The Global Minotaur: America, Europe and the Future of the Global Economy

by Yanis Varoufakis

Overview

In this remarkable and provocative book, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis explodes the myth that financialisation, ineffectual regulation of banks, greed and globalisation were the root causes of both the Eurozone crisis and the global economic crisis.  Rather, they are symptoms of a much deeper malaise which can be traced all the way back to the Great Crash of 1929, then on through to the 1970s: the time when a 'Global Minotaur' was born. Just as the Athenians maintained a steady flow of tributes to the Cretan beast, so Europe and the rest of the world began sending incredible amounts of capital to America and Wall Street. Thus, the Global Minotaur became the 'engine' that pulled the world economy from the early 1980s through to the financial collapse of 2008.

Today's deepening crisis in Europe is just one of the inevitable symptoms of the weakening Minotaur; of a global 'system' which is now as unsustainable as it is imbalanced. Going beyond this, Varoufakis lays out the options available to us for reintroducing a modicum of reason into a highly irrational global economic order.

An essential account of the socio-economic events and hidden histories that have shaped the world as we now know it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780326467
Publisher:	Zed Books
Publication date:	02/14/2013
Series:	Economic Controversies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Yanis Varoufakis is the Greek Minister of Finance and an MP for Syriza. He is also Professor of Economics at the University of Athens and Visiting Professor at the University of Texas.  Born in Athens, 1961, Varoufakis completed his secondary education in Greece before moving to England where he read mathematics and economics at the Universities of Essex and Birmingham. He has taught at various British Universities (Essex, East Anglia, Cambridge, Glasgow), and spent twelve years teaching at the University of Sydney (Australia).

Table of Contents

Preface to the New Edition

1. Introduction

2. Laboratories of the future

3. The Global Plan

4. The Global Minotaur

5. The beast's handmaidens

6. Crash

7. The  handmaidens strike back

8. The Minotaur's global legacy: the dimming sun, the wounded tigers, a flighty Europa and an anxious dragon

9. A future without the Minotaur?

Editorial Reviews

"This book is one of those exceedingly rare publications of which one can say they are urgent, timely, and absolutely necessary."

Terry Eagleton

"Yanis is one of the best, brightest and most innovative economists on the planet."

author of Debunking Economics Steve Keen

"The emerging rock-star of Europe's anti-austerity uprising."

Daily Telegraph

"Varoufakis is a rare economist: skilled at explaining ideas, happy to join in public debates and able to put his discipline in a broader context."

Guardian Aditya Chakrabortty

"If you want to know how serious the current crisis is, you should read his book. With much eloquence, Yanis Varoufakis argues that the current financial problems are connected to the emerging fault lines of the international monetary system. The US (the Minotaur) used to govern the international monetary system, but no more; and this crucially means that there is no surplus recycling mechanism that can reliably stabilise the world economy. The elephant in the room, so to speak, is a stumbling Minotaur."

University of East Anglia Shaun Hargreaves-Heap

"Clearly and strongly written, with logical organization building towards simple conclusions, the book is an easy yet rewarding read...perhaps should become the standard way we think about the nature of our increasingly dysfunctional world economy."

International Affairs Joel Campbell

"In the most comprehensive guide to the contemporary economic crisis yet written, Varoufakis traces out the path from post-war US economic supremacy to the current predicament. This book's provocative thesis, written in lively and impassioned prose, is that neither the US nor the EU nor any other nation can now restore robust global growth. Whether you agree or disagree, this book's lively and impassioned prose will engage you both heart and mind, and hold you in thrall to the last word. The Global Minotaur is a masterwork that registers for all time the challenge of our time."

Gary Dymski

"The book is one of those exceedingly rare publications of which one can say they are urgent, timely and absolutely necessary." - Terry Eagleton

"Yanis is one of the best, brightest and most innovative economists on the planet" - Steve Keen, author of Debunking Economics

"In the most comprehensive guide to the contemporary economic crisis yet written, Yanis Varoufakis traces out the path from post-war US economic supremacy to the current predicament. This book's provocative thesis, written in lively and impassioned prose, is that which neither the US nor the EU nor any other nation can now restore robust global growth. Whether you agree or disagree, this book's lively and impassioned prose will engage you both heart and mind, and hold you in thrall to the last word. The Global Minotaur is a masterwork that registers for all time the challenge of our time." - Prof. Gary Dymski, University of California, Riverside

"If you want to know how serious the current crisis is, you should read his book. With much eloquence, Yanis Varoufakis argues that the current financial problems are connected to the emerging fault lines of the international monetary system. The US (the Minotaur) used to govern the international monetary system, but no more; and this crucially means that there is no surplus recycling mechanism that can reliably stabilise the world economy. The elephant in the room, so to speak, is a stumbling Minotaur." - Prof. Shaun Hargreaves-Heap, University of East Anglia

"Yanis Varoufakis is a rare economist: skilled at explaining ideas, happy to join in public debates and able to put his discipline in a broader context. You may not agree with what he says, but you'll enjoy the way he says it." -Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

"Clearly and strongly written, with logical organization building towards simple conclusions, the book is an easy yet rewarding read ... perhaps should become the standard way we think about the nature of our increasingly dysfunctional world economy." - Joel Campbell, International Affairs Journal

From the Publisher