Debate
Should electricity markets be reformed or disbanded? My debate with Michael Liebreich on Cleaning Up
, 01/11/2022
The other day, Michael Liebreich and I had a lively discussion on his CleaningUp podcast provoked by my call “to blow up the electricity markets”. It was fun but, of course, fell short of a comprehensive analysis of the complex issues pertaining to the political economy of electricity generation and distribution. Following our debate, Michael […]
Our Task? To Inspire the Rebellion against the Legalised Robbery of People & Earth, even if it is too late – Reply to Chomsky, Fuentes & McPherson
, 17/10/2022
Have we, humans, passed the point of no return down the path to ecological ruin? Does ruin-without-end loom black across the land, the air, the oceans? I hope not but, regardless, I don’t think it matters. What matters is what we do. And how we do it. From now on. Until our last breath. Sure […]
How should self-managed enterprises work in a postcapitalist setting? Follow the ongoing M. Albert-Y. Varoufakis debate
, 24/12/2021
Tragically, most people take bosses for granted. Capitalist firms have them by construction, by design. But, what of cooperative enterprises that are owned by everyone working within them? Do they also need bosses? A managerial class that tells the rest what to do? Or can we envisage boss-less firms? If so, how do things that […]
Assessing the Biden Presidency one year after his election – Rick Wolf & Yanis Varoufakis
, 06/11/2021
In this edition of THE INTERNATIONALIST, following news from the global struggle against reactionaries, Rick Wolf and I discuss the US situation (from the 8th minute onwards). Yes, it has been one year since Joe Biden came into office. While he is at COP26 making weak and unconvincing commitments on the climate, the global crisis […]
Can capitalism be fixed? An Intelligence Squared debate between Gillian Tett (Yes!) and Yanis Varoufakis (No!)
, 06/11/2021
Gillian Tett, the Financial Times Chair of the Editorial Board & Editor-at-large, believes that capitalism can be fixed, through copious regulation and institutional interventions. I, on the other hand, not only think that capitalism cannot be fixed but, additionally, that capitalism has made itself irrelevant through a surreptitious transformation into a new version of the […]
Gillian Tett & Yanis Varoufakis, through their books Anthrovision & Another Now, revisit capitalism – An IQ2 event, live and in situ, Union Chapel, London, Monday 4th Oct 2021
, 20/09/2021
SPEAKERS Yanis Varoufakis: Greek MP & former finance minister of Greece and author of Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present Gillian Tett: Chairman of the US editorial board and U.S editor-at-large at the Financial Times Gillian Tett is the pioneering columnist who has spent the last decade documenting the rise of ‘conscious capitalism’, a movement led […]
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 […]
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 […]
Is it sensible to fret about public debt’s rise during the pandemic? A debate with Todd G. Buchholz on Pairagraph
, 23/01/2021
Is public debt a bomb about to explode taking us down? Or is fretting about public debt a tactic for preparing public opinion for a new austerity drive that will cause debt to grow even faster? Read my debate with Todd G. Buchholz organised by pairagraph.com (see here for the original publication) Todd G. Buchholz’s […]
To rid ourselves of GDP we need to move beyond capitalism, to ANOTHER NOW – Response to Timothée Parrique’s response
, 05/01/2021
In a reaction to a throwaway line of mine in this interview relating to my new book ANOTHER NOW, Timothée Parrique wrote this piece. I find it hard to disagree with anything of substance he wrote. I was not even upset that Timothée (who clearly has not read my book) misrepresented my position, making me sound […]
“Global Trade & Capital Imbalances imperil Global Stability” – Redaction Politics reviews my Holberg 2020 debate with John Bolton
, 30/12/2020
Redaction Politics published a review of my Holberg 2o2o debate with John Bolton on Global Stability. Their review is reproduced below. To watch the debate click here. Yanis Varoufakis lamented economic equality and pushed for global co-operation while John Bolton urged diplomatic confrontation as the pair battled over the question of “global stability” last week. […]
“Is Global Stability A Pipe Dream?” Watch Yanis Varoufakis debate John Bolton at the Ηolberg 2020 Debate
, 08/12/2020
While the catastrophic pandemic is pushing hundreds of millions into economic destitution, our world is being subjected to an escalating climate emergency and a New Cold War between the West and China, not to mention ominous tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, Libya etc. In the midst of all this instability, is Global Stability […]
«Είναι η Παγκόσμια Σταθερότητα άπιαστο όνειρο;» Μπόλτον vs Βαρουφάκη στο 2020 Ηolberg Debate, Σάββατο 4μμ
, 04/12/2020
Τι χρονιά κι αυτή! Ένα πραγματικό annus horribils που σημαδεύτηκε από μια καταστροφική πανδημία, από την κλιμακούμενη κλιματική καταστροφή, από το φάσμα ενός Νέου Ψυχρού Πολέμου ΗΠΑ-Κίνας, και βέβαια από τύμπανα πολέμου στο Αιγαίο και την Ανατολική Μεσόγειο. Κι ενώ ποτέ δεν ήταν τόσο απαραίτητη η πολιτική παρέμβαση σε παγκόσμιο επίπεδο, ποτέ δεν ήταν τόσο καταρρακωμένοι οι παγκόσμιοι […]
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, […]
Owen Jones & Yanis Varoufakis to discuss Labour’s 2019 electoral defeat in the context of Owen’s recent book – 7 NOV 2020
, 18/10/2020
The global crisis of COVID-19 presents an opportunity for a radical rethink of Britain as we know it. Join two icons of the Left as they imagine a future for progressive politics. Whether exposing Britain’s powerful elites in The Establishment or defending the white working class in Chavs, fighting for equality and social justice as a Guardian columnist and broadcaster, […]
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, […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
