This is part two of a three-part series. See part one here.

“Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” – Karl Marx

“What childish innocence it is to present one’s own impatience as a theoretically convincing argument!” – Frederick Engels

If any of us wants to judge the conduct of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Syriza in their negotiations with the Eurogroup (the finance ministers and heads of state that make up the Eurozone) in July, a close look at the concrete situation in Greece and Europe is necessary. At the core of any analysis is an examination of the distribution of power among contending class and social forces, the larger socio-economic matrix in which these forces collide, and the parameters and limits of social change.

That may seem obvious and not require mentioning, but I’m afraid it’s a method some on the left seem averse to and thus avoid.

Click to read more: http://peoplesworld.org/thoughts-on-greece-syriza-and-its-left-critics-part/

This is part one of a three-part series. Originally written for People’s World – check out the original article here.

The current crisis in Greece and the Eurozone is fluid and far from settled. The latest clash last month between Greece and its elite adversaries in Europe – Germany in the first place – is provoking a wide-ranging debate. I can’t claim to be an expert so what follows is offered in a provisional spirit.

The Republican presidential debate last night makes hollow the endlessly repeated claim by too many people on the left that there are no differences between the two parties at the level of policy. Hopefully some of those same people are rethinking their position this morning. After all; self deception is never a good practice in politics (or in any other field of human endeavor). But what makes it worse in this case is that it becomes the main framing argument employed by these same people for the elaboration of their strategic and tactical approach to politics in general and electoral politics in particular. We can do better. We can – and must, I would argue – (dialectically) breathe political realism and soberness into our politics of substantive equality, democratic and ecological transformation, and a people driven and people centered socialism. And in doing we will set the stage for the left to become a major player in U.S. politics and bring a step closer the just, peaceful, democratic, and sustainable society that we and many millions desire – not to mention – and this is no small thing – be a part of the massive campaign to defeat the right wing’s plans to gain full spectrum dominance of the federal government in next year’s election.