2008 & 2020: The Combination That Changed Capitalism Forever [Yanis Varoufakis] 

"The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear." Gramsci

Every crisis its Janis Varufakis that gives me the greatest insights of what's going on

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your words, Yanis! «It is a gross error to imagine that we live in a world of the Americans against the Chinese, the Europeans against the Senegalese. No! This is a class war that is raging in every country, and the oligarchies without frontiers are very united in this. So, to my friend in Senegal: Your oligarchy are on very good terms with our oligarchy here in Greece, with the German oligarchy, with the American oligarchy. They have bonds of solidarity that I only wish the rest of humanity had.» Dear members of the human family, dear awakening and awakened people, "the rest of humanity" comprises ~ 99% of the world's population and we finally should show true solidarity across all borders, network and join us in a peaceful revolution against the ridiculous 1% of oligarchs/plutocrats! We are MANY, we are the overwhelming MAJORITY, we are TOO MANY TO FAIL!

Yanis is THE economist for our age! He taught at my alma mater University of Texas, though it was after my time there. Thanks to RU-vid, I get to hear his lectures. He is bringing back the Golden Age of Greek philosophy!

“Just because you are strong, does not mean that you have the rights to crash the weak” 👍 #ethics

To continue to think humans in power will do the right thing, is to ignore every war and every response to crisis.

I have only just discovered Mr Veroufakis. Its early days yet but I like him. I dont like what he's saying, it scares the living shy-e out of me but I do believe he knows his onions and I'm going to follow him closely from this day forward. More power to the elbow Janis, thank you

Thank you for taking the time and care in understand that not everyone understands economics , and explaining in such simple terms so as person like me can have a better understanding how economics work. I have a growing appetite for more information now about how the economies of this world work , thanks to people like you guys. 🙏🙏🙏.

Asset prices are completely disconnected from reality. Housing prices in my area have gone up during the pandemic. I think the last time I checked Blackstone owned around 20,000 houses in Phoenix.

Yanis Varoufakis is incredibly insightful. Sadly there is no way to aptly communicate the extent of his philosophy to the political institutions of neoclassical priesthood, let alone all the people who actually matter, those who have no time for economic studies.

Correction: The earliest joint-stock company recognized in England was the Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands, chartered in 1553 with 250 shareholders. Muscovy Company, which had a monopoly on trade between Moscow and London, was chartered soon after in 1555. The much more famous, wealthy and powerful English (later British) East India Company was granted an English Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intention of favouring trade privileges in India.

'We don't need private banking' - Wow, and amen.

This is so true. There is an absolute disconnection between real estate value and income levels for majority of the population. And this discrepancy has been increasing over and over. Yanis is right. I have been working so hard for the last 15 years, and there is no way I can afford to buy a house because the cost of rents and transportation is incredibly high compared to people's salaries. Most of my salary goes off to pay the bills, I hardly manage to save anything. I do not even own a car or motorbike.

this has been such an interesting and hopeful conversation and explanation. thank you both so very much!

Always, so good to hear Yanis tell it like it is. I am deeply grateful for his voice.

Yannis Varoufakis should be influencing global economies. He saw what potential Bernie Sanders had to shape an intelligent US economic landscape. The two thinkers are a powerful force.-

So very very nice to hearing sense spoken again. Thank you Yanis. More like you in politics and the world would be so much better off. THANK YOU!

Points he is missing: these financial flows from the early 1980s were all about globalisation. Globalisation was all about capitalists maximising the returns on their international investments by exploiting global variations in local relative scarcities of resources, a kind of international division of labour. Seeking out energy, materials and labour where they are cheapest and selling the products and services produced where they are more expensive. The profits were recycled through NY and the City of London via multinationals repatriating profits and bond and asset sales to foreigners. The result was the tertiarisation of the economies of former western industrial powers. We all had misgivings about exporting manufacturing jobs, but it was difficult for most of us to put a finger on why. With hindsight we see that the secondary sector has more dynamism (meaning greater potential for productivity growth) than the tertiary sector (meaning retail, personal services, hospitality, catering, leisure and tourism etc.) This seen in the down grading of the job market. There are fewer upper level jobs and many very low level jobs; drivers, warehouse workers, nail technicians, bar staff, waiters etc., with little prospect of advancement. Practically 'dead end' jobs. As productivity growth stagnates so the real standard of living stagnates too. Trump was elected to try to reverse this process (rather late) by adopting a more nationalistic economic policy aiming to promote domestic production as opposed to offshore production and to repatriate manufacturing jobs to the US. COVID hits the tertiary sector worst off all, so it chokes the flows of revenues needed to sustain very large numbers of these low grade jobs.

