This is how it happened. In January 2015, the citizens of Greece voted into power a leftist party, Syriza, for one reason: end the austerity program imposed by the German and French banks who loaned the country a ton of cheap cash after it entered the eurozone in 2001. Deep cuts in government spending (austerity) has resulted in the collapse of the Greek economy, the privatization of its public assets, and high unemployment.

Syriza, which is led by Alexis Tsipras, went to work and confronted Greece's creditors. But every plea they made had as much effect on the bankers than the words in Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations would have on an iguana.

In the end, Greece was left with two choices: submit to the terms of those who owned its debts (creditors in German and France) or exit the eurozone. Because austerity is a known known and exit is an known unknown, Tsipras decided to accept the terms of the creditors in July. In August, however, 25 Syriza members of parliament left and formed a new party. This resulted in Tsiparas resigning as prime minister and calling for a new election.

Yesterday, Syriza convincingly won that election with roughly the same result it had in the January election—though voter turnout was lower this time around. But what does this all mean? A lot, and not just for Greece but for the whole world. Here is the picture that's emerging in post-crash politics. As the nation state is reformed to meet the demands of creditors, democracy is more and more turning to the radical left for representation. Meaning, we are seeing a spit between the market and democracy.

For example, Syriza (democracy) might be against austerity, but to keep Greece afloat for now, it will have to comply with the "cash-for-reforms program," which requires "120 new laws to be [implemented] by the end of the year" (the market). The function of these pro-market laws is to establish a state that meets the demands of creditors before the needs of citizens. And to make sure there is progress in this direction, creditors are permitted to conduct a review of Greece finances every three months.

Here's what a voter told The Guardian:

It’s a strange election, very frustrating, profoundly undemocratic, because the big policy questions have been decided so we can’t express our political will...

As inequality in advanced capitalist societies becomes impossible to justify economically, expect the right to exit democracy and govern instead as creditors of the "debt state" (this, incidentally, is why the left should worry about deficits), and the radical left to enter mainstream politics. This is how we can read the stunning rise of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, and the growing popularity and viability of Bernie Sanders in the US.

Sanders, Corbyn, and Triparas are not only hardcore social democrats but are also relocating left-right politics from the ground of consensus (as relates to free markets) to the terrain of class struggle. They are divisive. Indeed, Corbyn's break with post-Thatcher Labor (Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband) is so pronounced, that it's freaking out the British press like nobody's business. He is even seen as an enemy of the state, and his party a threat to the security of the UK. Now, that sounds like class warfare.

The new political order in the West? The creditor versus the citizen.