Recent defeats of Dutch, Greek and French governing parties show
rising opposition to their austerity policies. Across Europe and
North America, similar oppositions mount. Bailing out large
financial and other corporations with borrowed money has been
the almost universal government plan for coping with global
capitalist crisis. The result - rising government deficits and
debts - was followed by "austerity policies" to reduce those
deficits and debts. After suffering a crisis and then bailouts
that bypassed them to favor major corporations, people now face
austerity cutbacks of government jobs and services to offset the
bailouts' costs. As opposition mounts, will it seek Keynesian
"growth" or go beyond capitalism to economic democracy?
Keynesianism (expansionary state economic intervention) never
was capitalists' preferred policy for capitalism's recurring
recessions and depressions. Their Plan A was government
borrowing to bail out major financial and other corporations
followed by "austerity policies." Aust