Essays
The op-ed that The Guardian would have published had Trump won: Compare and contrast
, 11/11/2020
Before the US Presidential Election the Guardian kindly asked me to write two articles: one in case of a Biden victory, one in case of a Trump victory. I was happy to write them, only to be startled by how similar the two articles ended up being. Interested readers can read here the article that […]
Hoping for a return to normal after Trump? That’s the last thing we need – The GUARDIAN
, 11/11/2020
Normalcy and the restoration of a modicum of decorum to the White House: that is what many elite supporters of Joe Biden hope for now that he has won the election. But the rest of us are turned off by this meagre ambition. Voters who loathe Trump celebrate his loss, but the majority rue the return […]
Brian Eno’s take on the US Presidential Election result
, 10/11/2020
Once again, Brian and I are singing from the same hymn sheet – just as we did on the day after the Brexit referendum, the last UK General Election etc. Having just received an email containing his gut feeling about the next four years in the US, I thought I should share it with you. […]
Joe Biden, we are happy that you beat Trump. But here is why we shall oppose you, starting today – video
, 09/11/2020
Biden has won. And thank goodness for that. BUT, it is the Biden Democrats who have proven time & again their determination to prevent ANY challenge to the power & wealth of the few causing the discontent that is propelling Trumpism. As of today, after one day of celebrations, progressives must unite against the reactionary […]
Long, penetrating, discussion of ANOTHER NOW with Amy Mullins on 3RRR Radio’s ‘Uncommon Sense’
, 01/11/2020
Amy Mullins and Yanis Varoufakis in a special conversation about his vision for a post-capitalist society as presented in his new book, Another Now: Dispatches From An Alternative Present. For 3RRR’s site click here
Anjan Basu reviews ANOTHER NOW for The Wire
, 01/11/2020
What would a post-capitalist society look like, if it was to avoid replicating the failed Soviet model? In which, important ways, will its economic and social institutions be dissimilar to modern capitalism’s? Will the market have a place in that society’s scheme of things? If the answer to this last question is yes, and assuming […]
ANOTHER NOW reviewed by Luke McCarthy in The Monthly
, 24/10/2020
Politics in a time of pandemic are grim. In the face of such global catastrophe, one that has only exacerbated the extractive, sclerotic nature of our existing economy, those on the left are burdened with the question: is there an alternative? And, if there is, how can we get there? These are the very questions […]
How worried should Americans be about public debt? My debate with Todd G. Buchholz on pairagraph.com
, 24/10/2020
How worried should Americans (indeed the rest of the world too) be about public debt. In this running exchange Todd G. Buchholz, White House director of economic policy for President George H.W. Bush, financier and author, and Yanis Varoufakis, academic economist, parliamentarian and author, answer the question. Invited to do so by debate forum pairagraph.com, […]
John Bolton vs Yanis Varoufakis on “Is Global Stability A Pipe Dream?” – The 2020 Holberg Debate, 5 DEC 2020
, 18/10/2020
At the 2020 Holberg Debate, Amb. John Bolton and Yanis Varoufakis, Member of the Hellenic Parliament, will discuss current threats to regional and global stability. The debate will be a virtual event. Anyone can watch the livestream here. Tweet your questions before or during the event with hashtag #Holberg2020. JOHN BOLTON is an American attorney, […]
On ABC Radio National’s LNL, discussing my ANOTHER NOW with Phillip Adams
, 16/10/2020
In a new book, entitled ANOTHER NOW: Dispatches from an alternative present (London: The Bodley Head), Yanis Varoufakis gives us a glimpse of what a truly democratised world might look like, and how we might get there. Duration: 33min 47sec, Broadcast: Thu 15 Oct 2020, 10:20pm. ABC website See also: ANOTHER NOW: An intimate introduction (video […]
Παρεμβάσεις στο debate του BBC1 Question Time περί Πανδημίας, Λιτότητας, Στήριξης Τεχνών & Πολιτών, Τραμπ – 8 OKT 2020
, 13/10/2020
Η βδομαδιάτικη εκπομπή του BBC1 με τίτλο Question Time, είναι η πιο δημοφιλής πολιτική εκπομπή στη Βρετανία. Κάθε Πέμπτη βράδυ διασταυρώνουν τα ξίφη τους εκπρόσωποι των δύο μεγάλων κομμάτων μπροστά σε ζωνταντό κοινό. Στις 8 Οκτωβρίου συμμετείχα σε αυτό με τις ακόλουθες παρεμβάσεις: [Το πιο πάνω βίντεο αφορά μόνο τις δικές μου παρεμβάσεις, με ελληνικούς […]
Debating wealth redistribution with Bob Reich vs Larry Summers & Allison Schrager – Bloomberg & intelligence2
, 12/10/2020
Watch the closing arguments in Bloomberg’s debate where Bob Reich and I supported the motion ‘It’s time to redistribute the wealth’ against Larry Summers and Allison Schrager who argued against.
