Politics and Economics
Labour’s Manifesto is fit for purpose. So, why are the middle classes so hostile to it? THE NEW STATESMAN
, 08/12/2019
What are we to make of a political class that proclaims its ethical commitments but that cannot bring itself to endorse the only concrete actions that would honour them? This general election is unique in ways that transcend Brexit. Over the decades that I have been observing British politics, never before have I witnessed a […]
Is capitalism past its expiry date? Munk Debate (K, Vanden Heuvel & Y. Varoufakis vs A. Brooks & D. Brooks)
, 08/12/2019
The capitalist system is broken. It’s time to try something different. For my 3 minute conclusion of this debate, jump to 1 hour 59 minutes There is a growing belief in western societies that the current capitalist system no longer works for average people. Economic inequality is rampant. Life expectancy is falling. The environment is […]
Why is economics not a force for good and what must we do to make it so? Cambridge 8th NOV 2019
, 22/11/2019
On 8th November, at the invitation of Professor Antara Haldar of Cambridge University, I presented this talk in the context of a fascinating group of academics who gathered in the Cambridge Union’s upstairs seminar room to revive Keynes’ original idea of the Cambridge Circus – a radical circle of economists seeking the kind of economics that […]
Sophisticated Heretic – Interview with the Cambridge Union magazine TCS
, 22/11/2019
Yanis Varoufakis has been adamant that he is not a politician. He might be an economist, though his conversation with Margaret Levi – a Stanford political scientist – at the Cambridge Union last Thursday evening on 7th November 2019 smashed the academic boundary walls of economics in style. His critical principles come from his characteristic […]
My review of Banerjee & Duflo’s (this year’s Nobel winners in economics) latest book – The Observer
, 14/11/2019
REVIEW: Good Economics for Hard Times: Better Answers to Our Biggest Problems, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo A recent YouGov survey confirmed that economists are the least trusted professionals in the UK today. Brexit is only the latest contributor to the public’s understandable rejection of a profession that has either failed spectacularly to raise […]
“Should liberal capitalism be saved?”A debate between Martin Wolf & Yanis Varoufakis, Today, London, Wincott Foundation
, 14/11/2019
On November 14, 2019, The Wincott Foundation will host an evening debate at the Financial Times to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. This special event takes the place of the usual annual Harold Wincott Memorial Lecture. The Foundation was set up in honour of Harold Wincott, who was widely regarded as the finest economic journalist of […]
Quantitative Easing: Its rationale, impact and the future of the world economy – Audio of speech delivered at ICA 2019
, 12/11/2019
Hosted by Bahrain Financial Market Association, the two-day conference organized in cooperation with the Central Bank of Bahrain themed “Reshaping Finance in a Changing Economy”. The ICA hosted the Greek former Minister of Finance Professor Yanis Varoufakis at a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Jarmo T. Kotilaine the Chief Planning and Monitoring Officer of Tamkeen. Other […]
“Brexit, for all its ills, has reinvigorated British democracy” – Cambridge Union address, 8 NOV 2019
, 11/11/2019
Last Friday (8th November 2019), I delivered a Cambridge Union address on (what else?) Brexit. My opening message was: “Instead of moaning about the state of British institutions, rejoice! For all its many ills, Brexit has reinvigorated British democracy.” Unlike most continental European parliaments, the House of Commons remains at the heart of decision making and, […]
Capitalism, Democracy and Europe – Interviewed for the Great Transition Initiative
, 04/11/2019
As harsh austerity and xenophobic nationalism fester in Europe, Yanis Varoufakis discusses his antidote with Tellus Senior Fellow Allen White. What inspired your career trajectory from academic economist to prominent supranational activist? I went into politics because of the financial crisis of 2008. Had financial capitalism not imploded, I would have happily continued my quite […]
Caroline Lucas & Yanis Varoufakis search for what went wrong with democracy – THE BIG ISSUE
, 21/10/2019
The Green Party MP and the MeRA25 leader journey from democracy’s inception through the tumultuous Brexit period and through to the year 2035 There’s chaos on the streets of Westminster as the activists of Extinction Rebellion bring traffic to a standstill to highlight the urgency of action on the climate crisis. If the old democracy […]
With a recession on its way, it is time we demanded an International Green New Deal
, 15/10/2019
Last April, again in The Guardian, David Adler and I called for a particular Green New Deal to be implemented internationally. Now that a new recession is ante portas, we are renewing this call, suggesting that we cannot afford yet another ‘good’ economic crisis to go to waste. Our latest piece in The Guardian follows: […]
I just pulled out of a conference in Turkey in protest at the invasion of Northern Syria’s Kurdish region
, 11/10/2019
It is with profound regret, and after much reflection, that I am pulling out as a speaker at an interesting and worthy international conference organised by TRT World in Istanbul on 21st October. I do so in protest of the Turkish armed forces’ invasion of Northern Syria. The ongoing invasion is not only an assault […]
Must we replace the dollar with a shared international currency unit? On the BBC World Service’s REAL STORY
, 06/09/2019
Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, recently said that we need a new international currency unit to replace the US dollar. In this BBC World Service program, I was asked what I thought of the idea. For more of a background to my answer click here. (For the whole BBC program, click here.)
