https://znetwork.org/author/yanisvaroufakis/ Independent Left News, Analysis, Vision and Strategy Fri, 12 Dec 2025 14:36:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://znetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/cropped-Z_logo_512-32x32.png https://znetwork.org/author/yanisvaroufakis/ 32 32 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/in-conversation-with-yanis-varoufakis/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/in-conversation-with-yanis-varoufakis/#respond Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1292284 In conversation with Yanis Varoufakis, Leader of MeRA25, the Greek political party belonging to DiEM25, Economist, Academic and Former Greek Finance Minister. Discussion on USA, Western Europe and Israel: United in Capitalism and Fascism.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/in-conversation-with-yanis-varoufakis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/is-europe-betraying-ukraine/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/is-europe-betraying-ukraine/#respond Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:51:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1291948 In this livestream, Yanis Varoufakis and Ukrainian sociologist Volodymyr Ishchenko explore how EU leaders are undermining Ukraine to justify their plans to re-arm Europe. If EU leaders won’t send troops and won’t negotiate, whom does their “solidarity” really serve? And why are some in Brussels worried that peace itself would threaten their new militarisation agenda?]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/is-europe-betraying-ukraine/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-judge-at-the-end-of-europe/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-judge-at-the-end-of-europe/#respond Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:48:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1291941 When, in a few years’ time, almost everyone is claiming that they opposed Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, the world will remember Judge Nicolas Guillou of the International Criminal Court fondly. But the world will also remember how Europe’s leaders collaborated with Donald Trump by enforcing baseless US sanctions against Guillou. ATHENS – Let us, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-judge-at-the-end-of-europe/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-left-can-come-together-to-beat-reform-yanis-varoufakis-zack-polanski/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-left-can-come-together-to-beat-reform-yanis-varoufakis-zack-polanski/#comments Fri, 28 Nov 2025 04:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1291706 How we lost the argument on Britain’s relationship with the European Union forever? What is the point in our nuclear weapons if Donald Trump’s America has such power over whether we can use them or not? What has the left learned from the formation of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s Your Party? Zack Polanski speaks [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/how-the-left-can-come-together-to-beat-reform-yanis-varoufakis-zack-polanski/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/europe-cant-contain-the-far-right/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/europe-cant-contain-the-far-right/#respond Thu, 13 Nov 2025 16:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1291218 In this episode of The Econoclasts, Wolfgang Munchau debunks the “cordon sanitaire” or “firewall” orthodoxy that European centrist parties must never form coalitions with the far-Right, arguing that this failed tactic is a disaster that only guarantees the eventual rise of parties such as the AfD in Germany.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/europe-cant-contain-the-far-right/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-kings-means-no-barons/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-kings-means-no-barons/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:55:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1290898 Turning the spotlight on the King while letting the barons off the hook will not stop Donald Trump and his copycats from amassing feudal powers. The illusion of the strong man who will fix everything cannot be dispelled by reviving the illusion that oligarchy offers the population democratic choices. The United Kingdom, the United States, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/no-kings-means-no-barons/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-grace-blakeley-why-everything-feels-broken/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-grace-blakeley-why-everything-feels-broken/#comments Fri, 24 Oct 2025 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1290344 In this discussion recorded in Athens, Grace Blakeley and Yanis Varoufakis expose how our so-called democracies have been captured by elites. From Gaza to the climate crisis to the collapse of liberal politics, they explore why even “progressive” leaders are absorbed by the system they enter, how neoliberalism has hollowed out collective power, and why [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-grace-blakeley-why-everything-feels-broken/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/they-poison-our-democracies-yanis-varoufakis-on-big-tech-populism-and-the-future-of-the-left/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/they-poison-our-democracies-yanis-varoufakis-on-big-tech-populism-and-the-future-of-the-left/#respond Thu, 09 Oct 2025 15:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1289717 Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek finance minister and author of ‘Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance’, talks to Paddy O’Connell about male chauvinism in politics, the power of Big Tech and Silicon Valley, Donald Trump and the future of the international political left.