Technology and Redistribution of Power (with Yanis Varoufakis)

Former Greek Finance Minister, economist, and bestselling author Yanis Varoufakis joins Azeem Azhar to discuss his speculative novel Another Now. In that book, he presents a world where mass organization, technological progress, and an overhaul of companies and markets have made society more equitable. Like all great science fiction, the book is as much about the present as the future.

Yanis is an advocate of blockchain technology and “one person, one vote” structures, as measures to redistribute power. He and Azeem discuss how tech could change our world for the better – if we use it judiciously.They also discuss:

• How Yanis’s proposals for a Greek digital currency ran aground.
• Where COP26 fell short.
• How equitable technological progress could lead us to a “Star Trek”-like utopia.

Further resources:

How Taiwan is Using Technology to Foster Democracy – Exponential View Podcast, 2020

‘A Central Bank Cryptocurrency to Democratize Money’ – Yanis Varoufakis, Project Syndicate, Jul. 2021

‘Cop26 is doomed, and the hollow promise of ‘net zero’ is to blame’ – Yanis Varoufakis, The Guardian, Nov. 2021