I could listen to Yanni for hours, I hope he never gets tired of talking.

This algorithm is not so good at distinguishing between human hair and dolphin skin.

There’s one economist in Germany who acknowledges that deflation, not inflation brought Hitler to power: Heiner Flassbeck. He also has other interesting things to say. Please have him at some point.

I think when the younger masses of world superpowers finally become web savvy enough to escape the social media algorithms and echo chambers, and learn the true nature of their class struggle on the internet - change may truly be kickstarted. Then, everything might finally happen as Yanis is describing. I just hope this happens before it's too late.

Strong discussion. I met this guy at the Sanders thing in 2018 and he was very cordial. This podcast is likely not anything new to most of us, but well distilled. Looks like we need to jump on that Progressive International! I also was impressed by Richard Duncan's work on a world wage floor, another interesting approach to global working class politics.

Yanis!, I've been looking all over for the “job creators” but I can't find them.. Someone told me that are down in the Caymans...

His comment that "to have properly functioning markets we need to end capitalism" is a concept I have given to all my students in 30 years at world-rated business schools. Whoever got you to believe that Capitalism is about free markets has been pulling the wool over your eyes for long enough. Remove it and open them!

Nothing counts if there is going to continue to be asymmetric information. Nothing counts if there is not going to be transparency and disclosure. Competition is based on superior information, but rules must level the playing field or corruption and entrenched power (for example generational inequality) take us in the direction of serfdom. If there had been no industrial revolution, no information revolution, no electronic age, the issues of centralization and decentralization would be framed differently, but society and its environment and supply chains have been utterly transformed. We are also moving out of a fossil fuel age into something else that is largely unknown. Democracy, neoconservatism and neoliberalism are probably somewhat irrelevant except they now represent imbalances that are unsustainable. There are huge efforts to maintain asymmetrical access to information, to suppress access to information that could and should be released to the public domain but is not. Also to control the narrative to one that benefits an elite or multiple elites. This is really, right here, the crux of the matter. This is the bastille that needs to be stormed. Assange is one of the poster boys for this issue. Aaron Swartz (November 8, 1986 - January 11, 2013 is/was another. What happened recently in Bolivia or Hong Kong or the West Bank or Syria or Libya, the list is too long, are object lessons in the consequences, which will come home to roost at the center of empire.

FANTASTIC INTERVIEW! Truly brilliant thinking!

Hi Janos- from Canada! thanks!!!!!

Great presentation. I think that your ideas could greatly improve the global economic situation. But how can we ever implement such ideas when leaders, politicians, populaces and governments appear to be tending toward ever more irrational thoughts, programs and actions. Fear and emotion rules and inequality reigns supreme

This bloke is one smart cookie. His grasp of English and slang is great.

Excellent segment. Great job !!!!!!

Fantastic video, Yanis is always great at speaking on economic issues

This was absolutely superb!

"The Nationalist International". I've heard many terms for this, but this one is my favorite!

THANK YOU! Beautiful conversation. Yanis is a hero

Thank you for your informative discussion!!!

He's such a smart cookie. He's passionate about a subject he has explored in great depth and this is probably what makes him so interesting and worth listening to.

Would be interested to hear Yanis thoughts on a Universal Basic Income.

Ah gotta love the dolphins and this cross over, keep up the good work!

Much love and respect Yanis.

Yanis' ideas are beautiful! I particularly swooned when he spoke of a non-systemic eclectic approach to economic thinking.

Absolutely ......2008 crisis and 2020 will be ONE in history books in 2100 , this is a consequence a sequence of unsupportable debt levels.

THANKS FOR PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION. EXCELLENT

brilliant. simply brilliant analysis.

