Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present from the no. 1 bestselling author
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- Author：Yanis Varoufakis
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Summary
'A landmark work' Brian Eno
Imagine a world with no banks。 No stock market。 No tech giants。 No billionaires。
Imagine if Occupy and Extinction Rebellion actually won。
In Another Now world-famous economist， Yanis Varoufakis， shows us what such a world would look like。 Far from being a fantasy， he describes how it could have come about - and might yet。 But would we really want it？
Varoufakis's boundary-breaking new book confounds expectations of what the good society would look like and confronts us with the greatest question: are we able to build a better society， despite our flaws。
'One of my few heroes。 As long as people like Varoufakis are around， there still is hope' Slavoj Žižek
Imagine a world with no banks。 No stock market。 No tech giants。 No billionaires。
Imagine if Occupy and Extinction Rebellion actually won。
In Another Now world-famous economist， Yanis Varoufakis， shows us what such a world would look like。 Far from being a fantasy， he describes how it could have come about - and might yet。 But would we really want it？
Varoufakis's boundary-breaking new book confounds expectations of what the good society would look like and confronts us with the greatest question: are we able to build a better society， despite our flaws。
'One of my few heroes。 As long as people like Varoufakis are around， there still is hope' Slavoj Žižek
Reviews
N。 Gerard
，
A contemporary utopia， a what could-have-been， which might yet to be。 Hopefully this modern “Looking Backward” has as much an influence on the world as that book had on Clement Attlee。Personally I wish it showed a glimpse of where the "now" might be a hundred years later， but it focused on possible changes in our short term， and hopefully is taken the more seriously because of it。 A contemporary utopia， a what could-have-been， which might yet to be。 Hopefully this modern “Looking Backward” has as much an influence on the world as that book had on Clement Attlee。Personally I wish it showed a glimpse of where the "now" might be a hundred years later， but it focused on possible changes in our short term， and hopefully is taken the more seriously because of it。 。。。more
Prerna
，
Hello there！ Are you worried that the pre-pandemic panic （or lack thereof if you're from the US）， and the post-pandemic lethargy is here to stay？ Do you find yourself constantly battling with episolatory anxiety and wake up several times in the night to check if you really accepted all those cookies or if you really agreed to engage in mindless labour for Zuckerberg and the likes， but then， when you're just on the verge of slipping into a void of all-consuming fear， you feel a sense of an almost Hello there！ Are you worried that the pre-pandemic panic （or lack thereof if you're from the US）， and the post-pandemic lethargy is here to stay？ Do you find yourself constantly battling with episolatory anxiety and wake up several times in the night to check if you really accepted all those cookies or if you really agreed to engage in mindless labour for Zuckerberg and the likes， but then， when you're just on the verge of slipping into a void of all-consuming fear， you feel a sense of an almost numbing shock wash over you because your high school classmate who you haven't seen in 15 years is getting married and her dog is going to be the ring-bearer and look at all those cute engagement pictures， and now you have to let out an envious aww and go back to sleep。 Phew， that was close。 Are you worried that the state of emergency invoked during the dire circumstances of the pandemic will not be revoked and so we'll slip into demagoguery and authoritarian populism？ Come on， it's for your own safety。 What about when you're walking alone in the street at night， don't your paleolithic instincts creep up on you and you're just so sure you're being followed - except oh！ This is the 21st century stupid， nobody is following you， there are surveillance cameras everywhere。 It's just your primitive brain reminding you of a device in your pocket that's being used to extract everything that can be known about you。 Fingerprints？ Voice？ Sexual preferences？ Don't worry， data mining has you covered！ However， if you're still the paranoid type and just can't convince yourself that you're only being silly and that they， you know THEY - the 0。001%， are onto you， then Another Now is for you！ Just find the nearest wormhole and hop into a parallel universe！Of course we can't guarantee that it will be any better， but if you somehow do end up in the another now that Varoufakis outlines in this book， then hurrah！ Maybe？ Well， it isn't the perfect utopia but it's certainly better than what we have here。 In his public appearances， Varoufakis often talks about the twin peaks paradox which is the idea that we're stuck between a gargantuan mountain of idle money （never before has the western world had so much money in its banking systems） and another ever-growing mountain of debts （low investment in social necessities relative to available money。） We seem to be buying into this idea that everything is fine and we're all in this together， when really it's only the money markets that are doing well， really well even， while the rest of the world seems to be facing a crisis。 Another thing Varoufakis has often warned us about is techno-feudalism。 It seems as though Varoufakis tried to create a world that overcomes both these dangers and splendidly at that， almost。You might love the other now so much that you'll want to stay or， like me and certain other characters from the book you might discover that utopias are not just stumbled onto， but made。 Either way， the world Varoufakis offers is well worth looking into。 。。。more
