ATHENS – Western capitalism has few sacred cows left. It is time to question one of them: the independence of central banks from elected governments. The rationale for entrusting monetary policy fully to central banks is well understood: politicians, overly tempted during the electoral cycle to create more money, pose a threat to economic stability. […]
Politics and Economics
The Great Crash (2007/8) ten years on – talking on BBC Radio 4’s World At One special program
In this BBC World at One program dedicated to the Crash of 2007-8, I try, in the space of two and a half minutes, to explain why those momentous events, ten years ago, changed the world in a manner that it no longer makes sense in terms common prior to 2007. Of why I claim […]
Bifo: “I am no longer a European given Europe’s daily crimes” & “thus I resign from DiEM25”. And my response
A few days ago, I received a letter from Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi that works like a punch-in-the-stomach type of wake up call addressed to all Europeans. To crown its tough message, Bifo concludes that his conscience cannot fathom being a European any longer, given Europe’s daily crimes against logic and humanity. Thus, Bifo concludes, he […]
A New Deal for the 21st Century – op-ed in the New York Times 6th July 2017
ATHENS — The recent elections in France and Britain have confirmed the political establishment’s simultaneous vulnerability and vigor in the face of a nationalist insurgency. This contradiction is the motif of the moment — personified by the new French president, Emmanuel Macron, whose résumé made him a darling of the elites but who rode a wave of anti-establishment enthusiasm […]
Adults in the Room – reviewed by Adam Tooze (Columbia University)
Reading Varoufakis: Frustrated Strategist of Greek Financial Deterrence (click here for the original site) by Adam Tooze Adam Tooze holds the Shelby Cullom Davis chair of History at Columbia University and serves as Director of the European Institute. He is currently at work on a history of the global financial crisis 2008-2018, which will appear […]
Discussing Adults in the Room with Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National
Insider account of Europe’s Establishment Economist and academic Yanis Varoufakis was always a political outsider, who gained notoriety when he challenged Europe’s political leaders, the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the IMF during Greece’s economic crisis. He exposed these leaders and institutions as being self-serving, while not considering the disastrous effects of austerity […]
EU, Brexit, Greece, the Left’s relationship with the State & Ireland: Long interview with Ben Lowry
For the first part of the interview on News Letter’s site click here. For the second part here. Or…
Brexit: An unorthodox view – a Guardian Live event, 27th January 2017
With Srećko Horvat, Elif Shafak, Yanis Varoufakis & Owen Jones A troubled Britain is on its way out of a troubled European Union. Disintegration and xenophobia are in the air. The government in London is in disarray. But so is every other government in Europe, not to mention the European Commission whose authority is tending […]
Democratising Europe – interviewed by James Lock for NOW THEN magazine
In recent years we have seen far more of the workings behind the curtain of neoliberalism than we ever have before. This is in part, I believe, due to the work of Yanis Varoufakis. A Greek economist educated in Britain, Varoufakis first made headlines for his integral role as Finance Minister for the Syriza government […]