English
“Our Techno-Feudal Hellscape” – On the Real News Network, with Jason Myles & Pascal Robert
, 02/05/2022
From the push to turn more of the workforce into precarious “gig workers” to the ways profit-seeking digital platforms condition how we act and think while extracting free data from us, we can see and feel everyday the creeping evidence that we are living in a new reality. As world-renowned Greek economist, author, and politician […]
“No one can win this war. A negotiated, just peace guaranteed by EU-US-Russia is the only sane strategy” – CGTN interview
, 02/05/2022
“The global South is not sanctioning Russia, not because they support Putin but because they’ve had enough of US government hypocrisy.”
Cloudalists: The New Ruling Class & how can we confront its technofeudal order – iai lecture, 10 APR 2022
, 25/04/2022
Capital triumphed over democracy a long time ago. Today, following the Crash of 2008, the deployment of central bank money to refloat Big Finance, and the rise of Big Tech’s platform corporations, a new type of capital has emerged: Cloud capital (a form of command capital living in the ‘Cloud’). Cloud Capital is crushing the […]
Discussing Crypto, the Left & Technofeudalism with Evgeny Morozov – CRYPTO SYLLABUS long interview
, 23/04/2022
Rare is the person who could expertly comment – in a single interview! – on the rise of NFTs and their origins in the virtual worlds of gaming, the logic of the emerging regime of techno-feudalism, and the folly of El Salvador’s Bitcoin-heavy negotiating tactics with the IMF. Luckily, we have found this person in […]
Our moral duty to Ukraine, and to each other – UNHERD (video + full transcript)
, 23/04/2022
Since war broke out in Ukraine, Greek politician and economist Yanis Varoufakis has been accused of being a Putin apologist, a “Westsplainer”, and a conspiracy theorist. But what does he really think about this conflict? Freddie Sayers spoke to him about liberal warmongering, who’s benefitting from the war, and the West’s moral duty to put […]
Saving Ukraine, dealing with Russia and the global repercussions of failing to do so – On TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin
, 23/04/2022
When economist Yanis Varoufakis last visited The Agenda a decade ago, the world was still reeling from the 2008 economic crash, which decimated the economy of his native Greece. In the years since, he ran for political office, became Greece’s finance minister, and started his own political party. Varoufakis is the focus of a new […]
Unlike feudalism, techno-feudalism is born of the triumph of capital – KU Podcast-Interview
, 16/04/2022
Along the lines on my evolving hypothesis that capitalism in the process of morphing into techno-feudalism, in this podcast I speak to two fine Finnish leftwing journalists who take me to task and interrogate me on this highly controversial idea. For the podcast’s own site, click here.
The Progressive International’s forensic look into the toxic activities of the IMF – video
, 16/04/2022
An inquiry into the activities of the IMF by the Progressive International (@ProgIntl). Worth watching not just by those of us who have suffered its policies directly (Argentinians, Koreans, Greeks and now Sri Lankans, Lebanese etc.) but the Rest of the World whose majorities are suffering indirectly from the IMF’s activities.
Here is what Central Banks could do to stem inflation without crushing the poor or killing off the Green Transition – The Guardian
, 16/04/2022
Inflation is a disease that disproportionately afflicts the poor. Even before Vladimir Putin unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, whose byproducts include soaring energy and food prices, inflation was already over 7.5% in the US and above 5% in Europe and the UK. Calls for its taming are, therefore, fully justified – and the interest rate rise in the US, […]
Cloudalists: Our New Cloud-based Ruling Class – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 12/04/2022
Capital is everywhere, yet capitalism is on the wane. In an era when the owners of a new form of “command capital” have gained exorbitant power over everyone else, including traditional capitalists, this is no contradiction. ATHENS – Once upon a time, capital goods were just the manufactured means of production. Robinson Crusoe’s salvaged fishing […]
Why Stop at the Russian Oligarchs? Project Syndicate op-ed
, 12/04/2022
At a time when Russian bombs are destroying Ukrainian cities, there is good reason to focus on the oligarchs supporting the Kremlin. But do American multi-billionaires and Saudi princes enjoy less political clout, stash less money abroad, and use their influence any better? ATHENS – No sooner had Roman Abramovich, newly targeted by the United […]
In honour of Chris Smalls and the first Amazon Union in the US – an extract from my ANOTHER NOW
, 02/04/2022
It was with immense delight that I heard the news: Led by Chris Smalls, Amazon workers at a New York warehouse overcame their bosses’ scaremongering and voted to form a trades union – the first by Amazon workers on US soil. In my 2020 science fiction novel ANOTHER NOW (Chapter 8), Chris Smalls makes a […]
Putin must be given a golden bridge from which to escape – On Democracy Now!, with Amy Goodman
