Publisher’s
write-up:
'Why is there so much inequality?' asked Xenia to her
father. Answering her questions in a series of accessible and tender letters,
Varoufakis educates her to what economics and capitalism is and why it is so
dangerous.
Taking from memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales -
from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix - Varoufakis turns
Talking To My Daughter into an enjoyable and engaging read, without ever shying
from the harder truths. Greece's former finance minister explains everything
you need to know to understand why economics is the most important drama of our
times.
In answering his daughter's deceptively simple questions, Varoufakis
disentangles our troubling world with remarkable clarity and child-like
honesty, as well as inspiring us to make it a better one.’
Talking
to my Daughter is a brief history of capitalism written by the former finance
minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis. This is presented as him answering
question of his teenage daughter currently living in Australia, as to why there
is so much inequality in the world, and explains capitalism and economics in a
way in which she, and a lot of others without a background in economics could
understand.
The
author begins this like any other standard economics book talking about how the
early societies used barter, and the eventual invention of agriculture which
created a need for a medium of exchange and also laws related to land
ownership. The author tries to address several problems including social,
historical and economic problems, where he starts by answering why the
Australian aborigines did not go about colonising Europe. I would not evaluate
the anthropological merits of his argument, but he brings it down to the
economy, how Europe’s creation of surplus demanded a constant need for more
markets and more people to sell. He then goes on to explain several present-day
situations – such as debt, and also the question of unemployment.
I
must give the disclaimer that how one is going to receive the book is largely
going to depend on the political convictions of an individual and I would
disclose that Yanis Varoufakis is someone whom I agree with more than I
disagree.
To
me, I felt the book was structured well, which is something that most could
agree on regardless of one’s political alignment – given how it talked about
how society was initially structured, some of the most basic problems we face,
how the markets are formed, and also other crises like unemployment (and
challenging the very idea that some consider this to be a ‘myth’). There were
also several very well-known references to Greek mythology and also famous
films such as The Matrix. That said, given that this is an English translation,
and though the examples would be very evident to a Western audience, I think
the translator should have added footnotes to some of the references given
works in English are also read even outside the anglosphere.
Moreover,
I find personally as an economics graduate and finance professional, that some
of what he explains are the same problems that populists fall under – especially
his explanation of the central bank – that one tries to oversimplify an
actually complex concept (such as monetary easing for instance or banks
creating ‘value out of thin air’) and discredit the whole system altogether.
One could have a reasonable debate on the validity of such a system or whether
it needs a total overhaul as is suggested by the author but oversimplification
might not convey the message that is intended.
To
conclude, this book is a decent start to those who wish to learn more about the
economy and the evolution and criticism of capitalism. However, certain
concepts that are complex, need not have been touched upon rather than giving a
misleading and oversimplified version. On that note, I award the book a rating
of six on ten.
Rating – 6/10
Have a nice day,
Andy
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