En Passant

Given the severity of the European crisis and intensity of the austerity drive, the level of working class struggle will have to be even higher in order to prevail. Independent left politics will be crucial, too, since labor and social democratic parties have used their ties to the labor movement to push austerity and contain the struggle.

The euro crisis has highlighted the ideological crisis of the system. The happy talk about a world economic recovery that would solve the debt problem has been replaced with nervous chatter about the future of the world economy. At the IMF meeting in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said, “The threat of cascading default, bank runs and catastrophic risk must be taken off the table, as otherwise, it will undermine all other efforts, both within Europe and globally.”

There hasn’t been so much fear, doubt and confusion in the mainstream media about the economy since the financial crash of 2008. For example, a BBC business program recently ran a weeklong series under the heading, “Has Western Capitalism Failed?”.

In this context of crisis and resistance, the potential is there to rebuild the socialist left internationally. The ominous economic developments in Europe and beyond make that task an urgent one.

It’s time to fight the neoliberal tax agenda. Tax the rich.