Essays
No plan for either Europe or Greece: Guest post by Jerry Goldstein
, 13/12/2011
In the interests of fostering dialogue on the issues that matter, I welcome today’s blog entry from long time contributor (and regular critic of my scribblings) Jerry Goldstein. Jerry has a strong background in banking but, and this is highly pertinent, spends most of his time in Athens.
The essence of the New Eurozone, as envisaged by the latest Treaty Change. Guest post by Joseph Halevi
, 09/12/2011
My good friend, co-author and interlocutor extraordinaire, Joseph Halevi, spends half the year in a small town on the shores of an Italian lake. Upon hearing of the latest Treaty changes to which the euro 17 nations agreed today, he sent me the following message. I can think of no better or more analytically astute […]
Two eurocrisis guest posts: Diagnosis (by Jan Toporowski) and cure (by Stuart Holland)
, 06/12/2011
While preparing for my tak at the LSE, organised by the Hellenic Observatory, I thought you may be interested in two guest posts. One is by Jan Toporowski (on the deeper causes of the eurozone crisis) and another by Stuart Holland (in which the author draws the parallel between the essence of our Modest Proposal […]
A fresh proposal for escaping the euro crisis. Guest post by Alain Parguez
, 25/11/2011
The following proposal is due to Alain Parguez, Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon-France ( www.neties.com/parguez ). Professor Parguez has been a longstanding critique of European Union affairs. His incisive critique of the eurozone’s architecture predates by many years the current Crisis. Always fascinated by his views , I am grateful for the […]
End the European Blame Game! Keynote at the British Foreign Press Association's 2011 Awards Night
, 24/11/2011
The Foreign Press Association, London, paid me the compliment of inviting me to deliver a keynote speech at its 2011 Annual Awards Night. Here is the text of my talk (kindly transcribed by a journalist that wishes to remain anonymous).
The Serpent's Egg hatchlings in Greece's postmodern Great Depression
, 18/11/2011
A brief history of the racist/fascist/neonazi penetration of Greece’s new ‘technocratic’ government It will prove George Papandreou’s ugliest legacy: that his last-minute childish maneuvering to maximise his waning hold on power (while negotiating his eviction from the PM’s job), has brought into the new ‘national unity’ government four self-declared racists (some of whom are neo-Fascists […]
On the US, European and Greek Crisis: A double act with Rick Wolff at the Brecht Forum
, 17/11/2011
On 8th November 2011, Rick Wolff invited me to a double act at the Brecht Forum (downtown NYC). Our topic: Rick gave a brilliant wrap up of the recent developments on the US Crisis front. My brief was to start with Greece before discussing more broadly the European debacle. Afterwards Costas Panayotakis commented on my […]
The Dance of the Meta-Axioms: How economics makes itself perpetually irrelevant. Today at the New School, NY
, 10/11/2011
Click here for the relevant paper: Dance of the Meta-axioms While the eurozone is dancing itself into oblivion, Greece and Italy are appointing new Prime Ministers whose greatest claim to fame was to be part of the policy mindset that brought us where we are, I am taking a break (just for today) from this incessant […]
The Euro, Greece, the World Economy: Part A of an hour long interview on 'The Agenda' with Steve Paikin (Canadian Public TV)
, 09/11/2011
The Agenda with Steve Paikin, an in-depth current affairs program on Canadian public TV, kindly afforded me an hour long interview on all aspects of the Crisis (Greece, euro, global).
