Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism
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- Create Date：2021-04-18 09:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Yanis Varoufakis
- ISBN：1784705756
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Summary
‘Why is there so much inequality？’ Xenia asks her father， the world famous economist Yanis Varoufakis。
Drawing on memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales – from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix – Varoufakis explains everything you need to know in order 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， while inspiring us to make it a better one。
Drawing on memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales – from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix – Varoufakis explains everything you need to know in order 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， while inspiring us to make it a better one。
Reviews
Daniel Pérez
，
Desde Edipo hasta los Bitcoin pasando por Frankenstein y Matrix， Yanis nos explica la formación de la sociedad de mercado actual y demuestra cómo la economía maneja nuestras vidas más allá de lo que podíamos pensar。
Nessa Murphy
，
I like the explanation for why economics is not a science！
Severi Saaristo
，
"The Economy is too important to leave to the the economists。 - - Economic decisions decide everything from the mundane to the profound。 Leaving the economy to the experts is the equivalent of those who lived in the Middle Ages entrusting their welfare to the theologians， the cardinals and the Spanish inquisitors。 It is a terrible idea。"This is a great book。 It's basically an ECON101 book， but a lot better than the other ones out there。 It's a really accessible book and it instills the idea in t "The Economy is too important to leave to the the economists。 - - Economic decisions decide everything from the mundane to the profound。 Leaving the economy to the experts is the equivalent of those who lived in the Middle Ages entrusting their welfare to the theologians， the cardinals and the Spanish inquisitors。 It is a terrible idea。"This is a great book。 It's basically an ECON101 book， but a lot better than the other ones out there。 It's a really accessible book and it instills the idea in the reader that， as Yanis often says， everyone should learn about the economy， because it is in many ways the foundation that creates and makes our society。 One day when I have kids they will for sure read this book :D I think everyone should read it。 。。。more
Nadia
，
Hands down the most accessible explanation of the history and evolution of the economy that I've ever come across！ The use of clear analogies， storytelling and no jargon whatsoever （thank god） made it so easy to absorb complex ideas that I've always had trouble grasping completely。 Ill definitely be returning to this one in the future。 I wish this book existed when I was in high school。 Hands down the most accessible explanation of the history and evolution of the economy that I've ever come across！ The use of clear analogies， storytelling and no jargon whatsoever （thank god） made it so easy to absorb complex ideas that I've always had trouble grasping completely。 Ill definitely be returning to this one in the future。 I wish this book existed when I was in high school。 。。。more
Joshua Neumann
，
I wish Yanis Varoufakis were my dad。
Mark
，
Cringingly simplistic at points （e。g。 banks' "black magic" is referenced over a dozen times）， but overall a decent critique of capitalism written in a simple， familiar style with plenty of Greek and pop culture references for the kids。 Alas， I wish jr high level curricula were derived from this type of book。 This was the last of the stack of books I picked up in Greece a couple of years ago - time to go back！ Cringingly simplistic at points （e。g。 banks' "black magic" is referenced over a dozen times）， but overall a decent critique of capitalism written in a simple， familiar style with plenty of Greek and pop culture references for the kids。 Alas， I wish jr high level curricula were derived from this type of book。 This was the last of the stack of books I picked up in Greece a couple of years ago - time to go back！ 。。。more
Wick Welker
，
