Syriza: How Democracy Failed #Greece

And the nightmare continues. For working-class people in Greece, this most recent capitulation by their "representatives" is especially horrific, as it reeks of betrayal. After all, wasn’t Syriza voted into office to improve the Greek economic situation? Or were they elected to lead Greece further down the path of brutal austerity?

If last week's national referendum yielded a near two-thirds majority against tax hikes, against pension cuts and the like, why then is [the Greek ruling party] Syriza surrendering the nation's fiscal sovereignty over to the vultures of international finance? The answers to these questions, I think, rest comfortably between the usual aims of geopolitics – power and money. With the weight of a 'No' vote behind them, Syriza could have driven a harder bargain, stood fast on principal debt reduction, said no to increased cuts in services, if not moved to exit the Eurozone altogether. Alternative, less painful options remain available for Greece. Building economic partnerships with BRICS nations and Global South allies makes much more sense than begging, ad infinitum, for a few more scraps from the table of Western capitalism.

The ruthless demands made by the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are to be expected; as is the ensuing trauma on the Greek working-class. Though unexpected [by many observers] was the surrender by Syriza; which offers a painful yet necessary lesson. It is not enough to simply vote for the person or party who promises to champion our issues. That is naive and irresponsible, if not dangerous. For workers to receive the justice we deserve, we must stop outsourcing our political and economic decisions. Until that moment arrives, for as long as humans allow other humans to rule us, this nightmare shall continue.