‘Capitalism is dead. Now we have something much worse’: Yanis Varoufakis on extremism, Starmer, and the tyranny of big tech::In his new book, the maverick Greek economist says we are witnessing an epochal shift. At his island home, he argues it’s now the ‘fiefdoms’ of tech firms that shape us
That’s just capitalism. But I guess when you benefit so greatly from the system, you can’t risk rocking the boat by talking about it openly. So you have to invent scary new names to smokescreen the root of the matter. “Technofeudalism”, “Neo feudalism”, “corporatism”, “crony capitalism” etc, is such crap. It’s still just capitalism.
Ignoring the ridiculous manner in which the article is written, look at the clownish arguments being made.
I know you have an island home dickhead, but the rest of us have been paying plenty of rent under capitalism.
Greece has 6000 islands.
His lives in a house on one the 227 inhabited ones.
He pays his rent writing books and giving talks against capitalism., sharing what he learned in his time as Greek finance minister, when the EU and Germany were crushing Greece with debt and forcing neoliberal policies on them the detriment of its citizens and for the benefit of the banks.
What are your plans for today ?
Crushing Greece with debt Greece chose to take.
If they didn’t like EU loans they could have gone to the IMF or, guess what, they could have refused any loans.
But when you accept other people’s money (that ultimately comes from taxpayers), refusing to pay it back is a real dick move. An next time you risk that the people who lent you the money will flip you the bird instead.
Capitalism or not.
Edit: downvoters believe in free money
…and if Germany had paid the war reparations they owed, perhaps the Greeks wouldn’t need a loan , because marching your tanks uninvited into another countries territory is “a real dick move “ as you put it .
You’re going all the way back to WW2 for your argument? Lol
So the Greek government lying is Nazi’s fault? 🤔 Maybe if time travel is involved.
Capitalism has a definition. He’s saying that the markers that define Capitalism (as opposed to Mercentilism, Feudalism, etc.) are no longer there.
Specifically he’s saying that you can now no longer be on the top rung by privately owning the means of production, which is probably the biggest hallmark of Capitalism.
When you consider the definition of fascism is (as defined by the comintern) “the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, most chauvinistic and most imperialist elements of finance capital.”, it’s hard not to feel we are sliding into an insidious, new and distinct, technological form of it.
If you think of society through the view of class hierarchy, Jeff and people like him have created a class of power above capitalist. As far above capitalist as the boss is above the worker.
That’s what he’s meaning.
I wonder if I’m making a mistake here by not reading this article. I know one must always be open to other ideas but fucking hell there are not enough hours in the day. So when this guy’s first claim is that capitalism is dead, I can’t take the rest of it seriously nor read it properly. I can’t let myself afford the time to touch this link. Maybe my view was colored by thus comment here but meh, can’t be bothered.