We have two options: democratize or commoditize。I highly enjoyed this one-sided conversation that Varoufakis has with his daughter。 He lets go of the heady economic theory and just talks brass tacks: the ins， outs and flaws of market economies。 He lays out some interesting and hilarious ground rules: economists don't know why they're talking about and should stop thinking of themselves as scientist on a foundation of established theory。 What we have here is a definition of the market economy and We have two options: democratize or commoditize。I highly enjoyed this one-sided conversation that Varoufakis has with his daughter。 He lets go of the heady economic theory and just talks brass tacks: the ins， outs and flaws of market economies。 He lays out some interesting and hilarious ground rules: economists don't know why they're talking about and should stop thinking of themselves as scientist on a foundation of established theory。 What we have here is a definition of the market economy and the inequality that is a natural consequence。 Societies used to just have simple markets: the buying and exchange of goods in a market within a society。 This was transformed with the advent of surplus。 Surplus is the direct driver that transformed our civilization into a market culture where everything， including human labor， is commoditized。 Surplus is what causes the concentration of wealth。 Surplus is the driver of the modern economy because with surplus， comes currency， credit and debt。 Credit is not new。 Credit is ancient。 With credit and the debt it creates， bankers are able to employ their "black magic"， meaning they sell money for interest rates， creating artificial market bubbles that inevitably collapse， driving bank runs and mass financial failure for those most vulnerable in the system。 This isn't a flaw， it's a feature。 Enter the State， the bureaucracy， the boogieman。 The lie is that the corporatist or people who actually believe free markets exist， is that the State destroys wealth and hinders innovation。 But the truth is that the corporatists would not exist without the protection the State offers via state-enforced violence and also the creation of public debt。 Let's make something very clear: public debt benefits the elite。 Public debt benefits the market economy。 In no way does the US debt in particular have any harmful effects on the economy。 There is no crowding out when the State is the issuer of its own currency。 Not a single private system will ever have to pay back this debt。 If you believe otherwise， you have been manipulated by a politician。 Public debt is a private surplus。 Public debt is the guardian of the false free markets。 The State steps in and puts a bandaid over the bankers black magic， propping up recycling of the market economy to being another ride around the roller coaster。 This is Keynesian and MMT。 It is how the world economy currently operates。 Destroying the human labor force along with the environment， and to do it faster than your competitor via AI， is the cornerstone of the current market economy。 Through monopolization， tax dodging， predatory merging， weakening of unions， automation and prohibitory employee contracts， the labor force has been weakened into a serfdom。 Varoufakis makes no distinction between corporate oligarchs and political bureaucrats--they are now the same。 The world and the US economy is run by a corporate plutocracy。 A minority of white， rich men control the world。 This is an unassailable fact。 Solutions？ Varoufakis offers two choices: commoditize everything or democratize everything。 Commoditization will not stop。 Varoufakis claims that we are far too entrenched do scale back our global market economy and the disasters that follow。 It's almost like he's saying to go further。 What I mean is， he's saying that you commoditize everything and democratize the ownership。 The atmosphere is not owned by anyone。 Hence， there is zero financial motivation to protect the atmosphere for carbon emission。 However， if someone owned the atmosphere， say the public， then there could be a price for destroying the atmosphere which would incentive better environmental practices while benefiting the public。 This is a smart， brief and fascinating read by an incredibly smart person。 I highly recommend。 。。。more
Farnoosh oa
，