Discussing the Global-European-cum-Greek-cum-Global Crisis at the Brecht Forum, NY. Tonight at 19.30
, 08/11/2011
Tonight, I shall have the pleasure of being an invitee of Professor Rick Wolff. If you are in Manhattan, please join us. Rick (the author of Capitalism Hits the Fan: The global economic meltdown and what to do about it, Northampton, Mass.: Olive Branch Press, 2010) presents a monthly series at the Brecht Forum (see below for […]
The Modest Proposal in Toronto. Today, Monday 7th November, 16.00
, 07/11/2011
7th November, University of Toronto: Invited to speak on The Euro and the European Crisis by the Munk School of Global Affairs at Toronto University. The advertisement states: “As the eurozone crisis is unfolding, threatening in the process to infect the global economy, the debate currently raging in Europe (on how to tackle the cascading defaults and insolvencies) […]
The Modest Proposal in Toronto. Today, Monday 7th November, 16.00
, 01/11/2011
7th November, University of Toronto: Invited to speak on The Euro and the European Crisis by the Munk School of Global Affairs at Toronto University. The advertisement states: “As the eurozone crisis is unfolding, threatening in the process to infect the global economy, the debate currently raging in Europe (on how to tackle the cascading defaults and insolvencies) […]
"Can't Pay, won't pay!" From Dario Fo's play to our contemporary Greek dystopia
, 22/10/2011
El Pais asked me to write a piece on the ‘fiscal disobedience’ movement that seems to be shaping up in Greece. Here is what I wrote. (I shall post the Spanish version, off El Pais’ site, when available):
Los Angeles Review of Books: On Yanis Varoufakis’s new theory of the global financial crisis, by Brian Collins
, 18/10/2011
Brian Collins honoured us (myself and my co-authors Joseph Halevi and Nicholas Theocarakis) with a long, extremely kind review which he just published in the Los Angeles Review of Books: Yanis Varoufakis, Joseph Halevi, and Nicholas Theocarakis, Modern Political Economics: Making Sense of the Post-2008 World, Routledge, July 2011. 552 pp. Yanis Varoufakis, The Global Minotaur: America, The […]
A grim assessment of Europe's Social Democratic Parties: video
, 14/10/2011
Interview (Part 4) that I gave a few weeks ago to the Scottish branch of Unite – the union. A big thank you to Peter Welsh and Andrew Brady. Below I copy their description of this interview: “Unite Scotland’s fourth and final instalment in the Varoufakis series puts focus on the failings of social democratic […]
It's a banking crisis…
, 11/10/2011
Video courtesy of Koen Aarts. Taped just after my University of Groningen presentation on 6th October 2011/
Cancellation: Regretfully, UADPhilEcon is forced to announce that, due to contractual obligations, tomorrow's talk by James K. Galbraith is cancelled
, 02/10/2011
Cancellation: Regretfully, UADPhilEcon is forced to announce that, due to contractual obligations, tomorrow’s (Monday 3rd October) talk by James K. Galbraith is cancelled. James’ contract with a commercial organisation did not, as it turned out, permit him to deliver this lecture. Hopefully, when and if UADPhilEcon recovers its funding, we shall be in a position […]
Arresting the Freefall rather than a Blueprint for the ‘Good Europe’: The Modest Proposal defended against C. Flower’s powerful critique
, 25/09/2011
C. Flower paid me the complement of penning a critique, entitled New Bottle , Old Keynesian Wine, of my Shellbourne Hotel talk (14th September 2011) as well as of the essence of our Modest Proposal. I reproduce this critique here in its entirety, followed by my reply. Before anything else is said, let me thank C. […]
Need a reminder of our era's political deficit? Here is a glimpse (dating to 1936)
, 24/09/2011
While we are lamenting our leaders’ lack of political will, nous and courage, it is both helpful and a little sad to compare and contrast the politicians in charge during this Crisis of ours with the generation of political leaders whose spirit was steeled during the previous Crisis, that of 1929. With no further ado, […]
A Crisis of Capitalism: Guest post by Riccardo Bellofiore
, 23/09/2011
Last Wednesday, The Guardian published a piece by friend and colleague Riccardo Bellofiore entitled A Crisis of Capitalism. Here I paste an extended version of that piece, which also mentions our Modest Proposal. Enjoy!
The Global Minotaur versus the Age of Greed: A debate on the ABC Radio National's Late Night Live, chaired by Philip Adams
, 19/09/2011
Since the late 80s one of my daily pleasures has been to listen to Late Night Live, the ABC Radio National's daily program in which Philip Adams, the renowned Australian film maker, author and public intellectual reviews the current political, social and cultural climate, talks to authors about a great variety of interesting books (that [...]Guest Post: Jerry Goldstein is sure of a Greek default, cannot see the eurozone breaking up but can see no way out of the mire either
, 12/09/2011
GUEST POST by Jerry Goldstein, ex City banker and regular correspondent of this blog I see the probability of Greece defaulting at 1, on a scale of zero to one. But I do not necessarily think this is sufficient to cause a breakup of the eurozone. Whilst a Greek default will cause volatility to spike […]
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 […]
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 […]