Terry Drymonacos
，
Gonna read it again; let me get back to you
Peter Matthews
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Interesting way to compare financial systems， by presenting each system， as a science fictional story of a discussion between parallel worlds。Wasn't as I expected and the twists and turns were even more unexpected。 Interesting way to compare financial systems， by presenting each system， as a science fictional story of a discussion between parallel worlds。Wasn't as I expected and the twists and turns were even more unexpected。 。。。more
Patrik Plvan
，
An economist has managed to combine his love for Star-Trek， sci-fi fiction and his concept of a fair and equal society without vertical social structure to create a very easily readable book full of inspirational ideas。 Varoufakis is portraying an utopian society but does not avoid scepticism which gives the book a touch of sobriety making reader believe that at least some of these ideas shall be transformed into reality。
Gustav
，
More than ever， we need the tools and architectures for imagining viable alternatives to neoliberal capitalism。 I've come to describe this book as a type of dystopic novel， but wherein the dystopia is our current reality， and the Another Now is a type of achievable utopia （an oxymoron， I know）。 Thus， the book shares clear relationships to predecessors such as News from Nowhere。 Varoufaki vision bridges both liberalist and leftist （as well as anarchist） logics， where the purpose of the protagonis More than ever， we need the tools and architectures for imagining viable alternatives to neoliberal capitalism。 I've come to describe this book as a type of dystopic novel， but wherein the dystopia is our current reality， and the Another Now is a type of achievable utopia （an oxymoron， I know）。 Thus， the book shares clear relationships to predecessors such as News from Nowhere。 Varoufaki vision bridges both liberalist and leftist （as well as anarchist） logics， where the purpose of the protagonists （especially Eva and Iris， representing a liberalist and a type of disillusioned leftist rationality） are to unpack this reality through their positionalities。 This provides a great way to discuss but also critique the contents of the book。 Towards the end of the book， these antagonisms serve to question the utopian character of the Another Now by pointing to the fundamental contradictions inherent to Varoufakis constructed world。It's helpful to see how many of the more radical ideas floating around today can manifest in a somewhat concrete model of society （e。g。， Universal Basic Income: Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen）。 However， it's a short book and much remains to be formulated （perhaps intentionally）。 To me， the most glaring absentee was climate change， and the Another Now does not explicitly nor implicitly address this。For a full outline of the ideas discussed， I recommend checking out Kevin's excellent review （currently the top-rated one）。 。。。more
Johnny Lynas
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One of the most vital books I’ve ever read
Kelly
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DNF
Daan Leber
，
Heel interessante ideeën， maar de mengeling met speculatieve fictie haalt volgens mij de boodschap onderuit。 Hoewel utopieën nodig zijn om naar een postkapitalistische maatschappij te evolueren， bereikt het （eerder zwakke） scifi-deel van het boek het tegenovergestelde。 Omdat alles zo speculatief lijkt， lijkt 'The Other Now' eerder op een onbereikbaar ideaal， dan iets wat verwezenlijkt kan worden in 'Our Now'。 3，5/5 Heel interessante ideeën， maar de mengeling met speculatieve fictie haalt volgens mij de boodschap onderuit。 Hoewel utopieën nodig zijn om naar een postkapitalistische maatschappij te evolueren， bereikt het （eerder zwakke） scifi-deel van het boek het tegenovergestelde。 Omdat alles zo speculatief lijkt， lijkt 'The Other Now' eerder op een onbereikbaar ideaal， dan iets wat verwezenlijkt kan worden in 'Our Now'。 3，5/5 。。。more
Jana Rađa
，
I enjoy reading books by Yanis Varoufakis and I jumped for joy when I heard he wrote a novel in which he imagines a future transformed by Covid-19 and sketches a daring vision of democratic socialism。 He asks: Suppose we had seized the 2008 moment to stage a peaceful hi-tech revolution that led to a postcapitalist economic democracy。 What would it be like？ "Another Now" begins in the late 1970s， straddles the crises of 2008 and 2020 but also sketches out an imaginary future， and concludes in 203 I enjoy reading books by Yanis Varoufakis and I jumped for joy when I heard he wrote a novel in which he imagines a future transformed by Covid-19 and sketches a daring vision of democratic socialism。 He asks: Suppose we had seized the 2008 moment to stage a peaceful hi-tech revolution that led to a postcapitalist economic democracy。 What would it be like？ "Another Now" begins in the late 1970s， straddles the crises of 2008 and 2020 but also sketches out an imaginary future， and concludes in 2036， he writes in a piece he wrote for The Guardian in 2020 （https://www。theguardian。com/books/202。。。）。 There is a moment in the story， on a Sunday evening in November 2025 to be precise， when his characters Iris， Eva and Costa， a Marxist-feminist， a libertarian ex-banker and a maverick technologist， try to make sense of their circumstances by looking back to the events of 2020。So did I like "Another Now"？ As a novel， I must say that no， I didn't， simply because it doesn't read like a novel。 As an exercise of imagination， yes， I did。 I can't say it's the best thing Yanis Varoufakis has ever written and I struggled sometimes to maintain my focus （this was an audiobook）， but altogether it was OK and I will be listening to it again。 。。。more
