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Name: Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works-and How It Fails: Varoufakis, Yanis, Moe, Jacob, Varoufakis, Yanis: 9780374538491: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 12.59 USD
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Rating: 4.5 (3352 reviews)

Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: or, How Capitalism Works--and How It Fails Paperback – May 21, 2019

by Yanis Varoufakis (Author, Translator), Jacob Moe (Translator)

3,352 ratings

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A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

In Talking to My Daughter About the Economy, activist Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s former finance minister and the author of the international bestseller Adults in the Room, pens a series of letters to his young daughter, educating her about the business, politics, and corruption of world economics.

Yanis Varoufakis has appeared before heads of nations, assemblies of experts, and countless students around the world. Now, he faces his most important―and difficult―audience yet. Using clear language and vivid examples, Varoufakis offers a series of letters to his young daughter about the economy: how it operates, where it came from, how it benefits some while impoverishing others. Taking bankers and politicians to task, he explains the historical origins of inequality among and within nations, questions the pervasive notion that everything has its price, and shows why economic instability is a chronic risk. Finally, he discusses the inability of market-driven policies to address the rapidly declining health of the planet his daughter’s generation stands to inherit.

Throughout, Varoufakis wears his expertise lightly. He writes as a parent whose aim is to instruct his daughter on the fundamental questions of our age―and through that knowledge, to equip her against the failures and obfuscations of our current system and point the way toward a more democratic alternative.

Editorial Reviews

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Best Book of 2018, Business & Leadership

"Charming and utterly fascinating . . . It's a sharp analysis mixed with philosophical rumination told in a breezy mix of family anecdotes, Greek myth, world history and a surprisingly deep dive into the hidden meanings embedded in Star Trek and The Matrix . . . It's a book for everyone. Varoufakis dispenses with technical jargon, and when he does use it, he goes to great lengths to clearly define what he's talking about." ―Mark Haskell Smith, The Los Angeles Times

"Varoufakis has used his considerable talents . . . to demystify complex financial concepts designed to elude us . . . 'Ensuring that everyone is allowed to talk authoritatively about the economy is a prerequisite for a good society and a precondition for an authentic democracy' [he writes]. If this is his goal, then Varoufakis has more than achieved it . . . He clearly and patiently helps readers come to an understanding of just how much power global corporate finance―and the supranational institutions that serve it―wields over our lives . . . If anyone can figure out a way to put a chicken in every pot and a bottle of bubbly on every table, it's Yanis Varoufakis." ―Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, The Nation

"Varoufakis [promises] to explain economics in a language that everyone can understand, in place of the jargon- infested pseudo-scientific language of mainstream economics....Varoufakis comes up with a vivid comparison between money supply and the market in cigarettes in a German prisoner-of-war camp to explain inflation, deflation and interest rates, in terms any teenager – or adult – will understand . . . Varoufakis does equip his readers with the beginnings of a new language, and punctures myth after myth" ― Anna Minton, The Guardian

About the Author

Yanis Varoufakis is the former finance minister of Greece and the co-founder of an international grassroots movement, DiEM25, campaigning for the revival of democracy in Europe. He is the author of And the Weak Suffer What They Must? and The Global Minotaur. After many years teaching in the United States, Britain, and Australia, he is currently professor of economics at the University of Athens.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Reprint edition (May 21, 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374538492
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374538491
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1250L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.53 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #51,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #35 in Economic Policy & Development (Books)
- #46 in International Economics (Books)
- #129 in Economic History (Books)

