English
Techno-Feudalism Is Taking Over – Project Syndicate op-ed
, 05/07/2021
This is how capitalism ends: not with a revolutionary bang, but with an evolutionary whimper. Just as it displaced feudalism gradually, surreptitiously, until one day the bulk of human relations were market-based and feudalism was swept away, so capitalism today is being toppled by a new economic mode: techno-feudalism. This is a large claim that […]
Discussing books by Atwood, Balchain & Reid with Harriet Gilbert & Patrick McGrath – On BBC Radio 4’s A GOOD READ
, 05/07/2021
In this episode of Radio 4’s THE GOOD READ, I found myself choosing Margaret Atwood’s treatise on debt (Payback: Debt & The Shadow Side of Wealth) for discussion with presenter Harriet Gilbert and author Patrick McGrath. In Payback, Atwood examines money lending throughout the ages and how it has been portrayed in classic literature. Meanwhile, […]
Square of hope and glory : On the 6th anniversary of the magnificent OXI rally at Syntagma Square
, 03/07/2021
The night the Demos found its voice, for a brief, wonderful moment On the afternoon of Friday, 3 June, as the working day drew to a close, I breathed a sigh of relief. A week of closed banks was almost over. Despite the long queues at ATMs and the uncertainty of what awaited us the […]
Who is afraid of Julian Assange? Why are they so determined to suck the life slowly out of his body?
, 03/07/2021
My dear friend Julian continues to waste away in Britain’ Guantanamo, the victim of ruthless Western governments determined to suck his life slowly from his body as a cautionary tale to anyone who dares expose inconvenient truths. DiEM25, the movement that Julian co-founded, is moving heaven and earth to stop them. Today, Saturday 3rd July, […]
Revisiting the causes & effects of Brexit – New Statesman video interview
, 24/06/2021
Here I am conversing with New Statesman’s George Eaton, reflecting on five years since the EU referendum, Scottish independence, a UK progressive alliance, and whether the EU can stay relevant post Brexit. Lest I be misunderstood, viz the New Statesman’s title: Given the EU’s post-2008 trajectory, & its behaviour more recently, if I were a […]
Debt as Power: Discussing the true nature & purpose of debt with Astra Taylor and Jayati Ghosh – LTIO & DiEM-TV
, 20/06/2021
Debt is power. Extractive power over people and planet. Class societies ensure that the debts of the extractors are never paid while insisting that the debts of the exploited are sacrosanct. In this episode of LTIO we dissect debt and discuss how to overthrow its hold over the many.
Discussing the Great Sausage War, Foreign Aid, Lockdowns & Taking the Knee on BBC-TV’s Question Time – 10 JUNE 2021
, 11/06/2021
Fiona Bruce presents an hour of topical debate with a virtual audience from around the UK. On the panel: Gillian Keegan MP, minister for apprenticeships and skills, Conservative; Lucy Powell MP, shadow secretary of state for housing, Labour; Yanis Varoufakis, economist, author, former finance minister of Greece, member of the Greek parliament and founder of […]
Is Universal Basic Income a good idea? My debate with Daron Acemoglou on Pairagraph
, 11/06/2021
Pairagragh hosts structured debates between pairs of scholars, politicians etc. taking opposing views on some issue. In this one, Daron Acemoglu and I are debating Universal Basic Income – Daron opposing it and I defending it. Enjoy! Daron Acemoglou’s opening salvo We need a better and stronger social safety net. We need ways of combating […]
Where is Global Capitalism Going? My discussion with Ammar Ali Jan on the occasion of the 1st Anniversary of the Progressive International
, 27/05/2021
Honouring the one-year anniversary of the Progressive International, Council members Yanis Varoufakis and Ammar Ali Jan engage in a wide-ranging debate about the direction of global capitalism in a turbulent age of crisis, pandemic, and political unrest. Ammar Ali Jan is a historian and member of Haqooq-e-Khalq Movement in Pakistan. Yanis Varoufakis is Member of […]
What can economics say about capitalism and its latest stage, technofeudalism – Keynote at The Research Platform on Economic Thought
, 24/05/2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIDsXjXVkdo
The legislative comeback of patriarchal misogyny: Greek government passes compulsory joint custody legislation – video
, 22/05/2021
