Meanwhile, over in Greece, we have the fascinating sight of the Parliament building being protected from anarchist rioters by… the Greek Communist Party (KKE). In a scenario worthy of Ken McLeod's Scottish Trotskyist science fiction, the tired old arguments usually held in tiny meeting halls and smelly pubs are being fought out on the street.
The basic argument is between the KKE's call for a massive, peaceful demonstration of working-class resistance, and the anarchists' attempt to smash the state on the spot. Most communists believe in government as the peoples' tool (though some assume that the state will 'wither away' as industry-blocs learn to cooperate): anarchists believe that states are automatically oppressive, and that humanity is naturally inclined to altruism and cooperation. Isn't that sweet? Unfortunately, the anarchists seem to reach for this paradise through smashing the place up, which their 19th-century leaders always admitted was a weak point in the plan.
Which leads us to one supposedly revolutionary group - one which fought heroically first against the Nazis and then against the British/US-supported regime - defending the institutions of a morally, politically and financially bankrupt state against those who should be their allies but can't help making all revolutionaries look like spoiled children. Still, at least it's clear that the capitalists don't even get a look-in: their ideology is utterly discredited.
We got democracy from the Greeks - let's hope we learn the next phase from them too.
(Post title echoes that magnificent Western, Support Your Local Gunfighter).
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