, 26/03/2022
The only way of ending the killings, the injuries, the destruction of Ukraine and a permanent quagmire in Europe that threatens world peace, is a rational solution that will leave everybody slightly dissatisfied. “What is exactly the alternative? Is it regime change in Russia?” “Well, whenever the United States tried regime change, it didn’t turn […]
My reply to the Charge of Westsplaining Eastern Europeans
, 23/03/2022
The horrific war Putin unleashed against Ukraine has also caused collateral damage within the ranks of the left. No sooner had I, and other DiEM25 comrades (including Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein), began campaigning for a peaceful resolution of the war based on the principle of an independent but neutral Ukraine than a charge of […]
What we must do in the face of Putin’s criminal invasion of Ukraine – a personal view plus a heartwarming Manifesto by Russian comrades
, 05/03/2022
When a country or region is invaded, I am overcome by one duty: To take the side of the people facing troops with direct orders to violate their homes, to bombard their neighbourhoods, to destroy the circumstances of their lives. Without hesitation. Unconditionally. When I see civilians in Kharkiv or Kiyv preparing Molotov cocktails with […]
Putin’s criminal invasion, Europe’s response, America’s role – AVVENIRE interview (English version)
, 05/03/2022
Avvenire wanted to know my opinion of Putin, of his invasion, of Europe’s and America’s role, of what this war means for Europe and, of course, they wanted me to explain my support for a diplomatic solution based on the idea of an independent, free, neutral Ukraine. Here is the original English text. What is […]
Capitalism and Social Democracy are finished | On the David Pakman Show
, 26/01/2022
Yanis Varoufakis, author of several bestselling books including most recently “Another Now: A novel,” joins David Pakman to discuss the future of the global economy, Europe and the European Union, and much more. Become a Member: https://www.davidpakman.com/membership Become a Patron: https://www.patreon.com/davidpakmanshow Book David Pakman: https://www.cameo.com/davidpakman — Subscribe to the SECOND channel: https://www.youtube.com/pakmanlive Follow David […]
EUROPARAMA interview on ANOTHER NOW
, 26/01/2022
In this episode of EUROPARAMA, I answer questions regarding my sci-fi novel ANOTHER NOW posed by Giuseppe Porcaro and Alberto Cottica, from the Science Fiction Economics Lab, with the participation of Teresa O’Connell, acting chief editor at Are We Europe – and Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, director of the European Neighborhood Council. The show is edited […]
What’s the matter with capitalism? And what alternative does ANOTHER NOW offer? Interview with CAPITALISN’T
, 26/01/2022
In this podcast, I sit down with Luigi Zingales and Bethany McLean to discuss the ills of capitalism, not as an unjust system but one that is inefficient and freedom impeding. And, in the process, to discuss my novel ANOTHER NOW. Clich here to listen to the podcast.
Slo Mo: The Moment Capitalism Died. And Imagining an Enlightened Economy | Interviewed by Mo Gawdat
, 26/01/2022
To LISTEN TO THE PODCAST, ClICK HERE Today’s guest is Yanis Varoufakis, the world renowned economist, member of the Hellenic parliament, and former Greek finance minister who’s been called the “rockstar politician who took on the EU.” This was an absolutely mind blowing conversation, and I recommend approaching it like the most enlightening and […]
How the euro divided Europe, and why countries like Bulgaria should not join – Project Syndicate, Oxford Union video & Keynote audio
, 26/01/2022
This January marked the 20th anniversary of euro notes and coins circulating. In an op-ed published by Project Syndicate I argue that the euro was an unmitigated failure even by the criteria of its architects. This is an updated analysis of a keynote I delivered a few years ago at the Oxford Union – see […]
Why We Must Challenge Zuckerberg’s Ring of Power – Project Syndicate
, 26/01/2022
Learning to appreciate that control is an illusion is hard, especially when we are prepared to sacrifice almost everything, to pay any price, to control others. But if we are to stop others—Mark Zuckerberg, for example—from controlling us, it is a lesson we must learn. Once upon a time, in the ancient kingdom of Lydia, a […]
The causes of inflation and what to do about it – Keynote at Banking Conference, Sofia 2 DEC 2021
, 26/01/2022
Invited by the Bulgarian Central Bank’s Deputy Governor, here is a keynote I delivered in Sofia, on 2nd December 2021, in which I offer a historical explanation of the nature and causes of our current inflation – as well as a proposed policy response that would help (but which vested interests are impeding).
The State of the Global Economy under the heavy burden of twelve lost years – Keynote (audio + text)
, 21/01/2022
A keynote summing up my view that, since 2009, the world has wasted enormous resources in a bid to re-float finance and at the expense of our capacity to look after each other, and the planet, at a time humanity is facing existential threats – from climate catastrophe to war and toxic politics. My discussants […]