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Ringfencing Europe
, 18/03/2012
A Modest Proposal for a Decent European Future[1] Summary of presentation to be made on 13th April 2012, at INET’s Berlin Conference Session: The Future of Europe Abstract Europe is currently caught up in a false dilemma between current policies, which are contributing toward the eurozone’s disintegration, and a ‘federal move’ that cannot possibly unfold swiftly enough […]
The IMF’s preemptive smokescreen for covering up another foretold program failure
, 17/03/2012
Having bent its own rules, and after turning a blind eye to its own experts’ assessment of the sustainability of Greece’s 2nd ‘bailout’, the IMF is now preparing for failure. Ms Lagarde found it hard to convince her board to go along Europe down the path of locking Greece into yet another unsustainable future.
Assessing George Soros’ latest plan for saving the eurozone: Prelude to Modest Proposal 3.0
, 15/03/2012
In a few short weeks I shall be discussing the ‘Future of Europe’ in a panel comprising distinguished commentators including George Soros. In preparation, I decided to take a closer look at Soros’ latest proposals for the eurozone. Here are some preliminary thoughts emanating from these proposals which I also compare and contrast to our […]
Toward an escape from pseudo-Keynesianism: Obserwator Finansowy
, 14/03/2012
Polish newspaper Obserwator Finansowy just published an article, drawing upon some arguments of mine and of Sanjay Reddy, of the New School, (amongst others) canvassing for an escape from what passes erroneously as Keynesian ideas about the ongoing crisis. Use Google Translate. It works well (in this case).
What was it all for? The latest Greek Bailout-PSI in the Morning After’s cold light
, 12/03/2012
So, Greece defaulted. In the beginning, May 2010 to be precise, Europe and the IMF put up the largest loan in history supposedly to avert any kind of debt restructuring. Then, when by the summer of 2011 it had become clear that debt restructuring was unavoidable, Europe embarked on ten months of navel gazing and […]
What should Germany do? Triple interview in STERN, featuring Timothy Garton Ash, Tomas Sedlacek and Yanis Varoufakis
, 10/03/2012
Back in February I had the honour of participating in a debate with Timothy Garton Ash and Tomas Sedlacek, organised behind closed doors by Stern magazine, on what Germany ought to do. We spent more than an hour discussing the matter fruitfully and pleasantly. Indeed, that hour passed ever so quickly for all three of […]
An interview with Naked Capitalism's Phil Pilkington on the state of economics (and our Modern Political Economics): Part B
, 08/03/2012
Naked Capitalism’s Phil Pilkington interviewed me on the state of economics, as it appears through the pages of Modern Political Economics: Making sense of the post-2008 world (co-authored with Joseph Halevi and Nicholas Theocarakis). For Part A click here. Part B can be read either by going to the Naked Capitalism site or by reading […]
When I say it it is dismissed as another Greek begging. When Der Spiegel says it…
, 06/03/2012
Stop the Second Bailout Package! EU Should Admit Greece is Bankrupt A Commentary by Christian Rickens Der Spiegel just published this apt and honest piece. I reproduce it below with thanks to the German magazine:
Interviewed by Doug Henwood, on Behind the News (KPFA 94.1FM)
, 05/03/2012
Click here and jump to 29th minute.
Interviewed by The Occupied Times ~ of London
, 03/03/2012
The Occupied Times ~ of London honoured me with a request for an interview. It has just been published here. The text of the interview is also copied below. Please support them any which way you can. Money Talk$: Yanis Varoufakis In the wake of the brutal austerity package – cutting 3.3 billion euros of […]
An interview with Naked Capitalism's Phil Pilkington on our book 'Modern Political Economics' – Part A
, 01/03/2012
Naked Capitalism just published a long interview that I gave to Phil Pilkington on the themes of Modern Political Economics: Making sense of the post-2008 world; the book jointly authored by myself, Joseph Halevi and Nicholas Theocarakis. Here is the interview’s first part:
The Globalising Wall in the 2012 Adelaide Festival's RESTLESS exhibition
, 01/03/2012
Some of you have been inquiring as to what I am doing here in Adelaide. Well, all is about to be revealed. Danae Stratou, my partner, is presenting her video installation THE GLOBALISING WALL as part of RESTLESS, an exhibition presented in the context of the 2012 ADELAIDE FESTIVAL – which is opening tonight (18.00 at the […]
On the Political Economy of Eurozone Bailouts – The curious bargain of Greece’s Hayekian neoliberals
, 28/02/2012
Following the Crash of 1929, an epic debate began between liberals who believed in capitalism’s automatic stabilisers and John Maynard Keynes who did not. Today, in Bailoutistan (Greece and the other fallen eurozone countries), this debate has taken an interesting, sad, twist.