Very clear presentation on the conditions of contemporary capitalism. Thank you for it. One caveat, however: It has been my position that all wars are class wars, to the extent that the ruling class controls them for it's private profits and again exploits the working class in the production of destruction by disarming them ideologically and alienating them from any possibility of attaining the only hope that exists to achieve power over their own lives, i.e. diplomacy. The exit from this condition of pathetic domination lies within us, the working class and it's allies; not with the capitalist class and their thugs.

I don't see why Europe couldn't have a sovereign currency, where they can correct the value of their currency to production, (or to the value of their preservation or conservation, a new concept, but one Rockerfeller is mounting). I think they need a representative Parliment, and a Constitution. When they do, give mothers and fathers more value when they birth and nurture a child a few children, and not in terms of becoming a mercenary or soldier.

I can’t pronounce his name, but I can’t help but think his name will be well known to my progeny. THIS combining of ideas to create a better world for all will be where the solutions are found. Bravo!

Awesome interview! Janis Varufakis is great! If only we had a government that listened to him.

Do you think that politicians of strong militarily nations will ever work or make decisions to the benefit of economics or the entire world? The quality standards of our politicians is not encourageing for such dreams.

"Bankers have a very clear loophole: never lend money to people who actually need it." - brilliant.

Thank you for your thoughts....enlightening

Very glad that you have developed an eclectic approach - closed system thinking needs to be challenged and you are doing it in an interesting and engaging way. This is like a good Socratic dialogue

"my pip squeak of a nation" I love it. And I live Greece.

Yanis, I have nothing but respect for you and your work. That being said: The fiction that is the entire financial system seems an unnecessary creature that serves only centralization of everything into the hands of it's Creators. Democracy is in fact the last historical step prior to Totalitarianism, which today looms as a centralized global system which seeks to (Through digital technology) micromanage the biological, physical, and human capitol assets of the whole world. I for one prefer the dissolution of the entire fiasco that the fictional system represents, and instead relying upon decentralization of all our systems into small local/earth friendly self contained though mutually supportive communities of peoples. More centralization will only lead the sooner to all of our Destruction. Which is the whole purpose of their green new deal! Austerity for all! And Roosevelt was a tool.....

Great explanations, thanks Yanis

OMGOD YOU HIT IT ON TARGET! Changes every thing when you lay it out like this😃

Was anyone else's first thought when seeing this video "Is that man wearing a dolphin on his head?"

Yanis, the point of having intermediary banks is that central banks have no idea if you need another pizzeria in your town; your local bank might know. How about that: let’s organize banks as co-ops as well. The banks where you put your deposits and where you request a loan to build a house are owned by the local community, banks that grant loans to industrial co-ops are owned collectively by the industrial co-ops. That way, power is nicely distributed to those who are concerned by the decisions made by the banks rather than to complete outsiders.

I love how economics can explain so much!

Yanis spelling it out nicely - explaining how we got here and what to do about it- the latter bg much like Richard Wolff's work

'We need to be eclectic and like philosophers' - Said nobody in history prior to Yanis

You always argue about big business but they relatively employ a small proportion of the total workforce ... This is a bigger problem for small business which employs most people

An oddly refreshing take on '08. I enjoy the paradigm and framing that he sets up. I never thought to express it that way, but definitely a good perspective.

Much appreciated. With respect to banking replaced by central bank individual accounts. A great deal of banking operation can be run on an "automatic" basis but there is also a problem of to whom are loans made.

I've been saying to abolish private banking FOREVER! When the government bailed out the banks they should have nationalized them! Go Yanis!

we have not have capitalism for at least 15 years - we have state 'capitalism where the FED ECB decides the cost of money etc - (state socialism Do you like the result ?

I like the concept of evaluating the interdependencies of countries economic ties and how beneficial they are in both directions.

I have exam tomorrow and I reluctantly opened the video of Yanis and now my syllabus is incomplete but my knowledge of our world has increased.

Coongratulations Yanis , I reached that idea after 2008 ' crisis ' : EXIT CAPITALISM ! Let's create Open Social Political Global Universities , networking the Earth , New and Completed Human Rights , Directe Democracy for local to Global Congress , Open & Transparent Management , Social Status for all according and in proportion to their Social Hourly -- Quality ( A, B, C, ..... activity noted in team-works ) used also as a new means of social distribution of world networks , named also as good ' social credit ' to be transparent and make General Global Interest of Earth security , Ecology to prevail groupe interests or regional interests ( A true Socialism , that will be inverted Financial Fascism ruling today thru State--Banks making fascism grow all over the five continents ! )

He's also for a Universal Basic Income.