Perhaps the greatest achievement of Greek progressives during the past four decades was the 1983 Family Law . It jolted Greece from the Dark Ages and, quite astonishingly, ushered in a legal framework regarding marriage, divorce and custody that was far ahead of its time, even when compared to the most progressive countries at the […]
Austerity’s hidden purpose – Project Syndicate/Katmandu Post
, 20/05/2021
Back in the 1830s, Thomas Peel decided to migrate from England to the Swan River in Western Australia. A man of means, Peel took along, besides his family, ‘300 persons of the working class, men, women, and children,’ as well as ‘means of subsistence and production to the amount of £50,000.’ But soon after arrival, […]
8 Answers to 8 Questions on Economic Theory, Economic Policy, Humanity & Capitalism – interviewed for The Age of Economics
, 16/05/2021
In this extensive interview, for the good people at The Age of Economics, I try to answer eight large questions ranging from “Why does economics matter?” and “What are the differences between economics and natural science or engineering?” to “Is capitalism a natural system, given human nature, for serving humanity’s purposes?”. 1. Why does economics […]
Techno-Feudalism & the End of Capitalism – interviewed by Alice Flanagan for NOW THEN
, 16/05/2021
“If you know of Yanis Varoufakis, you know him as the economist and Greek finance minister whose nuanced analyses of the crisis of 2008 became perhaps the defining voice among left-wing critics of global finance. If you don’t know who he is, it’s never too late to get to know him – and conveniently Yanis’s most recent […]
From the peculiar failure of economic theory to capitalism’s transition to technofeudalism: A discussion with Ilan Pappé
, 16/05/2021
We met to discuss economic theory’s curious failures, how they relate to neoliberalist ideology, the manner in which the Crash of 2008 gave rise to the transition of capitalism to technofeudalism, and the prospects of international solidarity to give humanity a chance to escape both technofeudalism and the climate emergency. However, we spent the first […]
Debating the EU with Douglas Murray on UNHERD – video
, 16/05/2021
“The EU has had a difficult pandemic. A slow procurement of vaccines, followed by a botched rollout, and blame-shifting by its leaders has drawn together critics from all politics stripes. Two of unlikely bedfellows from very different political traditions, Douglas Murray and Yanis Varoufakis, joined Freddie Sayers for a discussion about the bloc at an […]
mέta is here! (DiEM25’s Centre for Postcapitalist Civilisation) Read about its purpose & watch our digital launch
, 15/05/2021
Following the Crash of 2008, Capitalism has begun morphing into a form of Technofeudalism – a transformation that the pandemic accelerated and reinforced. We are, thus, already living in postcapitalist times. Dystopian times. Times that bear no resemblance to those we dreamed of as Socialists, as Democrats, as children of the Enlightenment. Can we overturn […]
Discussing events in Palestine with Ilan Pappé
, 15/05/2021
In the context of a long discussion organised by the University of Exeter, on the transition from capitalism to technofeudalism, we dedicated 15′ discussing recent events in Palestine/Israel and the manner in which the Israeli state is pursuing its Apartheid policies both within Israel and the Occupied Territories For the broader discussion click here.
When the truth of Israel’s Apartheid is replaced with missile and assorted violence data reporting
, 13/05/2021
Imagine if reports of riots in Soweto against Apartheid never mentioned Apartheid but only concentrated on the violence of the youths or the loss of life and property caused by militant blacks. This is what we are being treated to today in Western media reports ftom Palestine. When the truth is replaced by silence, a […]
mέta – DiEM25’s & MeRA25’s Centre for Postcapitalist Civilisation premiers tonight, 13th May, at 19.00CET
, 12/05/2021
Imagine the world anew, together. Thursday 13 May 2021, at 19.00CET (17.00GMT, 20.00 Athens time), streaming at mέta’s YouTube channel and at facebook.com/meta.cpc. Through a sequence of intensifying crises, capitalism has already morphed into a dystopian postmodern, hi-tech version of feudalism. Postcapitalism is, thus, already here. Through art and research, argument and poetry, mέta, the […]