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Oligarchies remain
powerful only to the extent
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that we privatise our dreams
and we privatise our fears,
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and we get paralysed by them,
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and we get stuck on the couch feeling that
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nothing is within our control.
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If we stand any chance of collective
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and personal emancipation,
liberation, in the end, joy,
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fun, genuine happiness, that can only come
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to us the moment we say,
"No, I'm not going to sit here idly
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by lamenting my powerlessness.
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I'm going to go out there
and try to change the world.
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I will fail in the same way that I know
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that one day I'll die.
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It doesn't stop me from trying
to live every day to the full."
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Collective action,
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collective dreams, are a
prerequisite for individual freedom.
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Greece. Greece. Greece.
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The debt crisis in Greece,
sparking violent protests,
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helping to trigger the rapid
sell off as investors worry
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that Europe's debt problems will spread.
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And of course the darkest fear
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is they drag down the US economy.
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Really, the US Recovery.
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Syriza has grown from a
motley alliance of activists
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to become the official opposition.
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Though the groups on
this demo look like activists
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everywhere, here,
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their party currently
leads in the opinion polls.
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Okay. How my parents met.
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Yeah, yeah, how your parents met.
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Okay. Start?
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I grew up in a fascist country.
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My father, he was apprehended
for being a student leader.
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And the police that
apprehended him apologised
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for having done so, but
then gave him a denunciation
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of communism form to sign.
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And my father being liberal, said:
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"Well I'm not a communist.
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I'm not a Buddhist. I'm not a Muslim.
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But if you ask me as an
organ of the state, sir, to sign,
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this kind of denunciation of Islam
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or of, Buddhism or of
communism, I'm not going
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to do it because it's
none of your business."
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He refused to sign it.
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And then he was beaten up very badly,
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and he was tortured for months and months
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and months in ways that I don't even want
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to discuss on camera.
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The more they tortured him,
the more they beat him up,
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the more stubbornly he was refusing
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to sign that piece of paper.
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He said to me that the
worst moment in the camp,
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was a moment when he realised
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that if his side had won the
Civil War, the communists,
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he would be in the same concentration camp
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with different guards.
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And I asked him, what did he mean by that?
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He said, well, there came a moment when he
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received, in secret, of course,
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a directive from the
Communist Party to sign it
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so as to get out, and my father refused...
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Refused the instructions
of the Communist Party.
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And then he was denounced
by the Communist Party for not
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heeding their instructions.
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So he ended up in the concentration
camp, shunned by his comrades
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and tortured by the fascists.
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He realised then that
authoritarianism runs deeply
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on both sides.
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That was a warning to me as a left-winger.
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When my father came
out of the camp, out of exile,
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after four, four-and-a-half years...
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This was in the early 1950s — to go back
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to Athens University,
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he was a shadow of a man, determined
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to just concentrate on his
studies as a means of surviving.
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In the university,
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he came across a young
woman, actually the first
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female student of chemistry
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in the history of the University of Athens.
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And she was approached because
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of her antipathy towards
communists by a quasi-fascist,
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or actually quasi-Nazi
organisation, who recruited her
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and gave her a task:
to keep tabs on my dad.
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So this is how they met. And
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of course, after a few
weeks she dropped out of
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that horrible organisation
and they were together.
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Their paths converged politically,
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but I remember that when on a very
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few occasions, because they
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always had a very loving relationship,
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but when they would fight the old
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rupture reemerged.
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I remember once hearing her
call him a bloody communist
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and him calling her a bloody fascist.
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I think that deep down my father,
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he was always motivated to ensure that
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his fate would not be repeated
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in my case.
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In 1975, I was 14.
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It was a year after the
dictatorship had collapsed.
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I remember I was distributing leaflets for
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some kind of demonstration in the evening.
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This copper approached me
from behind and grabbed me.
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And before I knew it, I was in a cell.
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And of course, my parents
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were climbing various walls
besides themselves with worry.
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So I arrive at home at
around 6:30, exhausted.
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There were no charges. There was nothing.
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There was just intimidation.
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That night, my father
sat me down with my mom
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and they both said to
me, "Right, you're going
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to study in the United Kingdom.
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I don't care what you study,
anything from anthropology to
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zoology, but you're out of here."
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So I decided I was going
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to be a theoretical physicist.
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There was a Greek politician at the time
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who was leading the political party that I
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belonged to as a teenager.
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And he was going to
give me a reference letter
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because he had been an
academic in the Anglo-Saxon world.
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So he sat me down. He
didn't know who I was.
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He just knew that I was
an activist in the party.
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And he asked me what I wanted to study,
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to remind him,
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and I said, "Theoretical physics,
I'm going to study in Britain."
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He said, "No, you won't. I
thought, "What? What audacity."
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I said, "So what am I going to study?"
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He said, "You'll do
mathematical economics".
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"Mathematical economics?"
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I was raging.
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I was so annoyed with him,
that he would have the gall
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to have a view as to what I was going
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to study, given that he had
precisely zero information about
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me, except for the fact
that I was a political activist.
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But then he explained
and it made perfect sense.
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He said, "Listen, theoretical physics
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and mathematical economics
are exactly the same
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from a mathematical perspective.
