Europe has discovered its moral Rubicon, the frontier beyond which commodification becomes intolerable. The line in the sand that Europeans refuse to cross, come what may, has just been drawn. We bowed to bankers who almost blew up capitalism, bailing them out at the expense of our weakest citizens. We turned a blind eye to […]
Politics and Economics
Listen now to the Communist Manifesto, including the new introduction of the latest Penguin edition
Penguin’s recent edition of the Communist Manifesto is now available on audio here and here. (Meanwhile, here is an extract of my introduction to the Manifesto – as it appeared in The Guardian. For a manifesto to succeed, it must speak to our hearts like a poem while infecting the mind with images and ideas […]
‘The Austerity Doctrine in the Time of Coronavirus’: Crucial Q&A on post-pandemic austerity with Brian Eno & Yanis Varoufakis plus special guests Stephanie Kelton & Naomi Klein
In the 3rd episode of Let’s Talk It Over regulars Brian Eno and Yanis Varoufakis welcomed very special guests Stephanie Kelton and Naomi Klein to discuss The Austerity Doctrine in the Time of Coronavirus. Here are some of the questions tackled in the program: Austerians for years told us that all hell would be unleashed on […]
A Covid-19 counterfactual for Europe – Project Syndicate
Imagine that the coronavirus pandemic, rather than undermining confidence in the European Union, had strengthened it. Imagine that Covid-19 had persuaded EU leaders to overcome years of acrimony and fragmentation. Imagine that it had catalysed the emergence this year of a stronger, more integrated bloc to which the world looked for global leadership. Imagine. It […]
Everything Must Change! DiEM-TV’s lockdown interviews now available as a book
As the pandemic placed capitalism in suspended animation, dividing us between the privileged who could afford to quarantine ourselves and those who risked life and limb keeping the world’s wheels turning, DiEM-TV went into action. Srecko Horvat and I began a series of livestreamed discussions with one aim in mind: to keep alive the hope […]
The Goldilocks Stimulus Myth – Project Syndicate, The Kathmandu Post
Both supporters and critics of US President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan assume that there is a dollar amount that is just right. In fact, no such figure exists: every possible stimulus size is simultaneously too little and too big. ATHENS – US President Joe Biden, facing the great challenge of stimulating his country’s […]
The Consequences of Capitalism – Guest Lecture at the U of Arizona, 16th February 2021
Invited by Noam Chomsky and Marvin Waterstone, here is an audio of the lecture I delivered to University of Arizona students on ‘The Consequences of Capitalism”
Speaking of antisemitism… – A personal view as related to my DiEM25 comrades (video + text)
On 4th February 2021, DiEM25’s coordinating collective held a discussion on how progressives can, at once, fight antisemitism and remain highly critical of Israel’s policies. You can watch a video of my speech and read an extended version of these thoughts below. Last week, while discussing competing identities, I argued that it is unacceptable to […]
Did we see yesterday something like ANOTHER NOW’s Crowdshorters in action ? You be the judge!
In my ANOTHER NOW I imagined a new type of resistance movement that uses the tools of finance to bring down capitalism and create a democratic market socialist economy in its stead. I called them CROWDSHORTERS. Yesterday, I received many messages suggesting that the CROWDSHORTERS are emerging for real, with the Reddit group that supported […]
Identity, solidarity and DiEM25
If I were a transgender person and a bunch of Lefties dared lecture me that the exploitation of factory workers by capitalists is more important than my daily struggle tο function as a transgender person, I would tell them to get lost. No one has the right to tell those who are hurt, terrified, exploited […]
What is at stake is the independence of Ecuador, not of its central bank. This is why the oligarchy is attacking Andrés Arauz- video
It is with considerable amusement that I follow the international oligarchy’s anxiety to prevent Andrés Arauz from winning the presidential election. I say amusement because they have chosen to damage his standing by painting him as a threat to the independence of Ecuador’s central bank – of which Andres was the youngest governor. Let’s get […]
“The EU after Brexit” Keynote followed by a conversation with Norman Lamont – 27th January 2021
In this keynote, organised by the Economics Research Council, I shall discuss, and re-assess, the deeper forces leading to Brexit. Moving beyond the myth of it as the manifestation of some British idiosyncrasy, I shall trace its causes in a fundamental incompatibility between British and Continental capitalism which the financial crisis of 2008 brought to […]
“What New Institutions Do We Need For An International Green New Deal To Be Feasible?” Geneva Lecture Series, video & a review by Marie-Christine Ghreichi
Organised by Prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic as part of the University of Geneva Lecture Series on ‘Contemporary World of Geo-economics’, I was honoured with an invitation to deliver a long lecture on the pressing need for new international financial institutions to address crushing global imbalances and inequalities. Watch the video and also read a review […]
“Global Trade & Capital Imbalances imperil Global Stability” – Redaction Politics reviews my Holberg 2020 debate with John Bolton
Redaction Politics published a review of my Holberg 2o2o debate with John Bolton on Global Stability. Their review is reproduced below. To watch the debate click here. Yanis Varoufakis lamented economic equality and pushed for global co-operation while John Bolton urged diplomatic confrontation as the pair battled over the question of “global stability” last week. […]