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Yanis Varoufakis
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Yanis Varoufakis is the former finance minister of Greece and the author of several international bestselling books. And the Weak Suffer What They Must?: Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability reveals the underlying problems that led to the Eurozone crisis and its ongoing catastrophic mishandling. Adults In the Room: My Battle with Europe's Deep Establishment is an explosive memoir that reveals what goes on behind the scenes in Europe's corridors of power. Talking To My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism (forthcoming) explains through vivid stories and easily graspable concepts what economics actually is and why it is so dangerous in the form of a letter to his teenage daughter.
Born in Athens in 1961, Yanis Varoufakis was for many years a professor of economics in Britain, Australia and the USA before he entered government and is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Athens. Since resigning from Greece's finance ministry he has co-founded an international grassroots movement, DiEM25, campaigning for the revival of democracy in Europe and speaks to audiences of thousands worldwide.
yanisvaroufakis.eu / @yanisvaroufakis
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Jacob Moe
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Customers find the book a must-read for understanding the economy, with one review noting how literary references illuminate economic principles. Moreover, the book is engaging and educational, with one customer highlighting its amusing historical analogies. Additionally, they appreciate its simplicity, charm, and empathetic approach.

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Introduction Readability Educational value Simplicity Humor Charm Empathy

39 customers mention "Introduction"39 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's introduction positive, describing it as a must-read for understanding the economy, explaining things lucidly, and providing a complete vision of how it works.

"...still disagree with his methods or conclusions, but Varoufakis is a good writer and you will still be amazed at literary quality of this work." Read more

"In this captivating account of economics for the unlettered, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis eschews the apparatus of scholarship and..." Read more

"...and the value of a life worth living, with important chapters in Artificial Intelligence and the Environment, Varoufakis produces here what may be..." Read more

"...This is a clear book that gives a coherent introduction to the qualitative aspects of economics, something that any person could understand---even..." Read more

27 customers mention "Readability"27 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable to read, with one customer noting it's particularly accessible for non-economists.

"...is a page-turner is an understatement, not because it is a thrilling read with action, but because it is just a beautifully written piece of..." Read more

"...An absolute must read for all that treasure the Liberty of the human spirit...." Read more

"...It is well written, and although a bid wordy at times, it is a great book for a reader regardless of financial experience or astuteness...." Read more

"Great read, especially in 2020 when the world seems to burning up right in front of us...." Read more

19 customers mention "Educational value"19 positive0 negative

Customers find the book educational, with one review highlighting its simple yet profound analysis and amusing historical analogies.

"...It is a contemplative work. In this book he attempts to answer the question, “How did we get into this mess?”..." Read more

"It's good to get confirmation of many beliefs you may already have about markets and capitalism. Well thought out with great metaphors...." Read more

"...It was a beautiful and enlightening journey not only about economics but philosophy and some history" Read more

"Yanis’ writing is clear and convincing. He makes excellent points in his book, which are very hard to refute...." Read more

15 customers mention "Simplicity"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's simplicity, describing it as brilliant and easy to understand, with one customer noting it is grounded in careful thought.

"...but Varoufakis is a good writer and you will still be amazed at literary quality of this work." Read more

"...Well thought out with great metaphors...." Read more

"...it is not complete, but the ideas are coherent and give a reasonable foundation from which to begin to form a better understanding...." Read more

"What a kind-hearted author! I adore the way he brilliantly and gently led us to understanding what most other economists mystify...." Read more

6 customers mention "Humor"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous, with one mentioning its simple allegories and another noting its provocative style.

"...The great virtue of this book, aside from its clarity and wit, is Varoufakis' lesson that economics is not, and can never be, a science after the..." Read more

"...Throughout the book, I was enchanted by the simple allegories he used to part the veil on these so-called "elite ideas"...." Read more

"...It is not easy to explain this subject, but Yanis does so in a fun, tender, and accessible way through dialogue and story." Read more

"...Easy reading with many metaphores and tongue in cheek jokes." Read more

3 customers mention "Charm"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the charm of the book, with one describing it as a very charming Ulysses.

"To give it to my sons when they are Xenia’s age. It was a beautiful and enlightening journey not only about economics but philosophy and some history" Read more

"Very charming Ulysses, and his tale of adventures in internal wars of modern Greek government hold attention.... for the first two or three..." Read more

"Lot of charisma but clearly poor economic understanding" Read more

3 customers mention "Empathy"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's empathetic approach.

