Here we translate a text published by the German anarchist organizationDie Plattform. She denounces the austerity carried out by thegovernment, austerity which is currently affecting the German peasantryamong whom anger is brewing. ---- Save, save, save: this agenda of theAmpel government[1]does not only date from the end of last year. Withthe budget decision of the Federal Constitutional Court last November,the rigor with which this project is being pursued has increaseddrastically. Heating homes will cost more and the sanctions regime,which already harasses Bürgergeld[2]beneficiaries every month, will befurther tightened. It was also clear that the minimum wage would only beincreased by a few cents. At the same time, spending on the German armyis not affected. Billions therefore continue to be invested in therearmament of imperialism which wants to assert itself at a time whenthe contradictions between the imperialist blocs are intensifying.The victims of this austerity agenda are above all us, the employees. Wemust accept more and more deteriorations in our standard of living andbe pushed to accept miserable jobs. To make us swallow this, thegovernment declared for weeks that it did not want to touch socialspending. Let's be realistic: it's only a matter of time before otherparts of the welfare state are dismantled to make us moreinternationally competitive as a class, and thus to the German capitalthat exploits our work.Austerity even in the fieldsBut the government's austerity agenda is not only directed againstworkers. The removal of two subsidies in agriculture - the reimbursementof agricultural diesel and the exemption from vehicle tax - hits farmershard. While large farms can still face a few thousand euros missing,small farms are sometimes seriously threatened. However, the daily livesof small farmers and their employees have already been marked fordecades by overwork and precarious living and working conditions.Recovery of the right and the extreme rightContrary to what the government claims, removing subsidies does notcontribute anything to climate protection. It masks the real motive ofthe austerity agenda, widens the gap between environmental activists,small farms and agricultural workers and thus plays into the hands ofthe government. The elimination of subsidies therefore does not reduceemissions, but increases the economic burden on the most precariousfarmers. The result is increased precariousness which can lead to thepossibility of large waves of layoffs.An ecological transformation of the economy is urgently needed. But itwill only really be possible in a society that orients production anddistribution according to needs and ecological compatibility rather thanprofit maximization. Ecological transformation must be carried out frombelow; in a democratic way, at the grassroots level, by modest farmerswho collectivize farms and federate at the regional level with otherfarms, branches and municipalities.We have no illusions. This perspective is not shared by most of thoseaffected. They are currently mobilizing at local, regional and nationallevel to defend their direct economic interests against the removal ofsubsidies. As these measures are directed against all farmers, themobilizations include both owners of small and large farms.At the same time, non-farmer forces are showing solidarity with theprotests. In addition to the right-wing bourgeois sectors, from theCDU[3]to the Freie Wähler[4], there are openly reactionary politicalforces, from the AfD[5]to the neo-Nazi forces, which are going on theoffensive in order to exploit the anger of farmers against the Ampelgovernment for their own political gain. And in part of the peasantry,they can rely on existing reactionary attitudes.It is particularly perfidious for far-right forces to superficially linkeconomic grievances to hatred of migrants, who themselves represent aconsiderable portion of the agricultural industry's workforce. . If thereactionary movements manage to find their way into the protest, it isalso because they have been addressing the agricultural world for a longtime and are able to coordinate in a short time.Join the movement, counter the reactionariesThe fact that the progressive forces are relatively weak is also due tothe fact that the radical left in the FRG has largely disinvested fromthe agricultural sector in recent decades. But the most promising way tochange this is to stand in solidarity with the protest, to actively joinit, to strengthen progressive positions and drive out reactionaries.Because the protest against the elimination of subsidies is legitimateand deserves to be supported. We are, however, aware that the peasantryis not a homogeneous mass. Our solidarity goes above all to small farmswhose existence is threatened and of course to the employees of thesectors concerned.We welcome the fact that agricultural workers, through their sectoralunion initiative[6], are calling for support for the upcoming protestsand are already doing so in places. Let us be present as members andsupporters of the FAU, environmental activists or simply as solidarityworkers. Let's disseminate our anti-capitalist and ecologicalperspective and reject reactionary recoveries as well as bourgeoispositions!Die Plattform, January 12, 2024To validate[1]Political coalition between the SPD (social democrats), the FDP(liberal democrats) and Die Grünen (greens).[2]"Citizen's allowance", equivalent to basic unemployment benefit.[3]Christian Democratic Union.[4]Right-wing liberal party.[5]Alternative für Deutschland, far-right nationalist party.[6]The Green Jobs Initiative of the Free Workers' Union (FAU).https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Mobilisations-agricoles-en-Allemagne-La-graine-de-l-austerite-fait-pousser-un_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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