Lenin’s Theory of the Weakest Link and the Intervention by the Greek Radical Left in the Course of the Crisis: Lessons for the Future

ABSTRACT The imposition of the memoranda on Greece triggered dynamic reactions from the subordinate classes, rapid changes in the political scene and creation of the impression in the Western world that in Greece the possibility was emerging of profound radical changes, particularly after the coming to power of SYRIZA as the new Greek government. Employing the Leninist concepts of the weakest link, the imperialist chain, the revolutionary situation and the revolutionary crisis, this article explains on the one hand why Greece did not constitute the weakest link of the capitalist West, and on the other what the characteristics are of a weakest link on the basis of historical experience.