The working class and the Rebrain narrative

Where is the (diasporic and Greek) working-class in the rebrain/reload/restart narrative? The narrative is a selling point for a selective class of professionals serving certain sectors of the transnational/global neoliberal economy (private colleges, internationally minded corporations).

But the narrative constitutes a hubris in ignoring the predicament of new generations of educated Greeks who confront an abysmal job market. I know of a great many bright young people who feel trapped in a limited, often patriarchal, and nepotistic system.

But this is not about case studies. This is about a structural problem. It is heart breaking to be witnessing the loss of promising generations. Greece has failed them. A critique of the conditions that led to this situation and a vision for internal reforms than a celebration of any rebranding successes is the priority of institutions fostering engaged citizenship.

In the meantime, in the home (US) front a coterie of millionaires and cultural gatekeepers urges the next generation to persist resiliently in the arduous climb to the top while the sociological and economic realities mediating class mobility are seen as litter in the individual-centered path to success. The ahistorical "struggle and success myth" - a staple of Greek American ideology – now in the service of the neoliberal order, notably by those who take pride in Hellenic paideia...

Yiorgos Anagnostou

December 2025