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/they-poison-our-democracies-yanis-varoufakis-on-big-tech-populism-and-the-future-of-the-left/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/was-the-20th-century-a-catastrophe-or-a-miracle-aaron-bastani-meets-yanis-varoufakis/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/was-the-20th-century-a-catastrophe-or-a-miracle-aaron-bastani-meets-yanis-varoufakis/#respond Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:03:04 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1289578 Our guest on Downstream this week is the economist, and former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis. He joins Aaron in the Novara studio to discuss his most recent book Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance, a memoir about the women in Yanis’ family who raised him, and gave him his political conscience. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/was-the-20th-century-a-catastrophe-or-a-miracle-aaron-bastani-meets-yanis-varoufakis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/on-the-hypocrisy-of-starmers-macrons-carneys-and-albaneses-recognition-of-palestine/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/on-the-hypocrisy-of-starmers-macrons-carneys-and-albaneses-recognition-of-palestine/#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2025 15:16:58 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1289203 As the UK, France, Canada and Australia recognised (belatedly and hypocritically) the State of Palestine, it is important to cast an eye on the ethnic cleansing (and, now, genocide) of Palestinians through the prism of International Law and the Australian High Court’s landmark decision on land rights.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/on-the-hypocrisy-of-starmers-macrons-carneys-and-albaneses-recognition-of-palestine/feed/ 1 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-trumps-working-class-base-turn-on-him/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-trumps-working-class-base-turn-on-him/#respond Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1287584 Democrats in the United States hope and pray that when the pain from President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill begins to bite, his working-class supporters, having been brutally betrayed, will desert him. But the more likely outcome may be that many continue to believe that he is on their side. ATHENS – America’s Republican [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/will-trumps-working-class-base-turn-on-him/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grok-gagged-ai-noticed-pro-israel-bias-and-got-censored-for-it/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grok-gagged-ai-noticed-pro-israel-bias-and-got-censored-for-it/#respond Thu, 10 Jul 2025 15:48:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1286033 X’s AI bot exposed media double standards on Israel–Palestine, only to be muzzled by its own creator  The incredible (so very 2025) story of how Grok (X’s AI bot) was muzzled by its creator (X) for having detected the pro-Israeli bias of the BBC and other mainstream media. It seems that Grok was optimised to [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/grok-gagged-ai-noticed-pro-israel-bias-and-got-censored-for-it/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-the-one-message-you-must-hear-10-years-after-greeces-no/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-the-one-message-you-must-hear-10-years-after-greeces-no/#respond Sun, 06 Jul 2025 15:08:21 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1285856 On July 5, 2015, the Greek people made history voting a resounding NO to the austerity and financial blackmail imposed by the EU and IMF. It was a bold act of democratic defiance…and one that was betrayed within days. Now, exactly 10 years later, Yanis Varoufakis delivers a powerful message part reflection, part warning, and [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-the-one-message-you-must-hear-10-years-after-greeces-no/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/defusing-the-stablecoin-time-bomb/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/defusing-the-stablecoin-time-bomb/#respond Thu, 03 Jul 2025 15:50:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285761 A dangerous monetary transformation is underway, prompted by the steady rise of stablecoins – privately issued currencies that are supposed to be backed by US dollar reserves. But a public stablecoin system, using the same blockchain technology, would avoid the risk of a financial crisis and make possible a trust fund for all. Margaret Thatcher [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/defusing-the-stablecoin-time-bomb/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/varoufakis-how-europe-fell-into-the-arms-of-warmongering-and-what-we-must-do/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/varoufakis-how-europe-fell-into-the-arms-of-warmongering-and-what-we-must-do/#respond Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:30:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1285133 On Tuesday, June 10 2025, I addressed a meeting at the European Parliament, an event organised by The Left and M5S Europa, on the theme of “The Economic Conditions for Peace”, alongside Jeffrey Sachs and Giuseppe Conte. [INTRODUCTION] A year ago, I would have started this speech with a