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Missing Link to Yanis Varoufakis

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Missing Link to Yanis Varoufakis

KenFM-Interview von Dirk Pohlmann

KenFM,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

According to former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, the Eurogroup is a “democracy-free zone.”

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

In this interview, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis launches a scathing attack on Europe’s economic institutions. He likens the Troika – the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission – to an unelected neocolonial dictatorship. Varoufakis eloquently articulates the causes of the Greek economic tragedy and suggests reforms. While always politically neutral, getAbstract believes Varoufakis’s arguments will trigger essential discourse among economists and Europeans concerned about the euro zone’s future.

Summary

As of 2015, Greece’s GDP had fallen for seven consecutive years. Some 28% of Greeks were unemployed, and 500,000 educated youths had emigrated. Such dire economic circumstances deter investment in the country. The Greek crisis unfurled for two reasons: First, Greece’s economic woes are as old as the state. The nation borrowed heavily to finance a revolution against the Ottoman Empire in 1821. After Greece secured its independence, 150 years of conflicts and dictatorships ensued, ending in 1974. As Greece prepared to join the European Economic Community, it lowered its trade barriers, thereby exposing its embryonic industries...

About the Speaker

Economics professor Yanis Varoufakis held the office of Greek finance minister for seven months in 2015.

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