Lucas De ridder
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Inspiring and depressing at the same time。
Nathan Hillier
，
Strangely predictive of 2021 crypto frenzy and new world thoughts。Characters are a little odd。
Karim Bin-humam
，
Not sure why Varoufakis chose a science fiction novel as the medium for presenting a vision for a post oligarchic society。 Maybe it's because most of us today are not able to entertain meaningful conversations around restructuring our societies and institutions without wrapping them in shallow Hollywood storylines， or maybe it's a genuine attempt at being a novelist。。。。either way， the ideas presented should have been presented in the way his other， excellent， nonfiction books were written - the Not sure why Varoufakis chose a science fiction novel as the medium for presenting a vision for a post oligarchic society。 Maybe it's because most of us today are not able to entertain meaningful conversations around restructuring our societies and institutions without wrapping them in shallow Hollywood storylines， or maybe it's a genuine attempt at being a novelist。。。。either way， the ideas presented should have been presented in the way his other， excellent， nonfiction books were written - the storyline here is secondary and distracting from the thesis presented， and the characters and their dialogue so shallow， that as a novel it makes for terrible reading - as a manifesto， much more interesting。 。。。more
Tamara
，
Excellent idea
Sabit Hussain
，
Considering that Varoufakis is a member of the Greek Parliament and an economist， his story telling capabilities is remarkable。 Obviously don't expect the plot or the narration to blow you away but the spirit in which he reimagined the fall of capitalism is truly exceptional。 The characters can't correspond to real humans because it's easy to see the beyond veneer and see him dismantling common liberal capitalist tropes， which seems mechanical at times。 Despite these lacunae， if you're a lefty l Considering that Varoufakis is a member of the Greek Parliament and an economist， his story telling capabilities is remarkable。 Obviously don't expect the plot or the narration to blow you away but the spirit in which he reimagined the fall of capitalism is truly exceptional。 The characters can't correspond to real humans because it's easy to see the beyond veneer and see him dismantling common liberal capitalist tropes， which seems mechanical at times。 Despite these lacunae， if you're a lefty looking for hope then it's definitely for you。 。。。more
Nick
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An Atlas Shrugged for progressives。
John
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Conflict is at the heart of every good story。 There is none here。 Another Now is Varoufakis’ thought experiment， starring a number of protagonists vs capitalist ideology rather than capitalists themselves。 Rather than writing a theoretical non-fiction book about how our world might be different， Varoufakis ventures into fiction with that alternative reality built-in - in the mould of William Morris' 1890 News from Nowhere。Well intentioned and with a number of good ideas， it is let down by the de Conflict is at the heart of every good story。 There is none here。 Another Now is Varoufakis’ thought experiment， starring a number of protagonists vs capitalist ideology rather than capitalists themselves。 Rather than writing a theoretical non-fiction book about how our world might be different， Varoufakis ventures into fiction with that alternative reality built-in - in the mould of William Morris' 1890 News from Nowhere。Well intentioned and with a number of good ideas， it is let down by the device of narrating （via storytelling ‘exposition’） how all of the wonderful ideas came to be。 It is not a ‘war-game’ scenario because presumably the enormously powerful capitalist entities that we are familiar with now， be they states or corporations， have simply rolled over and died in the face of anti-capitalist ingenuity。The story is not simply utopian but hyper-utopian。 Most of the alternative values are grounded in game theory， some using “self revelation mechanism design - arrangements that motivate people to affect honestly”。 The result， for all its decentralising potential is an enormous， global planned economy。Stories need an antagonist that personify the opposite values to the protagonist（s）。 Apart from spicing up the narrative it helps to stir our emotions and make the story relatable。 For us to suspend our disbelief and invest in the possibility of ‘another now’ we need a good story。 Unfortunately we don’t have one here。 。。。more
fitrisia indah