"...for change that is grounded in careful thought, data and more importantly in empathy...." Read more

"...The language, empathy, humor and simplicity are major gifts to a reader with limited knowledge of how power systems and economies operate...." Read more

"...His heart is the right place." Read more

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James Kalomiris, The Peripatetic Reader
A Meditation on Civilization, the Economy and the Current State of Affairs
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2017
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I have Yanis Varoufakis’ new book, Talking to My Daughter About the Economy, to thank for keeping me up all night reading page and page, to the early hours of the morning, unable to put this book down. Yanis Varoufakis is that rarest of writers who can make the subject of economics interesting. To say this book is a page-turner is an understatement, not because it is a thrilling read with action, but because it is just a beautifully written piece of literature. It is a contemplative work. In this book he attempts to answer the question, “How did we get into this mess?” In answering his question he is thinking through the answer on paper and the result is this book. His tone is pensive, his voice is muted, and his ideas are presented carefully and methodically. That question has been asked before, so his subtitle is “A Brief History of Capitalism,” which is functionally the same. He could have simply answered his question with, “The System,” but that would have been too easy and not enough. So what Varoufakis does is choose significant events in human development, compare those events with responses from other societies, all of which lead to the present economic system. He knows the answer to his question in advance of course — he is after all a leading economic theoretician — so he uses a literary device of answering that question in the first person to his fourteen-year old daughter. Brilliant! His real daughter may not be the intended audience of Varoufakis’ book and may or may not be genuinely interested in Varoufakis’ explanation of how we got here, but we are, because we are Varoufakis’ fourteen-year old daughter.

I like to think of this book as “Marx Light” or “Marx 101.” The fact that the cover of this book is in a bright red cover is a tip-off right there. Not that there is anything disparaging about this remark. Better than any other economist, before or since, Marx understood the strengths and weaknesses of Capitalism and his works are read by the movers and shakers in Wall Street (along with Milton Friedman). Varoufakis wisely avoids names and labels in this work. The result is a thorough work which one would be hard-pressed to argue. You could still disagree with his methods or conclusions, but Varoufakis is a good writer and you will still be amazed at literary quality of this work.

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Trash Gordon
Economics: the study of value
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2019
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In this captivating account of economics for the unlettered, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis eschews the apparatus of scholarship and explains the subject thru the conceit of a letter to his young daughter living in Australia (that part is not fiction). This provides him a convenient entry into the evolution of markets by tackling the question "Why didn't the Aborigines conquer England?"As he tells the story, he begins to introduce the topics and ideas of economics - exchange value, labor, production, money, interest, et al.

The great virtue of this book, aside from its clarity and wit, is Varoufakis' lesson that economics is not, and can never be, a science after the fashion of physics or chemistry - for one thing, it deals in that most subjective of things - value. The author helps us see that sometimes economics tells stories that not only purport to explain the way things are, but to justify them as well ( Ha-Joon Chang's Economics: The User's Guide does this as well). Toward the end of the book he explains that economics came to substitute as legitimating narratives of the ruling class after religious narratives began to lose currency.

Varoufakis presents us a choice: let economic and value decisions be made by the relatively few and wealthy who control the means of production, or by all citizens of a democratically-constituted government.

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Customer X
Great book
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2018
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It's good to get confirmation of many beliefs you may already have about markets and capitalism. Well thought out with great metaphors. But his philosophy on what we really want falls short, you can leave me anytime in the Matrix vs a hole in the ground.

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Jonas S. de Almeida
Sophie's World of Economics
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
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I indeed thought Varoufakis was making an attempt at what "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder did for Philosophy, but for Economics. How much much more this is! From the Economy to Politics and the value of a life worth living, with important chapters in Artificial Intelligence and the Environment, Varoufakis produces here what may be the clearer call for Democracy in the 21st Century. As the book illustrates with real world examples and ancient greek tales alike, the Economy and the social contracts we have been unable to shape, are the landscape where we are curraled, and where we break free from new forms of ideology trying to justify the unsustainable dehumanization of society. An absolute must read for all that treasure the Liberty of the human spirit. And it turns out I have just the right daughter to pass this book onto ... :-)

