Sean Guillory – Ukraine is ripe for the shock doctrine

Like many states in crisis before it, Ukraine serves as a perfect opportunity for neoliberal transformation. While a crisis of faith, of sorts, has resounded in western discourse on the economic effectiveness of austerity, this scepticism, rather ironically, dissipates when you cross over into the remnants of the Iron Curtain. Neoliberalism’s flagellants reside east of the Elbe. There, ideological purity …

Greece: The Courage of Hopelessness – Slavoj Žižek

The Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben said in an interview that “thought is the courage of hopelessness” – an insight which is especially pertinent for our historical moment when even the most pessimist diagnostics as a rule finishes with an uplifting hint at some version of the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The true courage is not to imagine an …

Varoufakis: Troika Forced Syriza Into Choice Between ‘Suicide or Execution’ – Lauren McCauley

In his first international television interview since stepping down from his post as Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis told CNN‘s Christiane Amanpour on Monday that European lenders had forced his government to make a choice between “suicide or execution.” After five months of rigorous negotiations, the outspoken Varoufakis stepped down from his post the night of the Greek referendum. And despite voting against the …

The End of Capitalism Has Begun – Paul Mason

The red flags and marching songs of Syriza [3] during the Greek crisis [4], plus the expectation that the banks would be nationalised, revived briefly a 20th-century dream: the forced destruction of the market from above. For much of the 20th century this was how the left conceived the first stage of an economy beyond capitalism. The force would be applied by the …

Germany Might Be Trying To Steal SOCAR’s Main Asset In Greece By Andrew KORYBKO

The Greek Crisis has been a long-running drama that’s sucked in all of Europe (and even involved Russia to an extent), but for the most part, it hasn’t directly touched any of the Union’s peripheral countries. That may change, however, after the latest twist coming out of Athens. Per the debt agreement that’s been offered to the country, Greece must surrender …

Little-Known History of the Euro: Crisis Was Baked In from the Start

You’ve heard that the Euro was created to provide two benefits for Europe: 1. Unite Germany, France and other countries in a peaceful political situation, to prevent repeats of World War I and II 2. Create a macro-zone to compete against the economic strength of the U.S. So how did we get to this … austerity and meanness of spirit, …

The consequences of Syriza’s betrayal: From terms of surrender to terms of occupation – Barry Gray

Meeting late into Sunday night, euro zone heads of government issued new ultimatums to Greece that would effectively strip the country of its sovereignty and turn it into an economic colony of the German banks. The German government has been the most aggressive in insisting that either the Greek parliament pass a series of laws by Wednesday night imposing a …

Germany Showing ‘Lack of Solidarity’ Over Greece: Stiglitz

Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, seen on May 12, 2015 in Washington, DC, accused Germany of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of Europe. (AFP/file) Prominent economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz accused Germany on Sunday of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of …

The European Union’s Crisis of Legitimacy and The Greek Referendum – Donatella della Porta

For some time now social movements have expressed their support for Another Europe. Their almost unanimous support for a “NO” vote in the Greek referendum on the proposals of the Troika, says much about the repeatedly frustrated hopes of constructing a social Europe from below. Indeed, the protests against austerity have established, ever more clearly and explicitly, that the evolution of …

China’s share plunge casts lengthening shadow over global markets By Nick Beams

Global stock exchanges appear to have weathered the initial shock wave from the powerful “no” vote in the Greek referendum, largely in the belief that the Syriza-led government is even more anxious to secure an agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to impose austerity. At the same time, however, the financial markets could soon be hit …