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Science fiction yang ditulis oleh seorang ekonom Yunani yang juga mantan Menteri Keuangan。 Buku ini saya temukan di rak Bisnis/Ekonomi jadi sempat berpikir bukunya akan seperti buku-buku prediksi dunia 10-20 tahun kedepan。 Tapi sebenarnya buku ini murni near-future science fiction atau thought experiment yang diceritakan lewat 3 karakter dengan latar belakang dan interest berbeda， namun mereka sama-sama kecewa dengan sistem saat ini （khususnya， kapitalisme）。 Berikut beberapa poin-poin yang menar Science fiction yang ditulis oleh seorang ekonom Yunani yang juga mantan Menteri Keuangan。 Buku ini saya temukan di rak Bisnis/Ekonomi jadi sempat berpikir bukunya akan seperti buku-buku prediksi dunia 10-20 tahun kedepan。 Tapi sebenarnya buku ini murni near-future science fiction atau thought experiment yang diceritakan lewat 3 karakter dengan latar belakang dan interest berbeda， namun mereka sama-sama kecewa dengan sistem saat ini （khususnya， kapitalisme）。 Berikut beberapa poin-poin yang menarik menurut saya:1。 Buku ini memiliki jangkar historis。Ini membuat pembaca merasa premis "seandainya/if only" yang ditawarkan terasa begitu dekat dan kuat。 Titik balik dari perubahan sistem sosial yang diceritakan berjangkar pada krisis finansial 2008。 "。。。Seandainya ketika krisis lalu kita cepat belajar dan bertindak cepat， mungkin kita berada di situasi yang berbeda di tahun 2020"。 2。 Apa yang sedang terjadi di dunia dan apa alternatifnya dijelaskan dengan jelas。Bahkan untuk seorang awam。 Lucunya， seorang awam yang berada di luar sistem yang dirombaki sesekali akan bergumam， "Loh， jadi seperti itu sistemnya sekarang？" - saking ringan penjelasannya。 Ini membuat pembaca tersadar akan banyaknya kerumitan yang dibuat-buat agar bisa menguntungkan segelintir pihak。 Untuk saya pribadi， dari semua buku yang menjelaskan tentang debt instruments/CDO and how dumb they are， buku ini yang metode penceritaannya paling berhasil bikin naik pitam。 Feels like I am living in a shitty dystopian novel。3。 Format thought-experiment yang humble。Varoufakis jelas tahu bahwa mengkritik dan menawarkan alternatif sistem itu sangat susah - ia sadar limit。 Jadi， alternatif-alternatif yang ada pada dunia Other Now pasca krisis finansial 2008 ini ditelanjangi oleh 3 karakter tadi。 Ibarat sedang brainstorming， ketiganya， mengambil peran devil's advocate。 Hingga akhir buku pun masih terbuka ruang untuk diskusi dan terungkap beberapa permasalahan yang belum terselesaikan di Other Now。This book gives a refreshing way to discuss social/economics issue。 Berharap ada lebih banyak ahli-ahli yang bisa menuliskan idenya dengan format seperti ini ketimbang terkukung dalam bubble academia。 。。。more
Rose
，
I really don't know what to make of this。 I don't know what it's supposed to be。 A sketch of a viable replacement for capitalism？ But it doesn't offer enough detail or answer enough questions for that。 A call to arms？ But the description of how capitalism is overthrown in the Other Now isn't clear enough （and is possibly too optimistic） to be useful as a 'how to'。 Perhaps this is just meant to be an exercise in keeping ones mind open and considering the possibilities of a world without capitalis I really don't know what to make of this。 I don't know what it's supposed to be。 A sketch of a viable replacement for capitalism？ But it doesn't offer enough detail or answer enough questions for that。 A call to arms？ But the description of how capitalism is overthrown in the Other Now isn't clear enough （and is possibly too optimistic） to be useful as a 'how to'。 Perhaps this is just meant to be an exercise in keeping ones mind open and considering the possibilities of a world without capitalism。 I suppose it manages that。There are some creative economic ideas （I don't know achievable they are， but they sound plausible on the face of it）。 I think I was hoping for a little more; the question on the back of the book （'What would a fair and equal society look like？'） made me think the text would actually seek to depict a fair and equal society， and perhaps sketch out an idea of how to achieve it。 The book doesn't do that， and it stops pretending to quite quickly; the 'other now' it talks of shows some improvement on our world in some ways， but the text admits its still subject to plenty of issues。 I guess I was hoping to read the book and find ideas to be enthused about and inspired by， and I'm disappointed because I best I feel a cautious curiosity about some of the suggestions offered。I'm also not entirely sure why it was written the way it was。 It's fictionalised， presented mostly as discussions between characters， but it doesn't do very much with the freedom a fictional tale brings （I've seen sci-fi stories do a lot more in terms of reimagining society， either as a critique of our one or as offering an alternative）。 While it's more engaging than some political books I've read （though not all）， it's still relatively dry when compared with much speculative fiction， so I don't think the style used makes it any more approachable or appealing to a wider audience。I find it hard to judge the book because I'm not sure what it was trying to do， so I can't tell if it succeeded。 It fell short of my expectations， but I don't know if that's simply because I was asking too much。 。。。more
Anna
，