A simple and accessible intro to economics。I really enjoyed reading these book， however the political view of the writer is completely obvious and in some part of the book he does not explain many of his assumptions。This book simply describes land market， labour market， exchange value and even bitcoin。 it presented a coherent and relatable explanation of what the economy is and why it functions。 I recommend this book to everybody because:“ the economy is too important to leave to the economists。 A simple and accessible intro to economics。I really enjoyed reading these book， however the political view of the writer is completely obvious and in some part of the book he does not explain many of his assumptions。This book simply describes land market， labour market， exchange value and even bitcoin。 it presented a coherent and relatable explanation of what the economy is and why it functions。 I recommend this book to everybody because:“ the economy is too important to leave to the economists。 As we have seen in this book， economic decisions decide everything from the mundane to the profound。 Leaving the economy to the experts is the equivalent of those who lived in the Middle Ages entrusting their welfare to the theologians， the cardinals and the Spanish inquisitors。 It is a terrible idea。” 。。。more
Tobias Thornes
，
A well-written and informative read， highlighting some of the facts and absurdities about modern-day capitalism。 The book is accessible to readers of almost all ages and contains information that everyone ought to know。
Hawraa Hellani
，
A very interesting book of an economist narrating the history of economics and capitalism to his little daughter in a simple way。 He described the beginnings， violations and endings of capitalism in this world。
Cade
，
This book is great！ Listened to it on Libby at 1。60x speed so it was only four hours。 I have to get a physical copy to annotate。 I said this in a reading update， but I would have benefited from this book greatly when I first began to think critically of capitalism。 It provides a solid groundwork to build on with introductory language and definitions， but still makes you think。 Totally recommend to anyone from “I think capitalism is bad but I don’t know the details” to “I can recite the first thr This book is great！ Listened to it on Libby at 1。60x speed so it was only four hours。 I have to get a physical copy to annotate。 I said this in a reading update， but I would have benefited from this book greatly when I first began to think critically of capitalism。 It provides a solid groundwork to build on with introductory language and definitions， but still makes you think。 Totally recommend to anyone from “I think capitalism is bad but I don’t know the details” to “I can recite the first three chapters Capital in my sleep”。 Also， the author clearly loves his daughter so much which I found very pure。 。。。more
Saeed Darjazini
，
یک کتاب جمع و جور و ساده از زبان وزیر اقتصاد یونان به دخترش کیف کردمبا خوندنش ؛ راحت و روان با ترجمه خوب 。 مفاهمیم پیچیده رو راحت و سرراست توضیح داد و برای من که خیلی کم از اقتصاد می دونم خوب بود 。 یه کم چپ و جانبدارانه بود و به نظرم زیادی ساده همه چیز رو جمع و جور کرده بود。 اینکه تغییر یه برهه تاریخی فقط به یک تغییر در انگلستان وصل بشه خیلی برای من منطقی نیود。 خیلی احتمال داره دوباره بشینم بخونمش
Bobby Damore
，
Pretty good as a primer
Jeffrey Anthony
，
Absolutely fantastic and is 100% relevant today in the Spring of 2021
Fernando Favela
，
Este libro es un relato breve sobre el origen y funcionamiento de los mercados， desde la perspectiva de alguien de izquierda y con la finalidad de que cualquier persona lo entienda。 Puedes leerlo en una tarde。 Estoy de acuerdo con la mayoría de sus ideas pero considero que estamos muy lejos de tomar la conciencia que propone el autor y lograr una mejor sociedad en aspectos económicos y ambientales。
Jacqueline Hodder
，
This book is pitched perfectly at those who are confused about the inner workings of the market economy。 Varoufakis does an admirable job of explaining the economy; it's failings and it's intricacies in this wonderfully dense but accessible book。 Highly recommended。 This book is pitched perfectly at those who are confused about the inner workings of the market economy。 Varoufakis does an admirable job of explaining the economy; it's failings and it's intricacies in this wonderfully dense but accessible book。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Ben Rogers
，
