Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism

Янис Варуфакис

Цитаты

fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
Let’s begin at the beginning:
1
8
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
in the labor market, in fact,<…>, workers lease their time
1
7
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
the labor market is based not just on the exchange value of labor but on people’s optimism or pessimism about the economy as a whole, and so across-the-board wage cuts may well result in no new hirings, or even lay-offs.
1
6
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
If the various Marias who own businesses are all confident that market conditions will be good and that there will continue to be enough customers with money to spend, then each of them will hire the various Wasilys, who in turn will see their income grow, allowing them to buy refrigerators, bicycles, or whatever it may be. In this manner the various Marias’ optimistic expectations will be fulfilled. Equally, if the various Marias are glum and expect poor sales, they will refrain from hiring the various Wasilys, incomes will continue to stagnate, the market for fridges will remain stuck in the doldrums, and, guess what, Maria and her fellow entrepreneurs will find their pessimism vindicated by reality.
Читать далее
1
5
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
If Wasily protests that he cannot afford enough food or a place to live on fifty euros a month, the unemployment deniers shrug their shoulders and point to the fact that there are places in Africa where people live for much, much less. Wasily simply needs to lower his expectations.
1
4
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
Nothing adds more insult to injury than blaming the victim for their victimhood. It is the favorite tactic of the bully and one that women have suffered for aeons.
1
7
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
“The worst thing that can happen to a person is to become so desperate that you decide to sell your soul to the devil only to discover that the devil isn’t buying!”
That’s exactly how the unemployed feel when, pressured by the Great Need, they resign themselves to working for peanuts only to find that no one wants to hire them.
1
8
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
It massively amplifies wealth creation during the good times and wealth destruction during the bad times, constantly skewing the distribution of power and money. But to be fair, bankers are just that: massive amplifiers.
1
7
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
Bonds are, in bankers’ parlance, “the most liquid of assets.” As such, they lubricate the banking system to keep its cogs and wheels turning.
1
4
fru-n-quiz13 октября 2025 г.
How do you think the landowners managed to get rid of the serfs so efficiently? The answer is: with the help of the state. The king and his government lent the landowners a hand, sending their soldiers in to put down any rebellion by the peasants. And how do you think the new order, underpinning market society, was maintained? How were the majority living under conditions of abject dehumanization in the slums of Manchester, Birmingham, and London kept under control when a few streets away the minority lived in the lap of luxury? To put it simply, private wealth was built and then maintained on the back of state-sponsored violence.
Читать далее
1
3