[OccupyComms] european days of action

[Mark Barrett]

Two sites which may be of interest

> http://march31.net/
and about May http://icetakethesquare.wordpress.com/

> March 31st, 2012 | march31.net
>
> Europe is in a continuous state of upheaval. For months now, its
> credit- and sovereign debt crises have been escalating. A number of
> hectic European Union (EU) summits have introduced emergency measures
> to rescue capitalism. Should the­se measures fail, governments and the
> media assure us, collapse, recession and mass poverty would be the
> result. This apocalyptic rhetoric paves the way for even more
> neoliberal reforms whose social impact will be felt for decades to
> come – if we don‘t resist. Throughout the crisis, we were told that
> capitalism needed to be reined in, and that banks and corporations
> would have to carry some of the burden they, too, had created. What is
> happening now is the exact opposite: The EU, its member states and
> other European countries are intensifying competition and introducing
> devastating public austerity programmes to secure private profits. In
> doing so, however, they are reproducing the destructive logic of
> capitalism. The existence of crises, widespread powerlessness and
> poverty, contrasted by private, i.e. exclusive wealth, are inherent
> elements of capitalism. Let’s get organized for a better society!
>
> It‘s the system!
> Over the past decades, capitalist globalisation has intensified
> competition between private corporations and national economies alike.
> All leading industrial nations have thoroughly deregulated their
> markets, and have imposed that model on others. They have cut
> benefits, privatised public goods, cut labour rights, and increased
> social control – all in the interest of unimpeded capitalist growth.
> In Europe, supposedly on the sunny side of world capitalism, our lives
> are becoming ever more precarious, and social divisions increase. The
> so called “emerging markets” find themselves in a state of constant
> social crisis, with rigid expropriation and ruthless exploitation,
> backed by governments in the interest of a national growth that only
> serves the privileged few. In an obsessive hunt for competitive
> advantages, neoliberal policies have brought financial markets to a
> boiling point. Be it the dotcom boom, the bonanza of real-estate-funds
> and derivatives – those bubbles have burst one after the other. This
> is not the result of individual “greed” or the “corruption” of a tiny
> elite, as many claim, but of the trivial systemic imperatives of
> capitalism as a social order. That’s why the system needs to be
> changed.
>
> Overcoming the EU Regime
> In 2011, the european debt- and monetary crisis has escalated. A
> number of EU member states are facing bankruptcy, which is endangering
> the Euro as a common currency. According to superficial and populist
> assessments, these states have “lived beyond their means”. In reality,
> they have only tried to generate economic growth through loans. They
> adopted the same practices as all other countries, only with less
> success. As a condition of the financial backing dispensed by the
> European Central Bank (ECB) and the newly established Euro bailout
> funds, these governments are now forced to introduce a new round of
> austerity measures. A European debt limit is supposed to restore the
> “confidence of the markets”, obviously on the backs of workers,
> students and the unemployed. At the same time, private profits are not
> affected. In much the same way, the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
> the EU and other international institutions are pressuring emerging
> and transitional economies to make all sorts of cuts and to privatize
> much of the public sector. All this is geared towards a restoration of
> the crisis-ridden and exploitative EU regime, serving the interests of
> its dominant economies. Despite certain disagreements among
> themselves, France and Germany have succeeded in asserting their
> policies without much opposition. There has of course been widespread
> protest. Grassroots initiatives have sprung up all over the continent,
> trying to overcome civic disempowerment. But up to now, even mass
> demonstrations and general strikes haven’t achieved much. Natio­nal
> unions generally bow to the demands and constraints of domestic
> capitalism. There is no effective transnational solidarity between
> unions. If we want this to change, we’ll have to do it ourselves.
>
> We can do better
> Current policies in the EU and in Europe as a whole are as speculative
> as capitalism has ever been. That’s because austerity measures are
> jeopardising economic stability just as much as debt-inflated growth.
> There can never be salvation in capitalism, only endlessly recurring
> crises. So why continue wasting our lives for this? Let’s fight
> neoliberal ideology, let’s get organised on a European level. Our Day
> of Action on March 31st 2012 will be a first step. Simultaneous
> demonstrations in many European countries are more than just a signal
> of solidarity. They’re already sparking transnational discussion and
> cooperation. We invite all emancipatory initiatives to join this
> process. We strive to grow independent of official institutions, and
> are prepared for a persistent struggle. The crisis may manifest in
> varying ways in different countries, but we all share a common goal:
> We don’t want to save capitalism, we want to overcome it. We oppose
> nationalism. It is crucial to fight against the continued erosion of
> social standards, but we need to aim higher. We want to get rid of the
> fatal constraints of capitalism and its political institutions. That’s
> the only way the widespread demand for “real democracy” can be
> fulfilled.
>


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