I found this book really disjointed。 I had high hopes。 But didn't actually really learn anything from this read。 2。1/5 I found this book really disjointed。 I had high hopes。 But didn't actually really learn anything from this read。 2。1/5 。。。more
Omid
，
چه کتاب فوق العاده ای برای شروع 1400ازون کتاب ها خواهد بود برای من که چند وقت دیگه یکبار هم از اول کامل مطالعش کنم تا بیشتر بفهممش اما در کل کتاب بسیار خوبیه و توصیه میکنم و با وجود مثال های شاهکارش در تفهیم مطالبش به شدت کمک میکنه به خواننده。
Bharath ayyappa
，
One of the best books to explain the role of politics money and economy。 Never understood what it meant until this book explained for amatuers like me。 Essential read to make you an aware citizen。
Corey Garvey
，
Very good book， a few nuggets of great info。 Overall I found it a bit less dense for the subject matter than I'd prefer。 I would recommend it to many people， it's very consumable and the ideas are well put。 Very good book， a few nuggets of great info。 Overall I found it a bit less dense for the subject matter than I'd prefer。 I would recommend it to many people， it's very consumable and the ideas are well put。 。。。more
Luke Gompertz
，
This book makes good on its promise， touching on some of the most salient topics in economics in a down-to-earth way。 Interestingly it pretty much ignores microeconomics （supply-and-demand， the theory of the firm， competition， etc。）， instead focusing on the macro – which allows it to go places introductory books are rarely able to。 However I found that some of the tangents seemed a bit pointless and/or unnecessary。
Max
，
Anyone reading this should check out Kevin's review， the reason I picked up this book。 Varoufakis is an excellent storyteller， popularising a variety of Marxist and Keynesian concepts in a way which is highly intuitive and never patronising。 This is the book I will recommend most often to friends and family who are curious about economics。 Anyone reading this should check out Kevin's review， the reason I picked up this book。 Varoufakis is an excellent storyteller， popularising a variety of Marxist and Keynesian concepts in a way which is highly intuitive and never patronising。 This is the book I will recommend most often to friends and family who are curious about economics。 。。。more
Chetan
，
“The economy is too important to be left to economists。” This is an accessible and fun introduction to economics （or， more accurately， political economy）。 Varoufakis owes a great debt to Karl Polanyi’s ‘Great Transformation’ for the strong theoretical ballast， allowing him to efficiently navigate and summarise the core contradictions of capitalism （‘market societies’） in an easily digestible format。 And that digestibility is in no small part due to a bibliography loaded with mythology， literatur “The economy is too important to be left to economists。” This is an accessible and fun introduction to economics （or， more accurately， political economy）。 Varoufakis owes a great debt to Karl Polanyi’s ‘Great Transformation’ for the strong theoretical ballast， allowing him to efficiently navigate and summarise the core contradictions of capitalism （‘market societies’） in an easily digestible format。 And that digestibility is in no small part due to a bibliography loaded with mythology， literature， and pop culture: make sure you’ve watched The Matrix before reading this， because it’s full of spoilers！I’d recommend this book for curious young people who may be asking themselves “what is to be done？” - and I’d recommend it to their parents and educators， too。Those already familiar with economics and political economy， however， are unlikely to find anything substantially novel or groundbreaking here。 。。。more
Malek
，
"الاقتصاد امر تقني وممل للغاية، وعلينا تركه للخبراء。 لكن الحقيقة أنه لا يوجد خبراء حقيقيون" جدير بالقراءة "الاقتصاد امر تقني وممل للغاية، وعلينا تركه للخبراء。 لكن الحقيقة أنه لا يوجد خبراء حقيقيون" جدير بالقراءة 。。。more
Mila Mi
，
Very good overview of the history of economics， but best for young adults or people that have no knowledge in economics。 The author definitely knows how to simplify to explain。
Premanand Velu
，
