politics for the 99%

Published on Jacobin, by Amien Essif, Aug 24, 2015.

Five German left activists on building solidarity with the Greek people and confronting the pro-austerity elites in their own country … //

… Organized by Blockupy, an Occupy Wall Street–esque network of organizations that formed in Germany in 2012, the day of action included a blockade of the bank’s new skyscraper, a march of over ten thousand people, and a protest in front of a shopping mall where workers were on strike. It concluded with a pitched battle between blockaders and police, who tried to clear them out with water cannons; protesters set police cars and tire barricades on fire.

The day’s events and photos — depicting Europe’s financial capital suffused with smoke and tear gas — called into question the narrative that Germany is Greece’s opposite, that it’s a country where the euro has accomplished everything promised and has won over every layer of the population.

So what is the state of the German left, especially in relation to the anti-austerity struggles across Europe today? Late last month, journalist Amien Essif spoke with five activists from the German left to explore what it means for Germans to stand in solidarity with the Greek people, the connections between anti-austerity and antiracist struggles, and how to build a movement against the “Europe of capitalism and borders.”

The participants are as follows: … //

… Followed by a long interview with Sascha Stanicicis, Moritz Rieder, Daniel Morteza, Max Manzey, Andreas Hesse … //

… Within the left movement, we have the unique opportunity now to discuss the character of the European Union, to discuss the limits of reformism inside the eurozone or under the conditions of the treaties of Lisbon and Maastricht and all the things like that. And it would be totally fatal for the left in Germany not to participate and show concrete examples in Southern Europe now that the fight against austerity is always a fight for socialism.

(full text).

Links:

Katrina: A 10-Year Review, on Dissident Voice, by Walter Brasch, Aug 25th, 2015: … Sanctimonious critics, many of them conservative politicians, claimed that if the residents had evacuated New Orleans like they were ordered, the death toll and suffering would have been significantly less. What they didn’t say, however, was that almost all roads were blocked or destroyed. Even if the roads weren’t damaged, evacuation would have been difficult. Many of the residents who remained were poor, Black, and often relied upon public transportation, as do many residents of urban areas. Hundreds of school buses that could have evacuated the residents were in the flood. Even if they weren’t, there weren’t enough drivers—most were in their own houses, which were flooded, or at the SuperDome or Convention Center, both of which sustained damage …;

Biggest Rally Of 2015 Crashes Into Biggest Reversal Since Lehman, on Zero Hedge, by Tyler Durden, Aug 25, 2015;

Chinese Central Banker Blames Fed for Market Crash, on Global Research.ca (first on english Xinhuanet - and also on Zero Hedge), by Tyler Durden, Aug 25, 2015;

Xi urges promoting economic, social development in Tibet, on english Xinhuanet, Aug 25, 2015;

America’s First Red Scare, on Jacobin, by Andre Fleche, Aug 24, 2015: For many of its ideologues, a slaveholding Confederacy was meant to be a bulwark against radical politics of all stripes;

Pourquoi les libéraux séparent la race de la classe, on Mediapart.fr, par Antoine P., le 23 août 2015;

LEEDS, UK: Finding Solidarity Within Precarity–Lessons from the US Welfare Rights Movement Regarding the Role of Universal Basic Income, presentation IIPPEE Sixth Annual Conference, Sept 9-11, 2015, on BIEN, by Will Wachtmeister, Aug 23, 2015: ;

GREECE: Government to roll out a Guaranteed Minimum Income scheme, on Basic Income Earth Network BIEN, Aug 22, 2015: the new bailout agreement between Greece and international creditors includes plans for a national roll-out of a Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI).[i] The GMI is not an unconditional basic income for all citizens, but would be the first universal means-tested grant that covers all Greeks below a certain level of income and asset ownership, regardless of employment status, job contract type, professional category, gender or age …;

Welcome to Germany: Locals Step In to Help Refugees in Need, on Spiegel Online International, by Martin Knobbe, Conny Neumann, Maximilian Popp, Anna Reuß, Barbara Schmid, Timo Steppat and Wolf Wiedmann-Schmidt, Aug 18, 2015 (Photo Gallery): while attacks against refugee homes dominate the headlines, a new movement to aid asylum seekers is taking root in Germany. From medical care to security services, locals are organizing what the state won’t … The University of Siegen is an example of a popular movement taking place across Germany. From Munich to Berlin, Dresden to Hanau, tens of thousands of people are standing up to help refugees: high school and university students, workers, retirees … ;

Testing the Limits: How Many Refugees Can Germany Handle? on Spiegel Online International, by Staff, July 30, 2015 (Photo Gallery): more Germans than ever before are at ease with themselves and their asylum-seekers. But this year the country is expecting to receive around 400,000 new refugees, a figure that raises the painful question: Can Germany’s new welcoming culture handle it … We have to be careful not to jeopardize the entire welcoming culture that we have built,” warns Manfred Schmidt, head of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Schmidt also isn’t someone with a reputation for being a hardliner, but the way he sees it, there are certain decisions that champions of democracy need to make before a welcoming culture turns into a good-riddance culture;
Photo 10/10: Primary Countries of Origin;

Why Is China Letting the Yuan Fall? on Jacobin, by Geoffrey McCormack, Aug 15, 2015: There’s been a lot of speculation about China’s recent currency moves, but it’s business as usual for global capitalism.