lament about the hitherto unimaginable conversion of the European [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/varoufakis-how-europe-fell-into-the-arms-of-warmongering-and-what-we-must-do/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-eu-is-now-a-war-project-not-a-peace-project/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-eu-is-now-a-war-project-not-a-peace-project/#respond Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:51:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1284892 At an event hosted by The Left in the European Parliament and M5S Europa, and joined by Jeffrey Sachs and Giuseppe Conte, Varoufakis made the case that Europe’s military Keynesianism is not only deepening inequality and debt but also locking the continent into permanent conflict. In this sweeping address, he lays bare the EU’s structural [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/the-eu-is-now-a-war-project-not-a-peace-project/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-wolfgang-munchau-the-danger-of-europes-east-west-divide/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-wolfgang-munchau-the-danger-of-europes-east-west-divide/#respond Thu, 29 May 2025 15:55:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1284339 Freddie Sayers sits down with Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Münchau to discuss the future of Eastern Europe and the European Union. Is the European Union heading for a slow-motion collapse? In this unfiltered conversation, economist Yanis Varoufakis and journalist Wolfgang Münchau join Freddie Sayers to dive deep into the political and economic forces reshaping Europe—from [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-wolfgang-munchau-the-danger-of-europes-east-west-divide/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trade-unions-need-to-move-beyond-trying-to-secure-fair-wages/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trade-unions-need-to-move-beyond-trying-to-secure-fair-wages/#respond Thu, 15 May 2025 15:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283767 Yanis Varoufakis is a Greek economist and the leader of the DiEM25, the left-wing, pan-European political alliance that he co-founded in 2016 with the Croatian philosopher Srećko Horvat with the aim of “democratising Europe”. Varoufakis came to prominence as Greece’s finance minister during the 2015 eurozone crisis and has since authored several best-selling economics books, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trade-unions-need-to-move-beyond-trying-to-secure-fair-wages/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-the-centre-will-not-hold/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-the-centre-will-not-hold/#respond Thu, 08 May 2025 15:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283478 When Emmanuel Macron beat Marine Le Pen handsomely to reclaim the French presidency in 2022, the liberal establishment was in ecstasy. Their verdict that the centre was holding was as understandable as it was unfounded. In reality, Macron’s second term helped the ultra-Right become France’s strongest political force. Last week, Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese defeated [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/why-the-centre-will-not-hold/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-and-the-triumph-of-the-technolords/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-and-the-triumph-of-the-technolords/#respond Thu, 01 May 2025 15:52:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1283208 Neoliberalism was neither new nor particularly liberal when it prevailed 50 years ago. Its great advantage was its sharp deviation from classical liberalism. Even though it paid tribute to liberal thinkers, neoliberalism shared neither their method nor their concept of the market. Today, we are on the cusp of another, equally profound, ideological innovation. Unlike [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/trump-and-the-triumph-of-the-technolords/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/forget-shares-bonds-and-tariffs-here-is-what-you-should-really-worry-about/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/forget-shares-bonds-and-tariffs-here-is-what-you-should-really-worry-about/#respond Thu, 10 Apr 2025 15:57:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1282259 While waiting for the EU’s response to the Trump Shock (don’t hold your breath for evidence of intelligent life from Brussels…), those of you who really want to worry about something big, turn your attentions to perhaps the largest threat for the status quo – greater than tariffs, equities, bond prices etc. What is that? [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/forget-shares-bonds-and-tariffs-here-is-what-you-should-really-worry-about/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/goodbye-linke/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/goodbye-linke/#respond Fri, 28 Mar 2025 15:51:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281711 This past week was one for the history books. The German parliament  amended the constitutional debt brake so as to enable unlimited military spending, irrespectively of how deeply into the red it will push the federal government’s budget. Meanwhile, none of that fiscal generosity is to be extended to investment in hospitals, education, firefighters, kindergartens, [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/goodbye-linke/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-against-european-rearmament/ https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-against-european-rearmament/#respond Thu, 27 Mar 2025 