Although shelved with the library's non-fiction， I think 'Another Now' really belongs to a long tradition of utopian novels like Millenium Hall and Ecotopia。 It has the characteristic framing mechanism of a discovered manuscript， and is structured as a series of dialogues about a society and economy very different from our own。 Varoufakis is a very engaging writer and I found the book compelling and readable， despite my current difficulty with non-fiction。 I wasn't even thrown off by discussion Although shelved with the library's non-fiction， I think 'Another Now' really belongs to a long tradition of utopian novels like Millenium Hall and Ecotopia。 It has the characteristic framing mechanism of a discovered manuscript， and is structured as a series of dialogues about a society and economy very different from our own。 Varoufakis is a very engaging writer and I found the book compelling and readable， despite my current difficulty with non-fiction。 I wasn't even thrown off by discussion of the pandemic; its appearance in books is something I'll have to get used to anyhow。 In fact， I enjoyed this comparison of capitalism and viruses:"That a system evolved in a given environment only proves its best at replicating itself in that environment，" he said。 "That doesn't make it a system that we should want to live in。 Nor， more importantly， is it any indication of its ability to survive over the longer term。 Environments change， sometimes rapidly， sometimes because of the system's own ill effects。 Outcompeting other systems， rather than living harmoniously with them， can eventually be self-destructive。 Viruses are a good case in point。 The Ebola virus， although extremely infectious and good at replicating itself， kills its hosts much more frequently than， say， Covid-19。 The fact that coronavirus was relatively harmless is what allowed it to bring capitalism to its knees in 2020。 The question is not whether share trading and capitalism have outcompeted other systems up until now but whether their effects are consistent with their host's survival！" 'Another Now' is a thought experiment that posits a world which turned away from capitalism after the 2008 financial crisis。 The three characters from our world who learn about this other path not taken are cleverly chosen to reflect the book's likely readers。 Although from different generations and disciplinary backgrounds， Iris， Eva， and Costa are each disillusioned with neoliberal capitalism and initially fatalistic about resisting it。 Their interrogation of the Other Now is therefore animated by a range of contemporary concerns。The majority of the book is spent explaining and critiquing the transformed financial and economic systems of the parallel world via dialogue between the three main characters。 Broadly， these systems decouple markets from the compulsion of capital accumulation and replace hierarchies with democracy。 While I wasn't wholly convinced， I found the whole thought experiment impressively thorough and well worth attention。 Varoufakis has synthesised a great many ideas into a clear and coherent format。 The financial system of Another Now appears complex， but in a different way to our neoliberal world， and certainly made me think anew about postcapitalist economics。 The book audaciously proposes that markets would work better without price signals as we know them:Once capitalism had died， and markets were freed from private ownership， a different kind of value took over。 Instead of judging something's worth by its exchange value - what it would fetch in return for something else - the Other Now judged worth according to experiential value - the benefit the thing brought to the person that used it。 Prices， quantities， and monetary profits were no longer the sole masters of society。 In some ways， this would be a return to pre-capitalist markets。 I was also intrigued by the idea of replacing the current corporate mandate to maximise shareholder returns with democratically and transparently rated 'socialworthiness': Turning people into numbers was awful， he felt。 The surest way to destroy a quality is to turn it into a quantity。 Was this not what capitalism had done to us？ Reduce every value to a price， every exchange into a transaction， every thing of incalculable beauty into a measurable object of desire？ And yet， despite his idealism， Costa also recognised that a democratic， technologically advanced， large-scale economy cannot be run like a commune。 It needs numbers。 Quantification is unavoidable。 "If we are to be turned into numbers， we might as well design a system in which the numbers are determined democratically，" he opined。"Randomness is the great ally against tyranny，" Kosti replied。 "If the juries determining our numbers were chosen by any other process than purely random selection， they would be open to influence and ultimately exploitation and tyranny。" There's much to think about here。 Firstly， drawing a perfectly random sample of people from society to serve on socialworthiness juries。 As part of my job I do sampling for large scale social surveys and this almost always involves a stratified random sample。 The stratified element relates to representativeness， usually geographical （e。g by region） or demographic （e。g。 by age and/or gender）。 To avoid representativeness problems in these juries without sacrificing absolute randomness， you would either need a quick turnover of jury members or multiple overlapping juries。 Secondly， it's interesting to imagine where the line of social acceptability would be drawn for economic activities like coal extraction， sex work， gambling， and alcohol sales in different places。 Sitting on one of these juries and seeking consensus on acceptable levels of pollution and other social harms would be a pretty extraordinary experience。 Another transformative change in the Other Now is the dissolution of workplace hierarchies。 Each employee has an equal share and equal voting power in the organisation。 Decision-making， especially around remuneration， would thus require a great deal of honest discussion and openness with colleagues。 Honestly， I think I'm too antisocial for that and would prefer freelancing in such circumstances。 Giving and receiving workplace feedback are already awkward enough。 On the other hand， UK universities would be infinitely better places to work （and study） if their dysfunctional hierarchies were thrown in the bin。