Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism

Description

Yanis Varoufakis, the bestselling author of Adults in the Room, uses personal stories and famous myths to explain what economics is and why it has the power to change our world. Why is there so much inequality? In this intimate and accessible book, world famous economist Yanis Varoufakis sets out to answer his daughter Xenia's deceptively simple question. Drawing on memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales - from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix -- Talking To My Daughter About the Economy explains everything you need to know in order to understand why economics is the most important drama of our times. It is a book that helps to make sense of a troubling world while inspiring us to make it a better one.

Born in Athens in 1961, Yanis Varoufakis was for many years a professor of economics in Britain, Australia and the USA before becoming finance minister of Greece in 2015. His memoir of his experiences in government, Adults In the Room- My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment, was a number one bestseller in 2017. His previous book, And The Weak Suffer What They Must? Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability was a number one bestseller in 2016. He is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Athens and speaks to audiences of thousands worldwide as a co-founder of the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25). His daughter Xenia is now fifteen years old and lives in Sydney, Australia. yanisvaroufakis.eu / @yanisvaroufakis

"If you're Left-wing, or even if you have doubts about market economies, you'll love his arguments because they're so easy to understand. If you're on the Right, you'll have a very clear idea of how your cleverest opponents think ... Varoufakis tells all this with exemplary verve ... It's great fun to read ... Varoufakis has started a debate here, and he's done it brilliantly" * Evening Standard * "Utterly accessible, deeply humane and startlingly original - a potent democratic tool at the perfect time" -- Naomi Klein, author of No Is Not Enough "A provocative, challenging, yet non-patronising analysis of the global economy: what it is, how it came to be and why it can never be apolitical. By using ancient myths, contemporary culture and family stories, Varoufakis makes the text intimate and accessible" -- Nigel Jones * Observer * "Experts have often found it easier to hide behind opaque language than to explain complex concepts in simple terms ... Varoufakis wants to smash this barrier: he argues from the outset that if we defer to experts on the economy then we hand over all our most important political decisions to them ... Varoufakis does equip his readers with the beginnings of a new language, and punctures myth after myth" -- Anna Minton * Guardian * "Varoufakis's brief history of capitalism unspools with characteristic fluency and verve ... those seeking to better understand the 'black magic' of bankers should look no further" * Financial Times *