The betrayal of the struggles of the Greek working class against austerity by the Syriza government (“Coalition of the Radical Left”) is a strategic experience for the working class not only in Greece but internationally. Assimilating these lessons is vital for political arming workers and socialist-minded intellectuals for the class battles that are on the agenda.
The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) has issued a powerful statement, The Political Lessons of Syriza’s Betrayal in Greece, that is now available as a pamphlet from Mehring Books. It documents the treachery of Syriza and provides a revolutionary perspective for the working class.
Basing itself on a clear Marxist foundation, the International Committee of the Fourth International stood alone in revealing the class nature of Syriza as a pro-capitalist party, representing an upper-middle-class layer masquerading as “left.” While every pseudo-left organization, from the (US) International Socialist Organization to the Socialist Workers Party in the UK to the EEK (Workers Revolutionary Party) of Savas Michael-Matsas in Greece, threw themselves enthusiastically behind Prime Minister Alexis Tsipris and Syriza, we made it clear that the only solution for the Greek crisis was the seizure of power by the working class and the expropriation of the banks. Flowing from these events, the burning task facing the working class in Greece is the building of a section of the ICFI.
