Essays
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 […]
Capitalism in crisis – Video by Patreon
, 27/07/2020
What comes next? Yanis Varoufakis on capitalism’s crisis and our duty to plan for postcapitalsim ? Support DDN: http://www.patreon.com/DoubleDownNews
The EU coronavirus Recovery Fund will take Europe another step towards disintegration – The Guardian
, 25/07/2020
During the early years of the eurozone crisis, I remember gauging its depths by the rapidly diminishing half-life of the celebrations that followed every European Union summit. Premature proclamations that the crisis was over inspired hope, which caused the money markets to rebound. But then, at some point, gloom would unfailingly return. As the years of […]
Ο Πολιτισμός στον Καιρό της Χρεοδουλοπαροικίας
, 19/07/2020
Η παρασιτική ολιγαρχία δείχνει το ασχημότερο πρόσωπό της όταν ασχολείται με τον Πολιτισμό Την 16η Ιουλίου του 2020, η κυβέρνηση της Νέας Δημοκρατίας έφερε στη Βουλή νομοσχέδιο για την μετατροπή του ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛ σε κέντρο Τέχνης και Δημιουργίας. Μια προσεκτική ανάγνωσή του καταδεικνύει την χυδαιότητα με την οποία οι πολιτικοί εντεταλμένοι της παρασιτικής ολιγαρχίας αντιμετωπίζουν […]
While EU leaders squabble, the Elephant in the Room remains unnoticed
, 18/07/2020
While the media are reporting the news of the deadlocked EU Summit negotiations over the so-called ‘Recovery Fund’, an eerie silence prevails regarding the Elephant in the Room: The huge wave of austerity the Eurozone is sleepwalking towards. Let’s look at the facts. Even if the Dutch Prime Minister, Mr Rutte, and the rest of […]
The Eurozone’s grappling with crisis, class war & the North-South divide – Berliner Verlag interview
, 16/07/2020
What did you think when the Euro-group elected its new leader last week? At least this was not the outcome Frau Merkel had wished? My first thought was that it spelled the end of any possibility of harmonizing corporate tax rates across the Eurozone, an issue that I am on Mrs Merkel’s side. The second […]
The COVID Class War – THE IRISH EXAMINER & Project Syndicate
, 02/07/2020
“Strengthening the solidarity of Europe’s oligarchs is not a good strategy for empowering Europe’s majority. Quite the contrary. Any “recovery” based on such a formula will short-change almost all Europeans and push the majority into deeper despair.” ATHENS – The euro crisis that erupted a decade ago has long been portrayed as a clash between […]
AL-AKHBAR: Long interview with Léa El Azzi on capitalism after the pandemic, Europe, Greece, Lebanon & the IMF
, 30/06/2020
The pandemic is not the first crisis (if we can say so) that hit capitalism all over the world. what is the difference between this one and the previous crisis? The obvious one is that Covid-19 dealt capitalism an external shock, like an earthquake or a meteor that strikes at both production lines and consumption […]
Europe’s Recovery Fund: An instrument of class war against weaker Europeans everywhere
, 29/06/2020
Europe never was the battlefield on which the frugal North clashed with the profligate South. Instead, every European country has been the battlefield where a vicious class war is fought by a transnational oligarchy-without-frontiers training its armour against the weaker residents of every country, every region, every community. Covid-19, and the European Union’s response to […]
Julian Assange just called. To talk about the pandemic’s effect on capitalism & politics!
, 13/06/2020
Julian called me a little earlier on, at 14.22 London time to be precise. From Belmarsh High Security Prison of course. This is not the first time but, as you can imagine, every time I hear his voice I feel honoured and moved that he should dial my number when he has such few and […]
The Past, Present & Post-Pandemic Future of DEBT – El Pais
, 10/06/2020
Before capitalism, debt appeared at the very end of the economic cycle; a mere reflection of the power to accumulate already produced surpluses. Under feudalism, production came first with the peasants working the land to plant and harvest crops. Distribution followed the harvest, as the sheriff collected the lord’s share. Part of this share was […]
One small step toward postcapitalism: A universal basic dividend to change the game’s rules – VIDEO by Sustainable Human
, 01/06/2020
Socialising part of capital’s returns is one small step toward a postcapitalism worth fighting for. A small step, yes. But a crucial one. You may also want to watch WHAT COMES AFTER CAPITALISM
A Chronicle of a Lost Decade Foretold – FilmsForAction & Project Syndicate
, 01/06/2020
ATHENS – To exorcise my worst fears about the coming decade, I chose to write a bleak chronicle of it. If, by December 2030, developments have invalidated it, I hope such dreary prognoses will have played a part by spurring us to appropriate action. Before our pandemic-induced lockdowns, politics seemed to be a game. Political […]
A chronicle of our BLEAK TWENTIES – Cambridge Union Online
, 24/05/2020
The good folk at Cambridge Union invited me to deliver a talk over the internet during our lockdown days. I chose to deliver a speech, or text, reciting what I fear might prove an accurate assessment of our BLEAK TWENTIES from the perspective of, say, December 2030. My great hope is that it is proven […]
Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar, Yanis Varoufakis & Richard Durbin and 300 other lawmakers call for a cancellation of developing world’s’ debt – Washington Post
, 13/05/2020
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in a Wednesday letter addressed to Georgieva and David Malpass, president of the World Bank, called on international financial organizations to consider “extensive debt forgiveness” for more than 70 of the world’s poorest countries. The letter, which also called for significant fiscal stimulus to help stabilize […]
Covid-19 has “turbocharged” the EU’s failures – Interviewed by the NEW STATESMAN’s George Eaton
, 12/05/2020
For Yanis Varoufakis, lockdown has not been a time of contemplation. “I have more work now than I ever did. As you know, everything has shifted to Zoom meetings, which means zero separation between the private and the public,” he explained when we spoke recently, during one such video call. The 59-year-old economist, former Greek […]
In conversation with David McWilliams on the future after Covid-19 – The Guardian
, 08/05/2020
David McWilliams and I have had many conversations, often in front of large audiences in Ireland, on the economics and politics of Europe, Brexit, Ireland, Greece, the world. In this latest conversation we are discussing the impact of Covid-19 on capitalism. The extract below, published by The Guardian, comes from the last chapter of an […]
In conversation with Stephanie Kelton on Money and Progressive Politics, on DiEM-TV’s ANOTHER NOW – Ep.3, 27 APR 2020
, 28/04/2020
A week or so ago, Arundhati Roy wrote in, of all places the Financial Times, the following beautiful lines. I can think of no better way to explain why envisioning ANOTHER NOW is ever so important: “Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to “normality”, trying to stitch our future […]