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Jim Curry
Real Insight
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2018
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Despite repeated attempts at self-education, I have remained a financial illiterate my whole adult life. Read any standard economics text and it will discuss supply curves and demand curves as if they were (usually linear) mathematical functions. Fine. Linear functions are easy to understand. The problem is that even these simple ideas don't give a true explanation of the economic world we lived in. Between May 19 and May 20, the demand for automotive fuels didn't really change, but the price will reliably take a jump. The slick, nearly mathematical texts just don't line up to reality---and you can take examples from almost anywhere. This is a clear book that gives a coherent introduction to the qualitative aspects of economics, something that any person could understand---even a financial illiterate. Is everything he says correct? I don't know. That's why I'm illiterate. Certainly it is not complete, but the ideas are coherent and give a reasonable foundation from which to begin to form a better understanding. This guy isn't the pompous idiot that most economists seem to be.

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34 people found this helpful

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Emily Lewis
I’ll make sure
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2024
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To give it to my sons when they are Xenia’s age. It was a beautiful and enlightening journey not only about economics but philosophy and some history

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Christine R
Excellent description of capitalism
Reviewed in Australia on April 18, 2024
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The author's description of how capitalism came about and its benefits and shortcomings was excellent and easy to follow although at times it did take some concentration. It was devoid of the normal "propaganda" that economists promote. I learnt a lot.

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Amazon Customer
Great read
Reviewed in Mexico on August 16, 2024
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It helps understand and explain how the economy and capitalism work. Insightful and non-technical. Great read.

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Nela
Totalmente recomendable su lectura
Reviewed in Spain on January 13, 2021
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Me ha encantado la claridad de la exposición.
Como dice su autor, la economía es demasiado importante para dejarla en manos de los economistas.
Varoufakis brillante, como siempre. Su conocimiento de la historia es asombroso y preciso.
Genial

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Arman
Great book
Reviewed in Canada on July 3, 2023
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Great book on economics , so interesting and simplified to the point that could be digested and easy to understand the economics basics .. highly recommended

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Zumi Daniel
Economics for the masses!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2023
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Having flunked Economics spectacularly at school, I have always avoided the subject in my adult life. After watching a youtube interview during which this author explained some very complex issues around govt finance, world bank loans, and the plight of his beloved nation (Greece), I realised that I understood every word he said! I was not stupid! I just needed an Economics teacher - this guy is a genius! - who knew how to explain the subject to a disinterested and uninformed audience! Of which I had been one: No longer!

The former Greek minister for finance, Yanis Varoufakis - doting father and gifted teacher of Economics - tried to explain, in simple terms, his work to his daughter, who lives in Australia, far from the Greece in which she grew up and knew well as a younger child.

He uses stories of personalities she knows well, characters from well-known classical literature and even a prison-of-war camp to explain the quite compex ideas he lays out in plain English for the soon-to-be very informed reader. It feels like one is imvited into an avuncular relationship with the author the entire time, but the sense that he is TALKING TO HIS DAUGHTER is tangible from the beginning to the end.

Loved the book, and I now feel qualified to be an adult member of the human race, in 2023!
I am confident that, should I decide to pick up the financial times, or a copy of The Economist I would have more than a vague notion of what is written therein.

I never felt talked down to, even though the author must have had to break things down quite a bit to make his message understood. Perhaps that is because it is written, primarily for, and to, his daughter.

I recommend everyone over 21, read the book, in order to better participate in post-school life!
Since many leave school, not really knowing how life works!!!

Now, I wish someone would write a book like this for (or about) The Law!

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Meditation on Civilization, the Economy and the Current State of Affairs

5.0 out of 5 stars Economics: the study of value

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book

5.0 out of 5 stars Sophie's World of Economics

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Insight

5.0 out of 5 stars I’ll make sure

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description of capitalism

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read

5.0 out of 5 stars Totalmente recomendable su lectura

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book

5.0 out of 5 stars Economics for the masses!

A Meditation on Civilization, the Economy and the Current State of Affairs

Economics: the study of value

Great book

Sophie's World of Economics

Real Insight

I’ll make sure

Excellent description of capitalism

Great read

Totalmente recomendable su lectura

Great book

Economics for the masses!