"It would be remiss not to mention the spectre of Karl Marx" Yanis says thanking his influencers in the foreword of the book。 That is an interesting way to refer to the legacy of Karl Marx as a 'Specter' coming from a close compatriot of Bernie Sanders and an evolved Marxist himself。For some one who is getting into understanding the current economics with very little understanding of nuts and bolts of it， particularly a techie like me who never had to wade through the maze of its bewildering web "It would be remiss not to mention the spectre of Karl Marx" Yanis says thanking his influencers in the foreword of the book。 That is an interesting way to refer to the legacy of Karl Marx as a 'Specter' coming from a close compatriot of Bernie Sanders and an evolved Marxist himself。For some one who is getting into understanding the current economics with very little understanding of nuts and bolts of it， particularly a techie like me who never had to wade through the maze of its bewildering web， this is book is a nice reckoner。 I have read an historical writing on Money by Yuval Harari which was very engaging read， but had lost the way when it meandered into the future。 This book seems be picking off from that altitude and dives deeper into the arcane world of markets and debts。Initially the narration style of going along the path of fables and tales from the past， - notably from the Greek Mythology - finding parallels to explain the layman reader about the complexities of the economics is an uphill task for discerning reader。 However， not long after， once you get set on the narrative， it is captivating and hooks on to you very strongly so that the magic of Debt and Markets suddenly comes out of the haze very clearly。The journey from the history of the Feudal economy with the three elements of Raw material， Land and Labor transforming into the industrial world by commodification those is convincingly explained。 The author carefully avoids the usual sermonic tone that the left takes。 In fact capitalism is only referred fleetingly， instead choosing more suitable phrases that appeal to the cognitive， modern world。The way he explains the change of societies with market to a complete market society is captivating and dazzling。 The way he explains the value of things， especially the difference between the commodity value and experiential value puts in perspective a lot of things like value of human labour， spread of income etc。 In that sense he throws bare how the banking and debt have both fired and pulled the economy and enterprise， playing both savior and destroyer when not balanced by the society and its political setup。"In the triumph of exchange values over experiential values， as societies with markets evolved into market societies， something else happened: money was transformed from being a means into an end。"Slowly as we ascend into the world of Markets， Debts and currency exchange， an intense sketch evolves。 The seemingly muddled world of Write-offs， speculation， Private & Public Debts slowly gets clearer and clearer， explaining the fundamentals of the banks， politics & markets and how these are closely related impacting the larger society in a not so subtle and yet， deep way。All along what strikes is that， Yanis stays true to his stated intent of explaining the economy to a little girl （ in reality an euphemism for novice readers like me ） without getting lost in the maze of technicalities of it。 This could be partly because of his belief that the tenements of economy need humane touch and his refusal to accept that it should be spoken in deep technical terms thereby cutting off the larger population。"The more scientific our models of the economy become， the less relation they bear to the real， existing economy out there。 This is precisely the opposite of what obtains in physics， engineering and the rest of the real sciences， where increasing scientific sophistication throws more and more light on how nature actually works。"However， in spite of this and because of this， he comes out spectacularly clear explaining the intricacies of the seemingly cryptic scenarios and concepts with a ease and simplicity， yet missing no subtlety。Finally as he walks us through the current and future trends， he strongly dismisses the stated objectives of taking the currency from the control of the political organization by newer means like that of the crypto currencies as a piped dream bound to fail and in the process pulling the economy down。His thoughts about how the new cognitive world with its increased digitalization and Mechanization with the help of newer technologies can move the human race to one more Icarus moment and ways to mitigate that is something that requires a serious thought。 