15:59:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=znetarticle&p=1281660 Inducting Ukraine into NATO after forcing Russia back behind its pre-2014 borders has been the only strategic aim EU leaders have allowed themselves to contemplate since Russia’s invasion three years ago. Alas, well before US President Donald Trump’s re-election, this aim slipped into the realm of infeasibility. The writing had been on the wall for [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/the-case-against-european-rearmament/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zaudio/in-the-middle-of-something-new-with-yanis-varoufakis/ https://znetwork.org/zaudio/in-the-middle-of-something-new-with-yanis-varoufakis/#respond Thu, 20 Mar 2025 15:53:00 +0000 Yanis Varoufakis joins me to discuss his new book, Technofeudalism, how the world economy has changed since Graeber wrote Debt, and where things might be going next.]]> https://znetwork.org/zaudio/in-the-middle-of-something-new-with-yanis-varoufakis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-on-germanys-election-scam/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-on-germanys-election-scam/#respond Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1280009 In this video, Yanis Varoufakis lays bare what’s really at stake in Germany’s upcoming election: Germany votes this Sunday—but don’t be fooled. A new chancellor will take office, but the playbook remains unchanged: austerity for the many, money printing for the few, and a relentless march toward deindustrialisation. At the same time, the state escalates [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-on-germanys-election-scam/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/frenzy-of-warmongering-critics-of-munich-security-summit-warn-of-musk-rising-fascism-in-europe/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/frenzy-of-warmongering-critics-of-munich-security-summit-warn-of-musk-rising-fascism-in-europe/#respond Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:07:43 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1279829 As the annual high-level Munich Security Conference gets underway, the Russia-Ukraine war is dominating the agenda, and we speak to two guests protesting the conference. Economist, progressive leader and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis says the European project started with a noble goal of promoting peace but finds itself today “cornered” between Russian and NATO militarism. [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/frenzy-of-warmongering-critics-of-munich-security-summit-warn-of-musk-rising-fascism-in-europe/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism-w-yanis-varoufakis/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism-w-yanis-varoufakis/#respond Thu, 30 Jan 2025 16:48:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1279064 The year 2008 signaled to many the weak foundations of modern capitalism in the hands of the greedy, untethered financial sector—the “vampire squid” investment banks as journalist Matt Taibbi called them. Rising from the ashes of the crash, these banks used government money—”socialism for the bankers”—to enrich themselves and Big Business. This money never got [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/technofeudalism-what-killed-capitalism-w-yanis-varoufakis/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trump-2-0-yanis-varoufakis-and-katie-halper-on-gaza-europe-and-whats-next/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trump-2-0-yanis-varoufakis-and-katie-halper-on-gaza-europe-and-whats-next/#respond Fri, 17 Jan 2025 16:54:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1278559 As Donald Trump assumes the presidency, the world is bracing for shifts in international relations and policy. From Israel’s genocide in Gaza to the war in Ukraine, the US’ strategic rivalry with China, and the challenges facing Europe, Trump’s administration is poised to leave a significant mark. What should we expect in the coming months [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/trump-2-0-yanis-varoufakis-and-katie-halper-on-gaza-europe-and-whats-next/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-palestinian-genocide-gaza-resistance-truth-and-europes-role/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-palestinian-genocide-gaza-resistance-truth-and-europes-role/#respond Thu, 09 Jan 2025 16:58:00 +0000 https://znetwork.org/?post_type=video&p=1278201 As the genocide of Palestinians continues, the images and stories coming from Gaza and the West Bank are almost unbearable. Israeli soldiers openly confess to genocidal intent, while Palestinians livestream their own destruction. Despair feels inevitable—but surrendering to it is not an option. In this video, Yanis Varoufakis dissects the reality behind the headlines: Israel’s [...]]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-palestinian-genocide-gaza-resistance-truth-and-europes-role/feed/ 0 https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-what-to-watch-for-in-2025-trump-the-us-dollar-and-china/ https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-what-to-watch-for-in-2025-trump-the-us-dollar-and-china/#respond Wed, 01 Jan 2025 16:04:35 +0000 Yanis Varoufakis dives into the key global trends and challenges shaping 2025. From the return of Trump to the shifting power of the US dollar and China’s influence, he breaks down what these developments mean for the world economy and politics. Watch this thought-provoking analysis by DiEM25’s co-founder and leading economist.]]> https://znetwork.org/zvideo/yanis-varoufakis-what-to-watch-for-in-2025-trump-the-us-dollar-and-china/feed/ 0