for negotiation. 6n this context, e%ery contract is %oid.

?ifth, both the rescue loans and the public debt are an emblematic case of odious debt,

sho&ing that this clause could be used e%en in ad%anced capitalist countries of the northern

hemisphere &ith democratically elected go%ernmentsBnot only in cases of military regimes.

6n accordance &ith the first condition of recognizing debt as odious, these loans did not

ser%e the interests of the citizens or the state. $he aim of the loans &as to ensure that 0reece

&as going to pay its debts to the creditors and to rescue the ban-s. ?rom 2! to 2!:, &hen

the first loan agreement of ); !! bn &as to be concluded, the bonds to be paid off reached

!:.3 bn. because they had reached maturity. $hus, the loan &as securing that the debt &ould

be paid off by cancelling the possibility of cessation of payments. ?urthermore, according to

the Hritishaily Telegraphup to +anuary 2!2, only ! cents from each euro of the bailout

money &as going to the budget.


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$hird orld for the benefit of ad%anced capitalist countries1 multinational firms. $he

uropean )nion did exactly the same dirty 4ob for the benefit of 0ermany and northern

countries, li-e ?rance, $he 9etherlands, and ?inland. *ubse>uently, the implementation of

any -ind of industrial policy, e%en in a capitalist context, is impossible &hile remaining in the

).

0reece1s continued membership of the ) also renders impossible the implementation of

capital controls for the protection of domestic production from imports. 'gain, &e are not

spea-ing about tools of a re%olutionary economic policy of a &or-ers1 state. e are tal-ing

about the means that &ere used extensi%ely during these last years by the go%ernments of

irchner in 'rgentina or Lula and ;ousseff in Hrazil. 'rticle 8 of the most recent

fundamental uropean text states that only the CouncilO may unanimously, and after

consulting the uropean Parliament, adopt measures &hich constitute a step bac-&ards in

)nion la& as regards the liberalisation of the mo%ement of capital thus prohibiting any

member state from implementing capital controls (Lisbon $reaty, signed in 2#.

'n ) exit is also necessary for the implementation of redistributi%e policies. 'fter the onsetof the fiscal crisis, first Herlin and later the ), %oted in a series of strict rules aiming to

lo&er deficit and debt, &hich &ere soon characterized as a fiscal /achau. $he most

prominent among other measures &as the ?iscal Compact (or $reaty on *tability,

Coordination and 0o%ernance in the conomic and 5onetary )nion#, &hich &as decided

upon on 5arch 2, 2!2, %iolating the principle of unanimity since it &as accepted by only 2I

of the 23 ) member states. $he ?iscal Compact included a debt bra-e, &hich ga%e a

permanent and institutional character to austerity, transforming it to an automatic austerity

(Corporate urope ue &as focused on the deregulation that &as

imposed in this sector in !, under the Hill Clinton go%ernment, &hen the most basic

pro%isions of the 0lass 7 *teagall 'ct of !:: &ere repealed. $he imminent result of this

repeal &as the emergence of a shado& ban-ing sector and the explosion of speculation bymeans of le%erage and financial inno%ation as the Ponzi schemes &ere euphemistically


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called. $he /odd7?ran- la& of 2! &ould supposedly re&rite the rules of all *treet. 6n

practice, though, nothing has changed and the la& is an ob4ect lesson in the go%ernment1s

inability to institute e%en the simplest and most ob%ious reforms, especially if those reforms

happen to clash &ith po&erful financial interests ($aibi, 2!2#.

*econd, the importance of nationalisation is emphasized because of the threat that theban-ing union, &hich is planned by the ), represents (uropean Commission, 2!2#. )nder

this pro4ect, &hich &as decided at the uropean Council of 2EF2 +une 2!2, ) leaders

agreed to design a single ban-ing super%ision mechanism in the euro area as one of the

remedies for the current crisis. 6n practice, the most li-ely scenario is the acceleration of the

mergers and ac>uisitions among the E, ban-s that are already in progress. 't the end of

this process &ill be a much smaller ban-ing sector &ith fe&er ban-s but &ith much better

capital flo&. 0erman ban-s &ill be the &inners of this restructuring, not only because of their

financial health, but due to Herlin1s decisi%eness to exclude them from any -ind of

super%ision. uently, the nationalization of ban-s is an act of social 4ustice and

an expression of respect for taxpayers1 money. Last but not least, ban-s should be

nationalized because it is a strict precondition for the implementation of industrial policy and

the necessary restarting of the economy after the current producti%e desertification.

?urthermore, nationalisation should not stop at the financial industry. 6t must be expanded to

industries of strategic importance, from telecommunications and energy, to the food industry

and to health ser%ices. Currently, pri%atization fe%er has torpedoed the producti%e capacity

and economic efficiency of these enterprises, as a result of fragmentation and cost7cutting

strategies (Catastroi-a, 2!2#. 9e& in%estments are rare, and high fees or prices ha%e

transformed these goods into a luxury, thereby limiting sales. 9ationalization could secure

higher >uality products, full access by society, and a stable base for the social renaissance far

from current social and economic decadence.

7a+e in#rea"e" and empo4erin+ o/ p*li# "phere$he most successful recent example of restarting an ailing, crisis7hit economy is 'rgentina.

