Talking to my daughter about the economy, or, how capitalism works-- and how it fails

Talking to my daughter about the economy, or, how capitalism works-- and how it fails

Yanis Varoufakis

Book - 2018

In Talking to My Daughter About the Economy, activist Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's former finance minister and the author of the international bestseller Adults in the Room, pens a series of letters to his young daughter, educating her about the business, politics, and corruption of world economics. Yanis Varoufakis has appeared before heads of nations, assemblies of experts, and countless students around the world. Now, he faces his most important and difficult audience yet. Using clear language and vivid examples, Varoufakis offers a series of letters to his young daughter about the economy: how it operates, where it came from, how it benefits some while impoverishing others. Taking bankers and politicians to task, he explains the hist...orical origins of inequality among and within nations, questions the pervasive notion that everything has its price, and shows why economic instability is a chronic risk. Finally, he discusses the inability of market-driven policies to address the rapidly declining health of the planet his daughters generation stands to inherit. Throughout, Varoufakis wears his expertise lightly. He writes as a parent whose aim is to instruct his daughter on the fundamental questions of our age and through that knowledge, to equip her against the failures and obfuscations of our current system and point the way toward a more democratic alternative.

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Subjects
Economics.
Capitalism.
Published
New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2018.
Language
English
Greek, Modern (1453-)
Main Author
Yanis Varoufakis (author)
Other Authors
Jacob Moe (translator)
Edition
First American edition
Item Description
"Originally published in Greek in 2013 by Patakis Publishers, Greece. English translation originally published in 2017 by The Bodley Head, Great Britain as Talking to my daughter about the economy: a brief history of capitalism"--Title page verso.
Includes index.
Physical Description
209 pages ; 20 cm
Audience
1250L
ISBN
9780374272364
  • Why so much inequality?
  • The birth of the market society
  • The marriage of debt and profit
  • The black magic of banking
  • Two Oedipal markets
  • Haunted machines
  • The dangerous fantasy of apolitical money
  • Stupid viruses?
  • Epilogue.
Review by Choice Review

In this clear and accessible book, Varoufakis (Univ. of Athens, Greece) tries to explain to the average citizen how the economy works. This is accomplished through an imagined conversation with his daughter. It is not surprising that the book largely focuses on macroeconomic topics such as debt and monetary policy, given that Varoufakis is the former finance minister of Greece. The greatest strength of this book, however, is that Varoufakis never excludes from his narrative the people trying to do their best in an ever-changing world economy. Every discussion starts with a very human (micro) face such as friends, historical figures, or literary characters. For a book that extensively uses historical examples to show "how capitalism works," however, there is almost no attention paid to how capitalism works. A brief mention of rising living standards due to the widespread use of markets would have only strengthened the arguments made for fixing the global economy. Without knowledge of how markets have led to greater human flourishing in many cases, many readers might finish the book wanting to jettison, rather than reform, markets. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. General readers; upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --Joshua C. Hall, West Virginia University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Former Greek finance minister Varoufakis insightfully examines international economics through a concise yet detailed discussion with his 14-year-old daughter. A staunch proponent of democracy, he explores the history of inequality; the role of industry and cyberspace; banking, government, individual, and group responses to market changes; and the tension between individual ambition and the needs of the community. The author relies on films such as The Matrix as well as anthropological studies, making a potentially overwhelming subject accessible and offering information usually not covered in school. VERDICT For all YA collections, and an excellent addition to social studies syllabi.-Francisca Goldsmith, Library Ronin, Worcester, MA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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