I was amused to contrast the technological determinism I encountered recently in A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload with the much more nuanced view in 'Another Now' that technology， economics， society， and the environment evolve together and constantly change each other。 As an illustration， blockchain technology shows up in the Other Now but is used totally differently。 Rather than becoming a libertarian currency project with a reckless disregard for environmental impact， it 'became the platform of a plain vanilla public payments system resembling the boring but ever-so-glorious public library'。 Less appealing to me was the idea of 'immediate and total informational transparency' thanks to a group of hackers using something called the Panopticon Code。 When reviewing Paul Mason's Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future back in 2015， I was already a bit sceptical of how useful access to all the information in the world could actually be。 As I put it then: How would you find the energy to care about anything if you knew everything？ After subsequently reading The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power， I'm more of the opinion that a great deal of data should never have been collected in the first place and would be better deleted。 While there is undoubtedly value in organisational data transparency， I'd also like to wipe out the data that most companies have about me！ Of course， in a genuinely democratic postcapitalist society that is much more likely to be possible。 Varoufakis also includes some material on breaking the big five tech oligopoly。 One ingenious deployment of technology that I really liked， and wish would actually happen， is the unravelling of collateralised debt obligations （CDOs） in the Other Now:Painstakingly， they wrote software that could identify precisely which chunk of debt within each CDO was owed by which household， when each each chunk of a bill or debt repayment was due， to whom it was owed， and who owned the specific CDO at every point in time。 Using this vast database of information， they were then able to contact households - most of which were outraged by the bankers' behaviour and the bailouts they were set to receive - and invite them to participate in low-cost， targeted， short-term payment strikes - or crowdshorting as Esmerelda called these campaigns。 There isn't a great deal about climate change and the environment amid the dialogues， perhaps understandable in a short book。 In the Other Now， mass targeted activism brings down the 'oligarchy-without-frontiers' and forces governments to limit carbon emissions。 The postcapitalist economy is therefore also postcarbon， although this aspect isn't explored in any detail as none of the three main characters discussing it have a strong interest in the environment。 On the other hand， there is an interesting conversation about how the Other Now would have handled the pandemic better:"But what do you always say the prime directive of a commercial bank is， Iris？""Never lend to anyone who actually needs the money，" Iris replied， reeling somewhat from being agreed with。"Precisely。 The moment you put a commercial bank between the central bank's money and the people out there， two things happen: much of it never gets to the people， and what does goes largely to those who don't need it。 If we'd had the same central banking facility in 2020 as the Other Now had in 2022， we could have replaced all lost incomes and prevented most， if not all， of bankruptcies immediately。" Given that it recounts an alternative future， 'Another Now' could be considered science fiction。 The means of travelling between alternate universes in this book are the exact inverse of those in The Space Between Worlds， the last universe-hopping novel I read。 In that， one could only travel to other worlds where one's alternate self was dead; in 'Another Now' one can only communicate with and travel to alternate worlds where someone there shares your exact DNA。 It's tempting to draw a parallel between this and the utopian and dystopian ethos of each respective book。 In any case， I love both sci-fi and critique of capitalism， so the combination naturally pleased me。 As well as providing new ideas to ponder， 'Another Now' articulates familiar critique particularly well， for example:"Libralism's fatal hypocrisy，" said Iris， "was to rejoice in the virtuous Jills and Jacks， the neighbourhood butchers， bakers， and brewers， so as to the defend the vile East India Companies， the Facebooks and the Amazons， which know no neighbours， have no partners， respect no moral sentiments， and stop at nothing to destroy their competitors。 By replacing partnerships with anonymous shareholders， we created Leviathans that end up undermining and defying all the values that liberals like you， Eva， claim to preach。"[。。。]"Corporations go to great lengths to employ geniuses: technologists， designers， financial engineers， economists， artists even。 I've seen it happen，" he said。 "But what have they done with them？ They channel all that talent and creativity towards humanity's destruction。 Even when it is creative， Eva， capitalism is extractive。 In search of shareholder profit， corporations have put these geniuses in charge of extracting the last morsel of value from humans and from the earth， from the minerals in its guts to the life in its oceans。" As a thought experiment in the tradition of utopian fiction， I think 'Another Now' is very successful。 Structured as standard non-fiction， I would have found it much more depressing and difficult to read。 As it is， the reader need not find all the proposals in it convincing or plausible。 They can be considered from the slight but important distance afforded by fictionalisation。 I was not wholly inspired or convinced by the Other Now， while still finding the vision of a postcapitalist world invigorating and thought-provoking。 I would like to read more such thought experiments。 。。。more