$he secret of 'rgentina1s re%italization is not found in exports as it is often said, but in the

domestic mar-et (eisbrot R 5ontecino, 2!2#. 6n 0reece and *outhern urope, too, the

first t&o steps in this ambitious course could be massi%e 4ob7creation in social and public

ser%ices, such as education, health, culture, and the en%ironment, and increases in &ages and

pensions. $he expenses could be co%ered by an increase in the taxation of capital and &ealthy

indi%iduals, by domestic lending, and by printing ne& money. $he multiplying effect of this

spending (for the most part to be spent on domestic and not imported or luxury products#

could cause a diffusion of &ell7being and an impro%ement in the le%el of life for many more

people, &hile it &ould increase tax re%enues.


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?urthermore, in%estments and funding assistance for social security, public health, education,

and mass transportation, alongside public utilities could impro%e li%ing standards.

7ho 4ill do introd#e the"e #han+e"8Capitalism is deadA long li%e capitalism &as the title of an editorial in the"inancial Times

(2!!# at the height of the struggles of


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6n this battle education has a ma4or role to play. e are claiming that for social change, there

are t&o sources for potential dri%ers of this change@ social mo%ements, (including

labour mo%ement, trade unions and 5arxist political parties# and education.

0i%en the anti7democratic neoliberal educational policies designed to debase democracyunder the pretext of pri%atization, accountability, and scientific approaches to education, it

beho%es educators to embrace the call for a democratic educationA not only as a counter7

measure to the current assault on any and all things public, but also as means to participate

more fully in the practice of democracy. Critical education can function to&ard this

deconstruction through conscientisation, &hich is an essential step for re%olutionary praxis.

5arcuse (!E#, a ma4or figure of the ?ran-furt school, so insightfully points out, that no

>ualitati%e social change, no socialism, is possible &ithout the emergence of a ne& rationality

and sensibility in the indi%iduals themsel%es@ no radical social change &ithout a radical

change of the indi%idual agents of change. 's for the radicalisation of indi%idual agents,

education is a site for struggle. 'ccording to ?reire (2"#, 6f education alone cannottransform society, &ithout it society cannot change either (p. "3#. $he final crucial issue

refers to &hat Castoriadis (2# called the riddle of politics, i.e., ho& &ithin a

heteronomous society and a heteronomous education &e may create autonomous institutions

and the infrastructure ofpaideia.

*ince education is one of the ideological apparatuses of the state, according to 'lthusser

(!"#, the aim of education is explicit@ it is the construction of the desired citizen. )nder

neoliberalism, this person has become a passi%e citizen &ho accepts the neoliberal agenda. 6t

is for teachers to change that. Critical pedagogy as a social theory necessitates that teachers

ta-e a stand and that they recognize their ideological basis. 6t means that &hate%er, and

ho&e%er, they teach, they connect -no&ledge to the &ider social, economic, political

en%ironment in order to critically challenge it.

)nder the neoliberal attac-, education is regarded as a space to be shrun-. ducation is more

or less surrendered to the mar-ets and has been used to insidiously ma-e society embrace the

neo7teleology of the mar-et dri%en society. 'ccording to this approach paideiais an

enemy of the system. $he system &ill pro%ide only restricted, system7safe -no&ledge

expertise and thus renders students incapable of seeing the larger picture and pre%ents them

from criticizing and re%olting against the dehumanisation in progress. $his dynamic presents

one of the larger threats to society since &ithout critical thin-ing and conscientisationBas

?reire suggestsBand resistance, there is no basis for a re%ersal of this situation. 5ar-ets-no& thatA but the >uestion is &hether society is fully a&are of the danger.

9otes


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1$sola-oglou &as a 0ree- prime minister &ho collaborated &ith the enemy during the 9azi occupation in !". *ince then

the name has been used metaphorically as an insulting characterization for politicians &ho ser%e foreign forces.2Pri%ate*ector 6n%ol%ement7 the restructuring of 0ree- public debt of 5arch 2!:

!e/eren#e"'C?6/ R +ubilee 'ustralia. (2!!#. 'lternati%es to debtors prison@ /e%eloping a frame&or- for 6nternational

6nsol%ency. uest for *tand7by 'rrangement. Country ;eport 9o

!F!!, 5ay.

atrougalos, 0. (2!!#. 5emoranda sunt *er%antaT (in 0ree-#


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Lazarrato, 5. (2!!#. The Making 8f The Indebted Man$ssay on the 9eoliberal &ondition

London@ *emiotexte

Lisbon $reaty. (2, /ecember !3#. 8fficial 6ournal of the uropean 3nion terior delMinisterio deelaciones >teriores &ommercio e Integracion de cuador".

orld Han-, *tatistical /atabase (2!!#@ databan-.&orldban-.orgFdataFhome.aspxeisbrot, 5., R 5ontecino, +. '. (2!2#. 5ore pain, no gain for 0reece@ 6s the uro &orth the costs of

pro7cyclical fiscal policy and the internal de%aluationT Center for conomic and Policy ;esearch.

Resistance in Greece-Vatikiotis- Nikolakaki

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