Talking to My Daughter About the Economy
or, How Capitalism Works—and How It Fails
Ratings20
Average rating4.4
**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** Begin the new year with a fresh perspective on economics, capitalism, and the society we live in. Yanis Varoufakis, world renowned economist, writes to his daughter to teach her the hazards of capitalism. 'Why is there so much inequality?' asked Xenia to her father. Answering her questions in a series of accessible and tender letters, Varoufakis educates her to what economics and capitalism is and why it is so dangerous. Taking from memories of her childhood and a variety of well-known tales - from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix - Varoufakis turns Talking To My Daughter into an enjoyable and engaging read, without ever shying from the harder truths. Greece's former finance minister explains everything you need to know to understand why economics is the most important drama of our times. In answering his daughter's deceptively simple questions, Varoufakis disentangles our troubling world with remarkable clarity and child-like honesty, as well as inspiring us to make it a better one. 'Utterly accessible, deeply humane and startlingly original - a potent democratic tool at the perfect time' Naomi Klein
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A strong 3.5 stars. As someone who didn't study economics but has become interested and eventually fascinated by it over time, I found Varoufakis' exploration of economic theory via simplistic language and vivid story telling to be a really entertaining and informative read.
Outstanding. I'd love actually to get my daughter (15) to read this, but it's unlikely I suppose.
I might just read it again in a year or so, as I'm a bear of very little brain and it would do me some good I think. I'm not saying it's a difficult book — quite the opposite in fact, but I find these concepts a little challenging to grasp fully.
Highly recommended and thank you Waterstone's for having this as a book of the month, else I wouldn't have seen it.
The books is very approachable in explaining concepts like state debt and unemployment. I don't regret reading it and can even recommend with an important caveat: it is poisoned with etatism. Varoufakis sees the state as an ultimate solution to all the problems, while most of the times it is exactly the source of these problems. To be fair he does mention the inherently unbreakable bond between bankers and politicians couple of times, but still justifies strong state existence. He even sees the wise state as a solution for bitcoin-related scums. Who else gonna help us poor little bastards to live our lives if not the almighty state, right? (No)
