Class struggle over absolute surplus value strategies in Greece: initial response to the post-2008 economic crisis

This paper focuses on the primary struggle over absolute surplus value strategies in a capitalist society. It discusses the relationship between labour and capital, with a specific emphasis on the role of class struggle in the case of Greece. It analyses the policies of deunionisation, suppression of collective bargaining, deregulation, flexibilisation and social security reforms during the rise of neoliberalism from the late 1980s. It states that the high levels of class struggle were unyielding to the execution of absolute surplus value strategies in full. The paper argues that the post-2008 economic crisis further increased the emphasis on these strategies with the intention to implement the long-been-postponed labour market reforms under the unique economic and political circumstances. Presenting a comparative inquiry into the pre- and post-crisis dynamics of struggle over absolute surplus value strategies, the paper indicates that the high levels of class struggle generated a barrier to the introduction of recovery policies as an initial response to the crisis.