[lbo-talk] Crisis Hits 'Real' Economy in Germany

dredmond at efn.org dredmond at efn.org
Tue Oct 7 18:44:24 PDT 2008


On Tue, October 7, 2008 2:04 pm, Angelus Novus wrote:


> What the Hartz reforms have actually effected is a
> massive army of underemployed working poor who no longer enjoy the same
> rights and civil liberties as normal citizens as beneficiaries of social
> transfer payments, and have a legal status not very far from serfdom.

Yes, this is true, Hartz was pure neoliberalism, a swinish and vile assault on working people - the worst effects are on immigrant communities, so the whole thing is legitimated via a nasty racism. That said, the EU welfare states (and the class struggles to defend them) are far from dead.

This should be a golden moment for Left organizing, though - US neoliberalism is committing world-historical suicide, and the Eurolibs who claimed Europe couldn't afford welfare states are suddenly clamoring for a bailout. I don't expect anything from the shambling political corpse of the SPD, but it might be possible to push the Greens and Left parties in a progressive direction.

-- DRR



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