Yanis Varoufakis: Thoughts for the Post-2008 World

The chances of Trump pursuing an economic stimulus that will benefit the lives of those he promised to help are slim. Republican presidents have a penchant for ditching their ideological commitment toward small government, turning into big deficit spenders soon after assuming office. Ronald Reagan’s legacy owes a great deal to his spectacular U-turn from admonishing federal government largesse to enlisting it enthusiastically, and with considerable effect, against America’s early 1980s...

Conservative MP, Kenneth Clarke and Former Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis give their views on Brexit. Varoufakis argues for democratic approach to deciding the 'kind of Brexit' the UK tries to negotiate for, and says the government's 'pythonesque brexit department' (consisting of Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox) had low IQ's and should not be guiding the country through this important process.

On the same day that I addressed an audience of more than 1000 DiEM25 members in Hamburg, I was also kindly invited by Joachim and Renate Pawlik to address the Pawlik Group‘s Annual Conference. In my Keynote Address to the business representatives attending, I spoke of the need for a radical unionist campaign to counter the ubiquitous rise of xenophobic nationalism. And I dared suggest that this most DiEM25-like campaign should be kickstarted with the Speech of Hope for Europe. “Who should...

https://varoufakis.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/hamburg-diem25-event-15-nov-2016.mp3

Hamburg,November 15th

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I had no doubt Donald Trump would win, just like I had no doubt Brexit would happen, so maybe I’m not as shell-shocked as you,” says Yanis Varoufakis. The former Greek finance minister is speaking to me several days after the Republican candidate’s historic victory. He doesn’t sound smug about being so prescient, more resigned, deflated, defeated. The left has been here before. Over the course of an hour-long conversation, Varoufakis soothed my caffeine-jangled nerves with the thought...

[Originally published here] The election of Donald Trump symbolises the demise of a remarkable era. It was a time when we saw the curious spectacle of a superpower, the US, growing stronger because of – rather than despite – its burgeoning deficits. It was also remarkable because of the sudden influx of two billion workers – from China and Eastern Europe – into capitalism’s international supply chain. This combination gave global capitalism a historic boost, while at the same time...

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