There are systemic contradictions at play that almost force the hand of capitalists to do what they do -- for example, they are now trying to roll back the social democratic gains of the European working class during the postwar period. Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi, and Sarkozy are no accidents. They represent the concerted effort of the European bourgeoisie, egged on by the American elites, to push back on the working class and take it all back under the pretext of “remaining competitive” and a plethora of other fraudulent reasons.