(Photo: Russell Shaw Higgs/Creative Commons)
Published in partnership with acTVism.
In this video, former finance minister of Greece, professor of economics, author, and founder of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), Yanis Varoufakis, argues why the Basic Income is a necessity today. His arguments take into account a macro socio-economic, psychological, philosophical and moral perspective. In addition to the speech, Varoufakis addresses a wide range of questions from the public.
- What is the social democratic tradition about? And how did influence Capitalism in the 20th century?
- Why is Social Democracy coming to an end? And how is the process of financialization & the rise of technology contributing to its demise?
- What is Bankruptocracy? What problems is it posing to our society?
- What is the current narrative on the relationship between the markets & state in terms of wealth generation? And how and why is a change required in this narrative in order to make the Basic Income a reality?
- What are the arguments are against a Basic Income? And how should they be confronted?
- How is a Basic Income aligned with the Libertarian philosophy? Will it promote freedom of choice and self-determination?
- How will a Basic Income promote creativity in our society?
All of these questions and much more are addressed in the video:
About Yanis Varoufakis:
Yanis Varoufakis is a professor of Economic Theory at the University of Athens, founder of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) and former finance minister of Greece.
As finance minister of Greece he resigned shortly after he found out that his prime minister decided to cave into the austerity program of the Troika that the majority of Greece rejected in the historic OXI vote.