Dignified rage, insubordination and militant optimism

This paper seeks to shed light on the Greek uprising of December 2008 by providing an analysis of the events and their significance. It suggests that the Greek revolt was an explosion of anger, sensitivity and indignation: an expression of dignified rage. The insurgents stood on the side of human dignity and insubordination. The paper argues that one of the most considerable successes of the uprising was the active solidarity between the participants and the development of a community of struggle against capital and its state. The Greek insurrection also challenged traditional notions of organisation and defended the unity between the forms of organisation and their content. The paper goes on to argue that the Greek revolt was also significant in terms of understanding movements for social emancipation and readdressing issues of the state, political parties and revolutionary violence. It concludes by suggesting
that the insurrection was a ‘fire-alarm’ for the political and social elites all over the world, and that its effects could be contagious. Yet the hope that it will spread cannot blossom without our everyday radical struggle for social emancipation.