Greece and the EU: capitalist crisis and imperialist rivalries

This paper studies the relationship between Greek capitalism and the European Union in the light of the recent developments (i.e. the current global crisis and the fiscal and debt crisis of Greece). The first part analyses the turbulent historical course of Greek capitalism and its passage from phases of development to crises and waves of capitalist restructuring. In particular, it pinpoints its status as a second-generation middle-range capitalism with limited imperialist abilities. The second part analyses the position of Greek capitalism within the European imperialist bloc and the advantages but also the dangers stemming from its participation in it. It focuses especially on the waves of capitalist restructuring inaugurated after the 1973 crisis and their concomitant results and problems. The third part focuses on the current global crisis and how it has been expressed in Greece. It is depicted as a twin crisis, i.e. a combination of (a) the current global crisis (a crisis of overaccumulation of capital caused by the falling tendency of the rate of profit), with (b) particular Greek structural problems (most of them derived from its participation in the European imperialist bloc). The last part concludes with the proposal for a radical alternative to the policies of the EU and the Greek bourgeoisie. The main pillar of this proposal is the disengagement from the European imperialist integration process and the radical restructuring of the Greek economy towards a process of socialist transition.