ANOTHER NOW – An intimate introduction (video&text)
, 08/10/2020
Why did I write ANOTHER NOW? As a critic of capitalism, I have long been painfully aware that critics of capitalism have no real answer to the hard question: “If you don’t like capitalism mate, what’s the alternative?” So, I decided it was time to take on two hard but pressing tasks: First, to describe […]
How progressives could still win the 21st century – The Correspondent
, 06/10/2020
Our era will be remembered for the triumphant march of authoritarianism in whose wake the vast majority of humanity have experienced unnecessary hardship and the planet’s ecosystem has suffered avoidable climate destruction. For a brief period – a period the British historian Eric Hobsbawm described as “the short 20th century” – establishment forces were united in dealing with challenges […]
Interviewed on Lebanon, Bankruptcy, Economics & much more by مواطنون ومواطنات في دولة – mmfidawla
, 28/09/2020
Diary entries on Brexit, defending refugees & writing postcapitalist fiction – THE NEWSTATESMAN
, 28/09/2020
Reading the newspapers last Monday, I was reminded that negotiations with Brussels are always an occasion for second-rate theatre. Ultimatums are usually issued by EU negotiators facing UK governments that talk enthusiastically of red lines and sovereignty. But now, if the Telegraph is to be believed, it is Boris Johnson who has given the EU […]
LOWY INSTITUDE: Interviewed by Alexandre Dayanton on EUROPE & THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM
, 28/09/2020
In this episode of COVIDcast, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant sat down with Professor Yanis Varoufakis to discuss Europe and the future of capitalism. Yanis is currently a member of the Hellenic Parliament and served as Greece’s minister of finance during the government debt crisis. ALEXANDRE DAYANT COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast […]
Does the world need new international institutions? Doha Debates with Yanis Varoufakis, Leymah Gbowee & Ece Temelkuran
, 21/09/2020
Racial injustice. Climate change. Gender inequality. A global pandemic. #DearWorld, Can our global institutions meet the challenges we’re all facing — or is it time for a new system? Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee, author Ece Temelkuran and economist Yanis Varoufakis debate the future of global cooperation: Doha Debates examines the world’s most pressing challenges through […]
ANOTHER NOW: My political science fiction novel depicting a fully-fledged socialism we could have had – THE GUARDIAN
, 05/09/2020
When Margaret Thatcher coined “Tina” – her 1980s dictum that “There is no alternative” – I was incensed because, deep down, I felt she had a point: the left had neither a credible nor a desirable alternative to capitalism. Leftists excel at pinpointing what is wrong with really-existing capitalism. We are good at demonstrating that […]
Capitalism under the pandemic, Brexit, US-China, the Eurozone & Austerity: Oxford Political Review interview
, 01/09/2020
OPR Editor-in-Chief Brian Wong and Managing Editor Nicholas Leah speak with Professor Yanis Varoufakis – a former Minister of Finance in the Greek Government, a leading economist and philosopher, Member of Parliament in Greece, and the author of several high-acclaimed books. They discuss COVID-19, Brexit, the Eurozone, Austerity, Greek/European politics and Professor Varoufakis’s new book. […]
Something remarkable just happened this August: How the pandemic has sped up the passage to postcapitalism – Lannan Foundation virtual talk
, 21/08/2020
Two days ago, something extraordinary happened. Something that has never happened before in the history of capitalism. In Britain, the news came out that the economy had suffered its greatest slump ever – more than 22% down during the first 7 months of 2020. Remarkably, on the same day, the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE100 […]
DiEM25 organisations from Germany, Greece & Turkey on Peace & Shared Green Prosperity, instead of War Games & Oil-Gas Drilling, in the Eastern Mediterranean
, 30/07/2020
Deeply proud of DiEM25’s intervention to avert tensions in the E. Mediterranean. Proving there is no clash between nations, DiEM25’s organisations in Germany, Greece & Turkey issued a manifesto for splendid Peace & Shared Green Prosperity in our region: The perpetrators of war, the profiteers of the fossil fuel industry and political leaders wedded to […]
Why Bitcoin is not a socialist’s ally – Reply to Ben Arc
, 27/07/2020
On 15th July, Ben Arc published in Bitcoin Magazine an open letter addressed to me in a bid to convince me that I should re-assess my rejection of Bitcoin as a force for good; as a bulwark for democratising capitalism and paving the ground for socialism. Here is my reply: Dear Ben Arc, Thank you […]