Personally， I feel he is going off the tangent here， but then， such thoughts have propelled social transformation when harnessed properly。In the end what comes out stronger from his voice is the assertion that economy and market needs more more transparency and accountability which can be achieved by making it more democratic and not otherwise。 He asserts how Central banks and Monetary bodies need to be more involved with the people and not with entitled few。However， this books stops there without getting into nuts and bolts of those stated objective and due to that it still has a tone of theoretical pronouncement。In spite of all that， I would say， he has done a great job of simplifying the understanding of the larger economy without judgement and prejudice。 I think this is one of the books I would recommend and gift my friends with。 。。。more
Mohammad Hrabal
，
کتابی جذاب و شیرین که نویسنده با زبان ساده و با کمک داستانها، اسطورهها، فیلمها، نقل قولها و。。。 برایمان از اقتصاد صحبت میکند。 ********************************************************************************اقتصاد خیلی مهمتر از آن است که آن را به اقتصاددانها بسپاریم。 ص 11 کتابدر طول تاریخ، تمام دولتهای برآمده از جوامع کشاورزی مازاد خود را با بیعدالتی زنندهای توزیع میکردند که به نفع آنهایی بود که قدرت اجتماعی، سیاسی و نظامی داشتند。。。چطور این حکام توانستند قدرتشان را حفظ کنند و از جانب ا کتابی جذاب و شیرین که نویسنده با زبان ساده و با کمک داستانها، اسطورهها، فیلمها، نقل قولها و。。。 برایمان از اقتصاد صحبت میکند。 ********************************************************************************اقتصاد خیلی مهمتر از آن است که آن را به اقتصاددانها بسپاریم。 ص 11 کتابدر طول تاریخ، تمام دولتهای برآمده از جوامع کشاورزی مازاد خود را با بیعدالتی زنندهای توزیع میکردند که به نفع آنهایی بود که قدرت اجتماعی، سیاسی و نظامی داشتند。。。چطور این حکام توانستند قدرتشان را حفظ کنند و از جانب اکثریت در امان بمانند؟ پاسخ این است: با پروردن نوعی ایدئولوژی که سبب شد اکثریت عمیقا از ته دل باور کنند که تنها حکام آنها حق دارند فرمانروایی کنند؛ باور کنند که در بهترین جهان ممکن زندگی میکنند؛ که همه چیز همان طور است که مقدر بوده؛ که وضعیت بر روی زمین بازتاب نوعی نظم الهی است که هر گونه مخالفتی با حکام در تضاد با قدرت مشیت الهی است。 ص 26 کتابجان مینارد کینز، یکی از برترین اقتصاددانهایی که تا کنون زیسته در مقالهاش این طور مینویسد: «عشق ورزیدن به پول به عنوان نوعی دارایی 。。。 میتواند فی نفسه یک جور ابتلای منزجر کننده، یکی از گرایشات نیمه مجرمانه و نیمه بیمارگون شناخته شود که آدم میتواند با چندش تحویل متخصصان بیماریهای روانی بدهد。» ص 118 کتابیک جامعهی معقول و به قاعده نه فقط باید مدیریت پول و فناوری را دموکراتیک کند، بلکه باید مدیریت منابع گیاهی و همین طور زیست بوم را نیز دموکراتیک کند。 چرا این قدر تاکید روی دموکراسی؟ چون، با نقل گفتهی شوخ طبعانهی وینستون چرچیل، دموکراسی شاید شکل خیلی بدی از حکومت- معیوب، پرخطا، نابسنده و فاسد نسبت به آنچه به مردم وعده میدهد- باشد، اما از تمام گزینههای دیگر بهتر است。 ص 158 کتابجان استورات میل به ما هشدار داد: «بهتر است یک انسان ناخشنود باشی تا یک خوک خشنود، بهتر است سقراط ناخرسند باشی تا احمق خوشحال。 و اگر فرد احمق یا خوک نظر دیگری دارند به این دلیل است که آنها ماجرا را از طرف خودشان میبینند。» ص 164 کتابهنری دیوید ثورو، نویسندهی آمریکایی زمانی نوشت که کلید خوشبختی این است که دنبالش نگردی。 خوشبختی مثل یک پروانهی رنگارنگ است: « هرچه بیشتر به دنبالش بدوی، بیشتر از تو خواهد گریخت، اما اگر توجهات را به چیز دیگری برگردانی، میآید و به نرمی بر شانهات مینشیند。» ص 166 کتابتمام نظامهای سلطه این طور عمل میکنندکه ما را در روایت و خرافات خود به شکلی فرو میبرند که نتوانیم ورای روایت و خرافات را ببینیم。 یکی دو قدم به عقب برداشتن، و پیدا کردن راهی برای بازبینی آنها از بیرون، به ما اجازه میدهد تا ببینیم چقدر ناقص و چقدر مضحکاند。 حفظ این نگاه تو را در تماس با واقعیت نگه میدارد。 ص 171 کتاببهترین راه دیدن کشور خودت، جامعهی خودت، دیدن آن از چشم یک خارجی، یک بیگانه، است。 سعی کن به صورت ذهنی به جاهای خیلی دور سفر کنی، نه لزوما برای حرکت دادن جهانت- که فکر کن چقدر میتواند با شکوه باشد！- بلکه برای دیدن واضح همان چیزی که هست。 انجام این کار به تو این فرصت را خواهد داد تا آزادیت را حفظ کنی。 ص 172 کتاب 。。。more
Maisarah Ariffin
，
It’s a good book for those who have no idea what economy is all about and are curious about economy in general。 Varoufakis unpacks each economic terms into simplest breakdowns along with different examples and life perspectives which I genuinely enjoy reading it。
Sarah
，
Really nice summary of the economy。 Never took econ， so I think I get some stuff better now。
Magdi
，