Europe’s impending Phantom Limp Syndrome
, 26/02/2012
This being the weekend, and waking up in Adelaide about to be immersed in the performance and visual arts (also known as the Adelaide Festival), permit me a different kind of thought/post for the day; an impressionistic comment on all this talk about severing some of the eurozone’s member-states in order to ‘save’ the eurozone; […]
Winston Churchill on Greece's Bailout Mark 2 (almost)
, 24/02/2012
In my previous post I described Europe’s latest Agreement on how to deal with the Greek debt problem, and the looming Euro Crisis, as a form of Crisis Appeasement. A New Munich that will haunt us Europeans for a long while. Today I cannot resist the temptation to couch my views on Greece’s Bailout Mk2 […]
Crisis Appeasement: The new Greek Bailout as a ‘Euro in Our Time’ moment
, 22/02/2012
According to the official narrative, the euro was saved (again) by preventing a ‘disorderly’ Greek default and against the background of Mario Draghi’s Central Bank ‘activism’. So much for the official narrative. For in my estimation, the sight of our leaders proclaiming such victory against the Crisis has a strong whiff of the moment Neville […]
My documentary for Channel 4: The Eurozone, the Ant and the Grasshopper
, 21/02/2012
A Special Report commissioned by Channel 4 (UK), based on an earlier post in this blog entitled Never Bailed Out: Europe’s ants and grasshoppers revisited See also the piece I wrote for Channel 4’s website. And do not neglect to watch the full interview with Mr Robert Halver, Baader Bank’s Chief economist. It sheds plenty […]
Die Zeit Online on the German edition of my Global Minotaur
, 21/02/2012
On the occasion of the publication of the German edition of my Global Minotaur, Die Zeit Online just published extracts from the book under the title Die große Ratlosigkeit in der Krise. Click here for the article.
Greek default does NOT equal Greek exit
, 18/02/2012
Perhaps the greatest enemy of the eurozone, at this particular juncture, is an erroneous assumption: that a Greek default is inextricably linked to a Greek exit from the eurozone. The problem with this assumption is twofold: First, it prevents Europe from escaping a trap of its own making. Secondly, it is false.
The Global Minotaur – as featured in the New York Times Magazine
, 15/02/2012
Russell Shorto kindly interviewed me for the New York Times Magazine on my Global Minotaur, as part of a long article entitled The Way Greeks Live Now. For the complete article, as it appears on the New York Times website, click here. The piece that concerns my book follows here:
CAUTERISE AND PRINT: GERMANY'S NEWEST PLAN A
, 14/02/2012
While Greece burnt, and the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic was insincerely accepting impossible conditions for implementing yet another unworkable fiscal adjustment plan, the buzz in Frankfurt’s financial district was an exciting, fresh German Plan A.[1] For the first time in two years, since the euro Crisis began, Germany’s captains of finance could be seen […]
Complexity and Crisis: A lecture in Greek
, 14/02/2012
Based on my series entitled Complexity Fetishism (click here for Part A and Part B), on Tuesday 14/2/ I gave a talk (in Greek) on the more general topic of Complexity and Crisis, in Greek, at the Hub (downtown Athens). The video is now available here. Click here for more.
On Bloomberg, arguing that the Greece's Bailout Mk2 is unsustainable
, 14/02/2012
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Yanis Varoufakis, a professor at the University of Athens, and Miranda Xafa, president of EF Consulting, talk about the outlook for Greece after lawmakers approved the austerity package demanded to secure a financial lifeline. They speak with Owen Thomas on Bloomberg Television’s “Countdown.” (Source: Bloomberg) CLICK HERE