English
To use it it would have to be prepared to lose it: Why Germany is not using its power to fix the euro
, 19/09/2011
Last week, on the Jeff Randall show (Sky News), we discussed the looming Greek default but, more importantly, the question of why is Germany dithering. Toward the end of the interview I tried to make the point that Europe’s tratedy is that those with the power to redesign, and in so doing fix, the eurosystem […]
Geithner Shunned: What the US Treasury Secretary said to the Europeans and how they shunned him at our collective peril
, 19/09/2011
Back in the era of unquestioned US hegemony, many Europeans (and I include myself) dreamed of the moment when our leaders would find it in their hearts publically to repudiate the heavy handed advice of a high ranking visiting American dignitary. This weekend, the dream came true. Only it turned out a terrible nightmare.
In Ireland
, 14/09/2011
If you are wondering why I have been keeping quiet this week it is because I am in Dublin on a series of talks, interviews and discussions through which I hope (a) to spread the word for the Modest Proposal and (b) to learn from this amazing small country’s experiences. Today’s (personal) highlight was meeting […]
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 […]
Greece's desperate new tax grab: Akin to carpetbombing the economy in order to save it
, 12/09/2011
Back in the bleak days of the Vietnam war, Peter Arnett reported that some US Army officer, in a desperate bid to defend the destruction of a Vietnamese village, commented that “to save the village from the communists we had to destroy it.” While the quote has been disputed, it resonates nicely with that which […]
Can Germany save Europe without jeopardising its own finances? Most certainly! An interview with Vorwaerts, the SPD's official newspaper
, 11/09/2011
During August I was interviewed by Markus Schöning on behalf of Vorwaerts, the SPD’s official newspaper. Here is what I had to say (in German only). Interview zur Eurokrise mit Yanis Varoufakis Europa als Dampfmaschine Markus Schöning • 09. September 2011 Eurobondes sinnvoll gestalten. Foto: Dr. Klaus-Uwe Gerhardt/pixelio.de Markus Schöning: Angesichts des verstärkten Engagements der Europäischen […]
Is Greece finished?
, 11/09/2011
In one sense Greece was finished the moment the Great Recession cut its growth rate (in the second quarter of 2009) from among the highest in Europe to almost zero.
On the newly established Council for the Future of Europe's Manifesto: An assessment
, 08/09/2011
A new think tank is in town with a heartfelt mission to save Europe. Its name: Council for the Future of Europe. It was set up recently by über-rich Nicolas Berggruen, a German entrepreneur who, commendably, is left dissatisfied by his billions and wants to spend part of them to create a better world. (See […]
Schauble, Keynes and a shadowy HM Treasury Official
, 08/09/2011
Back in 1930, a policy pamphlet was published, one either inspired or even written by John Maynard Keynes. Its title: We Can Conquer Unemployment. We mobilised for war. Let us now mobilise for prosperity! Why is this relevant?
Video: A brief introduction to The Global Minotaur, courtesy of ScotlandUnite
, 08/09/2011
Last Friday, 2nd September, a day after the launch of The Global Minotaur, ScotlandUnite, the trades union, invited me to their London offices where they kindly interviewed me on a number of issues, including the book. Here is the video of what I had to say about The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of […]
Eurobonds: Not a question of ‘whether’ but one of ‘who will issue them’ and ‘who will back them’
, 05/09/2011
by Yanis Varoufakis and Stuart Holland Ever since the Crisis erupted, Europe’s leaders have reacted to the suggestion that eurobonds are sine qua non with a familiar repertoire of responses. First came denial of the need for eurobonds, coupled with a snub for those who proposed them. More recently, we witnessed depression at the realisation […]
Hour long radio interview (91.5FM WNYE New York) on the eurozone crisis and the Modest Proposal
, 29/08/2011
Hour long radio interview (91.5FM WNYE New York, broadcasting across NY, NJ, CT, and PA) in which I discussed the euro crisis, explained why eurobonds are essential as long as they are not guaranteed by the eurozone’s member-states, and argued in favour of the continuing appeal of the Modest Proposal (click here for the Levy Institute […]
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 […]
To the Finland Station: The undoing of the Menshevik Approach to the Euro Crisis
, 27/08/2011
When Lenin alighted on 3rd April 1917 at Petrograd’s Finland Station, a train was set in motion that upstaged, and eventually overturned, the Mensheviks’ plan for an ‘evolutionary’ path from absolute Tsarism to some form of social democracy. Ironically, it took a Finnish social democrat (newly elected finance minister Jutta Urpilainen) to derail once and […]
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 […]
The Euro Crisis Revisited: Radio interview with Doug Henwood for Behind the News, KPFA 94.1FM
, 22/08/2011
In this half-hour interview (jump to 29′ 10”) Doug Henwood gave me an opportunity to lay bare the pieces of the euro crisis jigsaw puzzle but also to expand upon the inter-connections with the global crisis and its US menifestation in particular. Any comments?
The Modest Proposal as the last shot left in the eurozone’s barrel: Guest post by George Krimpas
, 20/08/2011
The term ‘eurobond’ is bandied about ever so lightly. This is dangerous.
Why Eurobonds are Essential and Fiscal Union a Folly (Or how to escape the equally untenable positions of German economists Thomas Straubhaar and Otmar Issing)
, 17/08/2011
The context: In the middle of a mighty bushfire the fire brigade just held a summit between its chief fire fighters (Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy) to discuss the importance of biodiversity, leaving the flames to destroy the forest. Italy and Spain are collapsing. The EFSF, the only institution that was set up to deal […]
On George Soros’ three recommendations: An assessment
, 15/08/2011
George Soros, in his recent FT article, puts forward three proposals toward arresting the euro crisis. One and a half of these are spot on. The remaining (one and a half) range from the ill-thought to the catastrophic. Here is why I think this:
Why the ECB must, for its own sake, issue its own eurobonds
, 13/08/2011
When the Modest Proposal argued, a year ago, in favour of a debt management system, for the eurozone as a whole, with the ECB at its centre, the general response was that it was a good idea containing a major flaw: the suggestion that the ECB issues its own eurobonds (for the purposes of financing […]
ON EUROPE’S RATIONAL IDIOCY: Four illustrations
, 12/08/2011
In a recent post (Why Italy? Why Spain? And why the EFSF’s size does not matter), I concluded with a question that readers keep asking: “If what you are saying is right, why are Europe’s leaders so committed to the current structure of the EFSF?” More generally, the world has been watching Europeans blundering incessantly […]
The Modest Proposal’s Most Controversial Recommendation Foreshadowed in the FT; plus Gordon Brown (former UK PM) and Sigmar Gabriel (SPD Chairman) adopting its main principles
, 10/08/2011
In recent days, the Modest Proposal (click here for the Levy Institute version) has received a fillip from three different sources: The FT’s Lex (who argues that the ECB may well have to issue its own bonds), Sigmar Gabriel (SPD’s Chairman) and Gordon Brown (the UK’s former PM).