Intensification of class wars within countries! Spot on!!

Thank you very much. I never thought I'd like talks on economy. I love this one, probably because it relates to reality.

I’m very interested how Progressive International is going.

"Only way to fix markets is to end capitalism." "What a remarkable paradox." There is no paradox. Capitalism, at least this economic system, is insufferably inefficient. And markets have been around well before our version of capitalism, a more defined labeled I would call financialization or corporatism... pick your descriptor. And that's the cunning work of propaganda at play. Our current economic system: capitalism, financialization, corporatism, whatever label descriptor you want to put to it has imaged itself as if it's the economic system that birthed markets. Markets predate recorded civilizations. Barter markets, slave markets, feudal markets, mercantile markets, financialization markets, patronage markets, etc. etc. All economies had a market. An economy literally deals with a market (the exchange of goods and services among individuals). Just as conflated capitalism as the only system that had money, currency, debt obligations, etc. This is nothing new in any form of economic systems. Our current system did not invent anything new. It's not amazing nor great.... it was simply an advancement on some of the more immoral and unstable economic systems (in which it can also live within so doesn't necessarily mean the complete end of and as we can see the rebirth of a type of feudalism) and contradictory systems of barter, slavery, feudalism, mercantilism, patronage, etc.

Thank you for this session. I hope Yanis would elaborate how countries got so intertwined with Wall Street & recycling profits.

Wow this is critical to my understanding of why our economy is declining...always so illuminating Yanis!

Decentralised blockchains and localised technology hardware is key to redistribution of ownership of assetts, land and natural resources. We are only enslaved by manaufactured consent and engineered scarcity. Capitalism feeds off scarcity, obsolescence and waste as they are all products of centralised controls

Do really want "Greek economics minister" on your CV?

Nice discussion!

Great Talk - Thank you

Is there any way to get an accurate transcription of Yanis' remarks? The CC is hilarious, but disconcerting!

great analysis

Green shirt and green hair in front of a green screen? Edit, thsnks for not interrupting and letting him speak!

Outstanding Mr. V.

Fantastic!

Yanis is a very smart man - so articulate.🤗🤗👍🏼👍🏼👊👊

Would "digital accounts having gifts of finances added" also have money taken from them to balance the books? Will this create debt ? It somewhat reduce individuals power to run their own lives somewhat doesn't it? I appreciate your thinking though regarding a new approach to finance and business / economics and indeed life.

This video is one that everybody should see.

Super interesting!!!

“Lacuna”-perfect metaphor in both directions. See “Sense8”-it’s an imperfect example, but the imagery is valuable in illuminating a very diffuse system of power, as well as its antithesis.

I learn something every time Yanis utters a sentence

43,59 when he is talking about banking, when i worked for RBS years ago we used to have a saying " A friend in need is no friend of mine"

Yanis it’s great that you think more deeply than your pocket book, and Economics 101. So far, I get your point regarding the middleman, markets dominated and manipulated by those who control stocks and banks, and I personally also see a more equitable alternative with cooperatives. However, I still don’t get why necessarily the reformation or elimination ( incrementally or forced ) of the banks, still requires elimination of a Capitalist system? if a reformation and regulated checks and balances are inculcated.? What essentially defines the essential character of the Capitalist system in your paradigm.? I think and fear, unless I have somehow missed the elementals of your discussion, a hidden suggestion of a movement to eliminate, entirely , with stringency, the creativity and opportunity, Capitalism reformed might allow and would create an unintentional void birthing a new Stalinism creep.?

Thank you, INET!

The low interest rates help the bonds as well. How long can they print??! See Professor Michael Hudson

BRAVO!!!

for someone who doesn't know how the feds work or the central bank, but wouldn't that make them able to also withdraw funds from your accounts if there is no third party? what if the state is authoritarian?

THIS IS MY THIRD TIME ....... THIS MAN IS STRAIGHT FORWARD....... EVERY TIME.... I LISTEN TO HIS LECTURES I LEARN SOMETHING AGAIN.....

Brilliant.

Insightful analysis by Varoufakis.