A reply to Mr. Lebowitz…

“There’s an old saying that if you don’t know where you want to go, any road will take you there.  As I’ve said on many occasions, this saying is mistaken.  If you don’t know where you want to go, no road will take you there. In other words, you need an understanding of the goal.  You need a vision for the future.”

–Michael A Lebowitz, Socialism: The Goal, the Paths, and the Compass

“It’s not what you look like when you’re doing what you’re doing; it’s what you’re doing when you’re doing what you look like you’re doing.”

–Charles Wright, Express Yourself (1971)

Mr. Lebowitz makes an argument that, on the surface, sounds logical, however, what we actually are concerned with is the real movement of society, which is to say, the ultimate result of the capitalist process, whether this process is understood by the members of society or not. To understand why we refer to the real movement of society, rather than some goal or vision, requires us to understand the nature of capitalism as a form of social labor.

“Brutal change” is coming to Athens

From Reuters:

Speaking to parliament after a visit by EU economic inspectors, Papandreou said Greece did not want other countries to pay for its debts but expected solidarity from its European peers as it struggled with worse than expected fiscal problems.

“Unfortunately, history has fully confirmed our worst fears,” he said. “Our duty today is to forget about political costs and only think about the survival of our country … Past policies make it necessary to proceed to brutal changes.”

This, of course, means Greece will continue to play bitch to banksters, NATO, and its own wealthy families – ensuring the survival of the country only ensures the survival of their lifestyle.