Andy Haddon
，
Interesting exploration of anarchist/socialist ideas written as sci fi
Rob
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I’m goodDrink beer‘I think I more or less came out with a theory of everything， which is a very strange thing to say。 The most interesting thing is that it doesn’t engender any kind of response that you would imagine， even the hardcore scientific perspective from within the academy。 The UFO story doesn’t land。 Nothing lands。’https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=BXqbl。。。 ‘So in a certain sense， you just have to assume that your eyes are correct， your brain is correct， and that the outside world has go I’m goodDrink beer‘I think I more or less came out with a theory of everything， which is a very strange thing to say。 The most interesting thing is that it doesn’t engender any kind of response that you would imagine， even the hardcore scientific perspective from within the academy。 The UFO story doesn’t land。 Nothing lands。’https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=BXqbl。。。 ‘So in a certain sense， you just have to assume that your eyes are correct， your brain is correct， and that the outside world has gone mad。 Somehow it is mediated by our phones。 And the fact that all of our institutions are consistent with the hijacking。 I’m not saying that they have been hijacked， in fact my theory with embedded growth obligations is that everything is not functioning from a common ideology: the US had a secret vulnerability: the exhaust port on the Death Star is that low growth has never really been experienced and that we don’t know how to respond to low growth。’‘From the 70s onward？’https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=VkKxm。。。 ‘Yeah， probably even a little earlier than that。 This is a very unpopular point， because in general you’re either a very pro institution or you’re a burn it all down， and I’m neither。 My feeling is if you re-inflict heterodoxy within our institutions and you will save everything。 Fail to do so – if you don’t have a Noam Chomsky at MIT， MIT can’t function。’https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=4-oV4。。。 ‘I get accused a lot， like ‘you’re very critical， you’re an anarchist’’‘No one is calling you an anarchist –‘‘-Well I’ve heard it before， like ‘Why are you criticizing Fauci？’ or something like that’‘For god’s sakes， because Fauci’s ridiculous。’ ‘Meanwhile， in adult’s space， that’s not what is happening。 In fake adult space， that is what happening。’‘If you don’t want to tear it down and you don’t want to support institutions， what is the end state？ I think I’ve said before， we need a better elite。’‘No – we need AN elite。 If my child needs surgery， then I’ll go find an elite surgeon。 If my child is kidnapped， I’ll go find elite commandos。 Why am I not entitled to elite scientists elite medical people， elite politicians， elite strategists， elite media， we’re dying from a lack of elite。 The reason we’re so anti elite， is because the elite aren’t…。by getting us all to hate the elite it benefits people who I really wish were more frustrated in life。’ “A collective ego manifests the same characteristics and the personal ego， such as the need for conflict and enemies， the need for more， the need to be right against others who are wrong， and so on。”https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=-whuX。。。 “the Covid-19 story， Weinstein and Heying were among the first to openly consider the so-called “lab leak hypothesis” of how the pandemic began。 In fact， in the days before people like Dr。 Anthony Fauci appeared to change their minds about the theory’s feasibility， and before beloved mainstream figures like Jon Stewart declared that if there was “an outbreak of chocolatey goodness near Hershey， Pennsylvania” you’d know “it’s the fucking chocolate factory，” Weinstein and Heyer were roundly denounced as Covid-19 misinformation peddlers。”https://voxeu。org/article/stable-coin。。。“In January， after they went on Real Time With Bill Maher， they were blasted for pushing a “Steve Bannon Wuhan Lab Covid Conspiracy” by a Daily Beast writer who mostly seemed upset that Weinstein and Heying had soiled Maher with the ick of unconventional thinking。 However， since conventional wisdom on the lab leak theory changed， criticism on that front has died down， especially now that platforms like Facebook have announced they “will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured from our apps。” "Still， the shift in consensus thinking about lab origin has only seemed to accelerate the vigilance about ivermectin and other issues。 This is a significant moment in the history of American media。”https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=_RCvJ。。。 “A collective ego is usually more unconscious than the individuals that make up that ego。 For example， crowds （which are temporary collective egoic entities） are capable of committing atrocities that the individual away from the crow would not be。 Nations not infrequently engage in behavior that would be immediately recognizable as psychopathic in an individual。”“One of the challenges of the pandemic period is the degree to which science has become intertwined with politics。 