English
Is Greece finished?
, 11/09/2011
In one sense Greece was finished the moment the Great Recession cut its growth rate (in the second quarter of 2009) from among the highest in Europe to almost zero.
On the newly established Council for the Future of Europe's Manifesto: An assessment
, 08/09/2011
A new think tank is in town with a heartfelt mission to save Europe. Its name: Council for the Future of Europe. It was set up recently by über-rich Nicolas Berggruen, a German entrepreneur who, commendably, is left dissatisfied by his billions and wants to spend part of them to create a better world. (See […]
Schauble, Keynes and a shadowy HM Treasury Official
, 08/09/2011
Back in 1930, a policy pamphlet was published, one either inspired or even written by John Maynard Keynes. Its title: We Can Conquer Unemployment. We mobilised for war. Let us now mobilise for prosperity! Why is this relevant?
Video: A brief introduction to The Global Minotaur, courtesy of ScotlandUnite
, 08/09/2011
Last Friday, 2nd September, a day after the launch of The Global Minotaur, ScotlandUnite, the trades union, invited me to their London offices where they kindly interviewed me on a number of issues, including the book. Here is the video of what I had to say about The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of […]
Eurobonds: Not a question of ‘whether’ but one of ‘who will issue them’ and ‘who will back them’
, 05/09/2011
by Yanis Varoufakis and Stuart Holland Ever since the Crisis erupted, Europe’s leaders have reacted to the suggestion that eurobonds are sine qua non with a familiar repertoire of responses. First came denial of the need for eurobonds, coupled with a snub for those who proposed them. More recently, we witnessed depression at the realisation […]
Hour long radio interview (91.5FM WNYE New York) on the eurozone crisis and the Modest Proposal
, 29/08/2011
Hour long radio interview (91.5FM WNYE New York, broadcasting across NY, NJ, CT, and PA) in which I discussed the euro crisis, explained why eurobonds are essential as long as they are not guaranteed by the eurozone’s member-states, and argued in favour of the continuing appeal of the Modest Proposal (click here for the Levy Institute […]
CATHARSIS DENIED: The tragedy of 9/11 ten years on
, 28/08/2011
The death of innocents haunts the living until each death is individuated, every last moment is narrated, all personal stories are woven into some unified, cathartic account. During the past ten years, much of the haunting has been lifted by superb reconstructions of the last phone calls, the self-denying rescue efforts, the struggle to escape […]
To the Finland Station: The undoing of the Menshevik Approach to the Euro Crisis
, 27/08/2011
When Lenin alighted on 3rd April 1917 at Petrograd’s Finland Station, a train was set in motion that upstaged, and eventually overturned, the Mensheviks’ plan for an ‘evolutionary’ path from absolute Tsarism to some form of social democracy. Ironically, it took a Finnish social democrat (newly elected finance minister Jutta Urpilainen) to derail once and […]
And the winner is… (The final verdict on our mini competition on Liberty, Justice and Crisis is in)
, 25/08/2011
Back on 7th July I invited readers to submit short pieces on Liberty and Justice, in the context of the present crisis. The prize on offer was a signed copy of a recent book (entitled MODERN POLITICAL ECONOMICS: Making sense of the post-2008 world, jointly scribbled by myself, Joseph Halevi and Nicholas Theocarakis). The time […]
The Euro Crisis Revisited: Radio interview with Doug Henwood for Behind the News, KPFA 94.1FM
, 22/08/2011
In this half-hour interview (jump to 29′ 10”) Doug Henwood gave me an opportunity to lay bare the pieces of the euro crisis jigsaw puzzle but also to expand upon the inter-connections with the global crisis and its US menifestation in particular. Any comments?
The Modest Proposal as the last shot left in the eurozone’s barrel: Guest post by George Krimpas
, 20/08/2011
The term ‘eurobond’ is bandied about ever so lightly. This is dangerous.