IQ Squared presents Yanis Varoufakis and Brian Eno on Money, Power and a Call for Radical Change – London, 4th November
, 09/08/2019
The liberal order is under threat. Increasing inequality, the rise of far-right nationalism and the climate emergency pose unprecedented challenges. It’s time for some radical thinking. On November 4th Intelligence Squared is bringing to its stage two of the world’s great radicals – Yanis Varoufakis, the former Greek finance minister known for his trademark leather jacket, motorbike and […]
A tiny incident at Paris airport that speaks volumes about our Europe – the whole story
, 14/07/2019
Small incidents can pack hefty messages. Yesterday afternoon, a tiny drama unfolded at Paris airport, as I was disembarking the airplane that had brought me over from Athens. It speaks volumes about the state of our European Union and the drift toward inane authoritarianism. A French policeman, for no obvious reason, took it to himself […]
A Dream of Spring: Emma Steiner interviews DiEM25’s David Adler
, 18/04/2019
Yanis Varoufakis and the DiEM25 movement are making headlines with their call for a more democratic and just European Union. Varoufakis brings his experience dealing with the EU as the former finance minister of Greece to the table for the European Spring, a European Parliament electoral slate that includes an ambitious and audacious vision for […]
FT Alphachat 28 MAR 2019: On Democracy, Europe, the UK and Greece
, 05/04/2019
Alphaville’s Jemima Kelly and Izabella Kaminska sat down with Yanis Varoufakis, former finance minister of Greece and current organiser of a trans-European group, DiEM25, of what he calls “radical Europeanists” — in favour of union, without deflation or austerity. Mr Varoufakis answers criticism from the left, pointing out that even if the euro or the […]
Two replies to Piketty’s critique of our New Deal for Europe
, 07/03/2019
Thomas Piketty recently criticised DiEM25’s New Deal for Europe for relying on new debt, rather than new taxes, to fund green investment. James K. Galbraith and Stuart Holland (my long time collaborators on the New Deal for Europe and the earlier Modest Proposal on which it was founded) have now replied to Piketty’s critique (see […]
German political economy’s two naughty sisters in action, once again – George Krimpas guest post
, 04/03/2019
The lean years are here again, to the apparent satisfaction of Germany’s Finance Minister, a Social Democrat. The rate of growth of the budgetary surplus was declining, therefore restraining expenditure was the prudent attitude, the public must rest assured that over the next few years 25 billion euros will be saved, the chance of a […]
Europe’s Leaders Are Aiding Italy’s Populists – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 03/03/2019
The fact that Italy’s public debt has a lower credit rating than private debt is a reflection not of public debt’s intrinsic inferiority but of a political choice made by European leaders. And, by bolstering an authoritarian politician, that choice is now blowing back on them. ATHENS – Italy is now the frontline in the […]
Our moment in history, and what must be done. Théâtre du Rond-Point, Paris, Monday 18/2, 20.00
, 11/02/2019
Monday 18 February, 20.00, live from Théâtre du Rond-Point. A discussion between Aude Lancelin and Yanis Varoufakis on politics and philosophy. Follow on @LeMediaTV.