Covid-19 forced billions of humans to re-assess the way we live, work and travel. Monstrous wildfires (from British Columbia to Greece and Croatia) and murderous floods (e.g. Germany) have confirmed that which we should have known: We, humans, have damaged the planet, possibly, beyond repair. Against this background, it is heartbreaking to observe how our […]
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What is money, really? And why Bitcoin is not the answer (even if blockchain is brilliant & potentially helpful in democratising money)
Recently, I argued that a central bank cryptocurrency can be a useful tool in the struggle to democratise money. Such a tool is, of course, not enough. The main task in democratising money is first to democratise the central bank – before deploying useful instruments like a central bank cryptocurrency. As many readers (correctly) pointed […]
A central bank cryptocurrency to democratise money – Project Syndicate & Jordan Times
The history of money has been the history of the struggles to control the payment system and the money tree. Today, with control over both resting in the hands of bankers, central banks’ efforts to boost business end up amplifying inequality while failing to address either economic stagnation or the looming climate disaster. The time […]
What political lessons can we learn from football? A lively chat with Brian Eno, Ken Loach & Roger Waters (plus a short text on the politics of football)
On this, the 6th edition of LET’S TALK IT OVER, the whole gang (Brian Eno, Ken Loach, Yanis Varoufakis & Roger Waters, chaired as always by Frank Barat) is on stage – to chat about lessons progressives must/can learn from… football. It turned out a fun, and possibly, insightful, hour. Whatever the quality of our […]
From the creation of DiEM25 to Technofeudalism’s takeover during the pandemic – in conversation with The Cambridge Journal of LAW, POLITICS & ART
To read the interview pdf form, click here Click here for the Journal’s site.
Central bank independence is a myth. What about green central banking? – op-ed in Green Central Banking
Last week the ECB announced its new policy of ‘going green’. How can a conventional central bank do this? Only by discriminating against bonds and equities issued by companies damaging the environment that it accepts as collateral, or which it buys, in return for loans ‘greening’ its purchase/acceptance policy. Is ‘green central banking’ a move […]
Open Letter to Joe Biden by 95 Greek MPs: “Drop all charges against Julian Assange!”
As part of the international mobilisation to apply pressure on the US government to end the persecution of Julian Assange, MeRA25 invited members of Greece’s Parliament to co-sign the letter below, addressed to President Biden. The letter reminds the US President that, as Obama’s Vice-President, he took the decision not to prosecute Julian. Indeed, the […]
Techno-Feudalism Is Taking Over – Project Syndicate op-ed
This is how capitalism ends: not with a revolutionary bang, but with an evolutionary whimper. Just as it displaced feudalism gradually, surreptitiously, until one day the bulk of human relations were market-based and feudalism was swept away, so capitalism today is being toppled by a new economic mode: techno-feudalism. This is a large claim that […]
Discussing books by Atwood, Balchain & Reid with Harriet Gilbert & Patrick McGrath – On BBC Radio 4’s A GOOD READ
In this episode of Radio 4’s THE GOOD READ, I found myself choosing Margaret Atwood’s treatise on debt (Payback: Debt & The Shadow Side of Wealth) for discussion with presenter Harriet Gilbert and author Patrick McGrath. In Payback, Atwood examines money lending throughout the ages and how it has been portrayed in classic literature. Meanwhile, […]
Square of hope and glory : On the 6th anniversary of the magnificent OXI rally at Syntagma Square
The night the Demos found its voice, for a brief, wonderful moment On the afternoon of Friday, 3 June, as the working day drew to a close, I breathed a sigh of relief. A week of closed banks was almost over. Despite the long queues at ATMs and the uncertainty of what awaited us the […]
Who is afraid of Julian Assange? Why are they so determined to suck the life slowly out of his body?
My dear friend Julian continues to waste away in Britain’ Guantanamo, the victim of ruthless Western governments determined to suck his life slowly from his body as a cautionary tale to anyone who dares expose inconvenient truths. DiEM25, the movement that Julian co-founded, is moving heaven and earth to stop them. Today, Saturday 3rd July, […]
Revisiting the causes & effects of Brexit – New Statesman video interview
Here I am conversing with New Statesman’s George Eaton, reflecting on five years since the EU referendum, Scottish independence, a UK progressive alliance, and whether the EU can stay relevant post Brexit. Lest I be misunderstood, viz the New Statesman’s title: Given the EU’s post-2008 trajectory, & its behaviour more recently, if I were a […]
Debt as Power: Discussing the true nature & purpose of debt with Astra Taylor and Jayati Ghosh – LTIO & DiEM-TV
Debt is power. Extractive power over people and planet. Class societies ensure that the debts of the extractors are never paid while insisting that the debts of the exploited are sacrosanct. In this episode of LTIO we dissect debt and discuss how to overthrow its hold over the many.