Why Eurobonds are Essential and Fiscal Union a Folly (Or how to escape the equally untenable positions of German economists Thomas Straubhaar and Otmar Issing)
, 17/08/2011
The context: In the middle of a mighty bushfire the fire brigade just held a summit between its chief fire fighters (Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy) to discuss the importance of biodiversity, leaving the flames to destroy the forest. Italy and Spain are collapsing. The EFSF, the only institution that was set up to deal […]
On George Soros’ three recommendations: An assessment
, 15/08/2011
George Soros, in his recent FT article, puts forward three proposals toward arresting the euro crisis. One and a half of these are spot on. The remaining (one and a half) range from the ill-thought to the catastrophic. Here is why I think this:
Why the ECB must, for its own sake, issue its own eurobonds
, 13/08/2011
When the Modest Proposal argued, a year ago, in favour of a debt management system, for the eurozone as a whole, with the ECB at its centre, the general response was that it was a good idea containing a major flaw: the suggestion that the ECB issues its own eurobonds (for the purposes of financing […]
ON EUROPE’S RATIONAL IDIOCY: Four illustrations
, 12/08/2011
In a recent post (Why Italy? Why Spain? And why the EFSF’s size does not matter), I concluded with a question that readers keep asking: “If what you are saying is right, why are Europe’s leaders so committed to the current structure of the EFSF?” More generally, the world has been watching Europeans blundering incessantly […]
The Modest Proposal’s Most Controversial Recommendation Foreshadowed in the FT; plus Gordon Brown (former UK PM) and Sigmar Gabriel (SPD Chairman) adopting its main principles
, 10/08/2011
In recent days, the Modest Proposal (click here for the Levy Institute version) has received a fillip from three different sources: The FT’s Lex (who argues that the ECB may well have to issue its own bonds), Sigmar Gabriel (SPD’s Chairman) and Gordon Brown (the UK’s former PM).
The Minotaur in the Room: Announcing the London launch of my new book on the true causes of the ongoing global economic tumult – 1st September 2011
, 09/08/2011
In London on Thursday 1st September at 18.30? Why not join us in the launch of The Global Minotaur at the Bookmarks bookshop , 1 Bloomsbury Street? Aditya Chakrabortty (of The Guardian) will introduce the book. (Click here for a pdf of the invitation) Meanwhile, here is a piece that sums up the reasons why this […]
On the US and EU debt crises: My ten minute Radio Scotland interview
, 08/08/2011
Last Saturday, I was interviewd by Derek Bateman on BBC Radio Scotland. I post that interview here only because Derek put some poignant questions regarding the linkages between the EU and US crises and, more so, the irrationality of the EU’s approach (on which I shall have much more to say in an already promised […]
What the Modest Proposal asks of the ECB: Responses to a reader’s criticisms
, 06/08/2011
Manos Makrakis, a reader of this blog, has expressed strong reservations about the newfangled role that our Modest Proposal assigns to the European Central Bank (see Policy 1). His text appears below in full. Here are, in numbered points, my reply:
Why Italy? Why Spain? And why the EFSF’s size does not matter
, 04/08/2011
Italy and Spain are tumbling because one problematic structure (the European Financial Stability Fund, the EFSF) has been conjured up in order to prop up another problematic structure (the eurozone). The result is that both structures are reaching the end of their tether. Enlarging the newer of the two problematic structures (the EFSF) will not […]
Greece cannot be rescued unless the eurozone is redesigned: Interviewed on ABC LATELINE
, 25/07/2011
Here is the transcript and video of my ABC TVextended intrerview on LATELINE regarding the recent Greek ‘rescue’ plan. Any comments? Transcript ALI MOORE, PRESENTER: Well just a short time ago I spoke to Yanis Varoufakis, an economist at Athens University. Yanis Varoufakis many thanks for talking to Lateline tonight. YANIS VAROUFAKIS, ECONOMIST, ATHENS UNIVERSITY: […]
Europe’s Faustian Bargain: On the latest attempt to resolve the Greek debt crisis and its repercussions
, 22/07/2011
The Agreement reached yesterday by Europe’s political and financial elites is meant to tackle, once and for all, the Greek debt problem. Just as in May 2010 the idea was that intra-eurozone contagion could be prevented by ringfencing Greece (recall the first Greek bailout, the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility, the EFSF, and […]
Missive from the Libyan Sea: Thursday's meeting, if it takes place, will add to the litany of gross failures
, 18/07/2011
Still on holidays, and still under-informed about the goings on (I just manage to read snippets of the news on my mobile phone, whenever a signal miraculously appears on its screen). And yet it seems certain that the Thursday EU summit (of which I got a brief whiff in a few tweets I stimbled upon), […]