Arguments about the efficacy of mask use or ventilators， or the viability of repurposed drugs like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin， or even the pandemic’s origins， were quashed from the jump in the American commercial press， which committed itself to a regime of simplified insta-takes made opposite to Donald Trump’s comments。 With a few exceptions， Internet censors generally tracked with this conventional wisdom， which had the effect of moving conspiracy theories and real scientific debates alike far underground。A consequence is that issues like the ivermectin question have ended up in the same public bucket as debates over foreign misinformation， hate speech， and even incitement。” ‘Why do you think we need an MIT in the first place？’‘Why do you need institutions？ That’s a very millennial perspective， because you’ve never seen an institution function， then you’ll ask that。 I only saw functional institutions when I was a young person。 Of course we’re embittered。’https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=nNYVC。。。 。。。more
Tim Wells
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I know this goes against the spirit of the book， but I wish Yanis was our supreme leader
Libby Andrews
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I think I should stick to reading non fiction。 I found it hard to read a story again ， but in fairness to Varpufakis， the subject matter was interesting。 I found the notion of a post capitalist world hard to comprehend。 Companies were run by committees and everyone owned one share of the company。 The story followed the experiences of Costa， Iris and Eva who all represented different beliefs about the world and how it would be best run。 Probably my favorite bit was the references to overcoming bi I think I should stick to reading non fiction。 I found it hard to read a story again ， but in fairness to Varpufakis， the subject matter was interesting。 I found the notion of a post capitalist world hard to comprehend。 Companies were run by committees and everyone owned one share of the company。 The story followed the experiences of Costa， Iris and Eva who all represented different beliefs about the world and how it would be best run。 Probably my favorite bit was the references to overcoming big techs power by eg boycotting Amazon。 Varoufakis shows us how we have given away our power and freedom to big tech and to government。 。。。more
Marcel Schwarz
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Varoufakis has some interesting theories on to fix today's economical system。 The book， although based on a fictional story， is an occasion to explain these theories。 The story is not the greatest drama ever written but the ideas are definitely interesting and the conversations between the stereotypical characters （engineer standing for tech， anarchist standing for rebellion， economist standing for keynesianism） explain them well and answer the most common questions and objections。 Varoufakis has some interesting theories on to fix today's economical system。 The book， although based on a fictional story， is an occasion to explain these theories。 The story is not the greatest drama ever written but the ideas are definitely interesting and the conversations between the stereotypical characters （engineer standing for tech， anarchist standing for rebellion， economist standing for keynesianism） explain them well and answer the most common questions and objections。 。。。more
Alex
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yer da's gonna love this one！ who would have known Mr Varoufakis could crack out a nice novel that grappled with socialist systems and feminist theory in a really conscientious manner！ dug it a lot！！ yer da's gonna love this one！ who would have known Mr Varoufakis could crack out a nice novel that grappled with socialist systems and feminist theory in a really conscientious manner！ dug it a lot！！ 。。。more
TalesfromTheEV
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Part cyberpunk， part Platonic dialogue， part economy how-to-guide。 All weird， all amazing。The only pity is that the ecological transition is kind of tangential to the main post-capitalism argument。
Michał Korba
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Really interesting futuristic view of the world
Ana
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This book plays with the past the present and the future of the reader and of the main characters。 It manages to set up the principles of an alternative future in a great level of detail given how short it is。 it has space for technical details on how the monetary regime would function but also to develop chanracter personalities and their relations。 Additionally Varoufakis stillmanages to set up a contemporary critique of our societies， including the Covid-19 crisis。 I was mostly hopeful throug This book plays with the past the present and the future of the reader and of the main characters。 It manages to set up the principles of an alternative future in a great level of detail given how short it is。 it has space for technical details on how the monetary regime would function but also to develop chanracter personalities and their relations。 Additionally Varoufakis stillmanages to set up a contemporary critique of our societies， including the Covid-19 crisis。 I was mostly hopeful through the book but became a bit pessimistic towards the end when the issue of feminism is discussed。 I would highly recommend！ 。。。more
akemi
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