Some hypothetical questions | Critical Analysis |Axisoflogic.com

Alexis Tsipras, opposition leader and head of the Syriza party, smiles during the second of three rounds of a presidential vote at the Greek parliament in Athens in Athens December 23, 2014. | Photo: Reuters

Some hypothetical questions for Alexis Tsipriss of Syriza, about the party’s goals in society.

Think Syriza in Greece, Die Linke in Germany, Podemos in Spain, the PKK in Turkey, the PSUV in Venezuela, and other promising and productive movements and parties in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and, yes, in North America as well. Wouldn't you like to hear their goals for society and their strategy to reach those goals to see how much commonality there is, how much difference there is, what we can learn, what we can share, and perhaps even what we can unify around - or what we need to be critical of?

Here are a bunch of questions, hypothetically, as if put to Alexis Tsipris of Syriza. Suitably modified for context, I think these could also be asked of folks in Podemos in Spain or Die Linke in Germany, or in various Green Parties, or in socialist and other parties, and leading elements in Bolivia, Venezuela, etc.

So, you can think of Alexis Tsipris fielding these, and hopefully he will, or you can change the words around a bit, and think of others doing so, and hopefully they will.

What provokes me, concerns me, upsets me, before the fact, is that I bet you do not know how these various movements and their leaders would answer these questions. I know I don't. I think most folks even in the respective countries where these movements, parties, leaders operate, don't know. In fact, I suspect most folks literally within the various parties - and governments - may not know, either. And I think that is a serious problem.

The explanation is generally that there are more pressingly urgent concerns, or that answers are not really sufficiently developed to share. I think both these stances are recipes for disaster.

Parties, movements, leaders, cannot inspire growing participation and sustain serious commitment - and win desired immediate gains while also heading toward desired longer run goals, without having a longer view than what comes tomorrow, or even this afternoon or evening, and without welcoming large constituencies into assessing their longer terms goals, refining them, etc.

There seems to be, and to have been for a long time now, a culture of immediacy on the left in which many activists and whole movements develop discuss immediate policy, but few if any discuss longer term goals and means. Since the long term should inform the short term, this situation is strange. Since the long term should give substance to and make real the import of the short term, it is strange. Since the long term ought to inspire and provide an on going basis for commitment in the present, it is strange.

Perhaps questions like those below can provoke exchanges that will change the culture of immediacy to a culture of creation.

For background, could you explain what Syriza is (or, if the questions are put to others, what Die Linke is or what Podemos is…)? For example, how would you compare Greek Syriza with Die Linke in Germany and with Podemos in Spain, including similarities and differences? What are Syriza's political roots? What are your political roots, and what is your position in Syriza?
Are there other organizations around the world that you think are broadly like Syriza (Die Linke, Podemos...) and from which you take strength and with which you feel some solidarity? Do you think there could be greater ties and solidarity and even shared activity among such organizations?
Can you describe what some mutual ties that you would favor might look like? Does the existence of Die Linke or Podemos benefit Syriza or vice versa?
How do you respond to those who claim that parties like Syriza, Die Linke, Podemos, and others, whatever choices they may make, however sincere and committed they may be, due to struggling for influence inside existing states and electoral systems, are doomed to make some minor gains but also to simultaneously weaken mass popular movements, thus, on balance, preserving existing relations rather than generating new societies?
What has been the relation of Syriza (Die Linke, Podemos…) to popular uprisings and mass movements in Greece (Germany, Spain…)? How does Syriza support them, view them, etc.? Is the agenda to support and learn from them so as to best apply Syriza’s energies in accord? Or is the agenda to recruit from them and channel their energies?
Still background, could you describe the conditions in which Syriza (Die Linke, Podemos…) has grown in the past few years, in particular the debilitating austerity and the efforts from Europe to impose draconian conditions on Greece? What actions and commitments by Syriza, in response, have facilitated Syriza's growth? Do you think they have alleviated Greek suffering?
What do you think a comparable political organization might look like in the U.S., and broadly how do you think such an organization might come into being? Do you think the existence of a similar type organization in the U.S. would benefit Syriza, and vice versa?
I wonder what is your opinion about various electoral and activist processes in Latin America - for example, how do you regard the Bolivarian project in Venezuela and the efforts by Morales and others in Bolivia - and, whichever other instances you might wish to mention? Do you see their experiences as having lessons for you, in Greece, assuming Syriza has future growth and becomes able to win elections outright and exert major influence? For that matter, do you think there are lessons to be had in the other direction, for example, for the Venezuelans or Bolivians arising from your experiences in Greece?
Addressing Syriza more closely, what are the core elements of the current short and middle term program of Syriza for dealing with the on-going crises in Greece? What main demands and projects constitute most of Syriza's current focus? How does Syriza's immediate approach foreshadow fundamental changes, rather than only mitigating horribly excessive immediate failings?
How are Syriza's current policies and choices regarded by Greeks? Who opposes Syriza? Who is more or less neutral? Who supports it, and in each case, why?
What is your long term goal for the Greek economy? Broadly speaking, what changes in property relations, in the means of allocation, and in the organization of workplaces, division of labor, and workplace decision making, do you favor for the future?
Political parties typically reflect the interests and aspirations of particular subgroups. Regarding the economy, then, in your view, whose interests should Syriza champion? And here I would like to offer three main possibilities: 1. owners/capitalists; 2. managers, professionals, and in general those who do empowering labor while enjoying considerable status, influence, and income; or 3. largely disempowered workers of low status, little or no influence, and low income? How do you see the economic long term aims you summarized above affecting these particular constituencies or classes?
Suppose we turn now to the political or governmental realm. If and when Syriza wins national power in Greece, what changes in political relationships and in the system of governance would you like to see implemented, and why? This could be concerning local versus more central control, means of legislation, modes of representation and decision making, judicial matters, etc.
I don't know much about issues of race and or gender as they exist specifically in Greece, but I imagine that while having special attributes of their own, they are nonetheless pretty similar to elsewhere. So, regarding culture and kinship, as with economy and polity, what kinds of changes for the long haul would you like to see in Greece. What is the broad goal in terms of relations among people, and most notably at the current moment, immigration and violence against women, and what new institutions do you think would be needed to fulfill truly broad goals for the longer term?
Returning to the present, I wonder if you could explain the emergence of a fascist upsurge in Greece. What underlying fears and worries does this exploit? Who supports them? How serious a threat is this trend and how does Syriza plan on dealing with it, and its various constituencies?
How do you see Syriza avoiding becoming so enmeshed in the processes of existing institutions and relations and the implications of its electoral and bureaucratic tasks for party members' consciousness and activities, as to slowly become agents of preservation and reaction rather than agents of change?
Finally, how do you see Syriza both in its activity in society but also internally, avoiding becoming sectarian and so concerned with its own status and persistence as to become defensive, closed to innovation, mechanical, dismissive of criticism, or even repressive?

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