Eight Lessons for Progressives Inspired by Syriza [View all]

Syriza has also been level-headed -- and so must we. There are at least four preconditions for Syriza's January electoral breakthrough that don't exist in the U.S.: proportional representation in elections; an economic crisis of immense, social fabric-destroying proportion; a history of subjugation by foreign powers; and disciplined, determined activists raised in the radical movement. Still, there are significant lessons to learn from what is happening in the Mediterranean in America, where our organization is based, and elsewhere.

Lesson 1: Clearly identify the enemy.

Syriza had a story to tell that rang true, and they didn't shy away from telling it. It went like this: foreign creditors teamed up with a discredited domestic political system in order to benefit the tax-avoiding oligarchs, and together they pushed brutal, livelihood-destroying austerity measures. The story rang true to Greeks -- because it was true.

There isn't a perfect analogy to the U.S. context, but we have our own Syriza-style tight loop of a story: Wall Street, oil companies and Walmart buy political power in both major parties, which deregulate, subsidize, and under-tax so that corporate profits and executive compensation reach astronomical heights while wages stagnate, climate change goes unchecked and risks of another financial collapse pile up.

It's a story we have to tell, too.

Lesson 2: Against the oligarchs and the "totalitarianism of the market" which serves as a cover for their interests, we, the forces of democracy, have to fight back.

Only a few benefit from the oligarchs' policies, but they have the power and they have a grip on the political system. The oligarchs prevent the creation of a genuinely fair electoral playing field via a rigged campaign finance system and the rollback of voting rights. The oligarchs bring in cheap immigrant labour but prevent immigrants from getting citizenship. The oligarchs buy politicians. Democracy -- real democracy -- is a threat to them.

America gave birth to the idea of popular sovereignty, but who in America today believes that it is the people who rule? We will get policies for the rest of us when the rest of us have real political power.

Lesson 3: Inequality is objectionable, but more fundamental is articulating how people are denied the things that they need.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/03/03/eight-lessons-progressives-inspired-syriza


please keep this kicked in this forum

including steve if you would