in Europe people from one end to the other are waiting for hope
in the cities people are waiting for hope / in the towns people are waiting for hope / in the villages people are waiting for hope / in the mountains people are waiting for hope / in the plains people are waiting for hope / by the sea people are waiting for hope / the news announced that no one knows when and from where hope will spring
shopkeepers are waiting for hope / freelancers are waiting for hope / bailiffs are waiting for hope / civil servants are waiting for hope / cashiers in the supermarkets are waiting for hope / the traffic cops are waiting for hope / the old men playing backgammon in the cafes are waiting for hope / my grandmother in the village is feeding her porkers and is waiting for hope
only the bosses are not waiting for hope / the bosses know exactly when and from where hope will arise / one could say that as hope draws near the bosses begin to feel less fear
when there is hope labor is called employment, is called employability / when there is hope workers are called beneficiaries / when there is hope salaries are called state subsidized salaries / when there is hope dismissal is called termination of collaboration, is called mobility / when there is hope unpaid employment is called internship / when there is hope child labor is called a pilot project / when there is hope uninsured employment is called flexible employment / when there is hope absolute surplus value is called let’s all put our noses to the grindstone / when there is hope new bosses are called startup companies / when there is hope the homeless are called vulnerable social groups / when there is hope philanthropy is called solidarity, is called we can do it
hope is a concept created by the bourgeoisie that came from a degeneration of the word “chop” / with hope you cannot chop meat / with hope you cannot chop potatoes / with hope you cannot chop vegetables while watching your favorite TV show / my grandmother cannot slaughter her porker with hope / hope cannot be honed
when there is hope migration is called free movement / when there is hope deportation is called relocation / when there is hope concentration camps are called hospitality centers, are called hotspots, are called transit areas / when there is hope camp guards are called non-governmental organizations / when there is hope immigrants are called illegal immigrants, are called undocumented aliens / when there is hope fascists are called indignant citizens / when there is hope the murder of immigrants is called nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize / when there is hope mafia men are called suppliers / when there is hope fascism is called patriotism, is called national pride / when there is hope the middle class is called civil society / when there is hope the interests of the bosses are called national interests / when there is hope falsehood is called a version / what would bosses be without the language of hope
to paraphrase Walter Benjamin, not even the dead will be safe if hope is victorious
hope implements zero tolerance policies / hope safeguards law and order / hope increases and intensifies repression / hope sets as a priority the control over public space / hope implements programs for the furthering of safe and clean neighborhoods / hope carries out preventive arrests / hope empties streets / hope empties squares / hope clears out squatters / hope enacts anti-terrorism acts / hope builds new prisons and detention centers / hope organizes social groups supporting the state / hope guarantees the monopoly on violence
hope acts in line with national interests / hope declares a state of emergency / hope repeals constitutional restrictions on issuing presidential decrees / hope increases military spending / hope takes measures to secure borders / hope sends the army into the streets / hope sends the army into the streets to protect the country’s essential infrastructure / hope expands police powers for the protection of public and private property / hope builds concentration camps / hope prepares itself for war / hope prepares the whole of society for war / what would hope be without war
to quote Walter Benjamin, the state of emergency in which we live is not the exception but the rule
Translated from the Greek by Peter Constantine