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It's the same mathematics, the same models.
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The difference, " he
said " is this: if you study
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theoretical physics, nobody's going
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to take your political views seriously.
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If you study mathematical economics,
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because of the power of the narrative,
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everybody will be paying attention.
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Suddenly you'll have a
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capacity to influence people."
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My life was finished. I
became an economist.
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Up until the early 2000s,
I was perfectly contented
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being an academic holed
up in my office in whichever
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university I happened to be at.
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But at around 2002, 2003,
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I experienced a certain sense of anxiety,
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at the site of financialisations
impending crisis.
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I could feel that I was living in a world
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that was about to blow up.
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I was beginning to sound
the alarm whenever I could,
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even in the context of
discussions with politicians,
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trying to warn them that
the tsunami was coming,
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and we cannot stop it, but
we have to prepare for it.
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Meltdown on the markets,
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as Wall Street is left reeling from some
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of the biggest blows in its history.
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Stock markets have fallen
here and around the world,
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as one of America's oldest
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and biggest banks files for bankruptcy.
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Debt is to capitalism
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that which hell is to Christianity:
unpleasant and essential.
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Whereas debt was tangential to life
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before capitalism,
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with capitalism, it
becomes the turbocharging
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unit of production.
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It's what allowed immense
productive resources
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and capacities and forces to
be unleashed by capitalism.
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The result being the
modern world that we live in.
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The problem with that is
that if you're going to move
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to an industrial scale
of capitalist production
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with networked firms,
with large conglomerates
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that Henry Ford, Thomas
Edison, and the rest built,
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and now the Googles and the Facebooks,
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and so on, you need enormous banks.
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Enormous banks means an enormous
amount of power by the bankers
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to push their hand through
the time-space continuum,
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reach out into the future
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and take value
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that has not been
created yet from the future,
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bring it to the present and
lend it to various entrepreneurs
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to produce the value so
that the loop of recycling
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between debt and wealth is completed.
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But the more successful the
financiers are in doing this,
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the greater the urge
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to keep taking more value from the future
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and bringing it into the
present in the form of
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debt. At some point, the
present can no longer service
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its debt-servicing
needs towards the future.
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And that is when you have a crisis.
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The 2008 crisis was not one
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of the normal periodic downturns.
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It is the longest, most slow-burning,
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damage-inducing crisis
in the history of capitalism.
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The implosion of the
pyramid of financial capital.
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President Obama
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and I are agreed that the
world is coming together
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to act in the face of
unprecedented global financial times.
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In 2009, something remarkable
happened. The Chancellor
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of Germany, Angela Merkel,
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received a telephone call
from her treasury telling her
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that the German banks were bankrupt.
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At the very same time. The
French banks were going bankrupt.
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She had to save the
German banks to the tune
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of 550 billion Euros all in one go.
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This to her was political poison.
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"At least," she felt, "I've done
it. Now I can move on." No.
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A few months later,
she was told that she has
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to give another 300,
400 billion to the French
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and German banks because
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of the money they had lent to Greece.
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And Greece was about to default on its debt
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to Deutsche Bank, finance banks,
Société Générale, BNP Paribas.
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00:14:03,222 --> 00:14:04,642
And she said, "I can't do this.
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I cannot go back to my
federal parliament to ask
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for another wad of
money for the same banks.
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It'll be my political end." So
what does she do instead?
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She goes to the federal parliament seeking
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110 billion, initially, another 130 later,
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as solidarity to the
Greeks on the basis that
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the grasshoppers of the
South, they're now bankrupt.
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Solidarity in Europe
means we have to help them.
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We don't want to help them, but we must
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because this is what it takes
to keep Europe together.
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So a second bailout loan
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for the same German
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and French banks was portrayed
as solidarity to the Greeks.
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What the German parliamentarians
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and the German public were
never told was that almost none
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of that money went to Greece.
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It went to the French and
German banks. Mostly.
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00:15:08,952 --> 00:15:13,689
It became a matter of honour
and political expediency,
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00:15:13,772 --> 00:15:18,412
and political power reproduction to prevent
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00:15:19,312 --> 00:15:22,372
the public and
parliamentarians across Europe
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ever from finding out that
this was a hidden bailout
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for the French and German banks.
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00:15:29,912 --> 00:15:32,612
So it was always the
Greeks this, the Greeks that...
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the Greeks must repay their debt.
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And denial that it was all
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a kind of bankruptcy concealment. Denial
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00:15:45,642 --> 00:15:48,532
that that debt was
never going to be repaid.
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The rules of the Eurozone
banned any bailout.
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00:15:55,712 --> 00:15:58,172
So they had to find ways
of violating their own rules.
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The European Commission,
which was supposedly the
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00:16:01,452 --> 00:16:04,612
government of the European
Union, had no credibility
253
00:16:05,242 --> 00:16:10,132
with the hardnosed German
finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble,
254
00:16:10,272 --> 00:16:15,012
or with the German Central Bank,
the Bundesbank bank. Who did?
255
00:16:15,882 --> 00:16:18,452
The International Monetary
Fund, who had decades
256
00:16:18,632 --> 00:16:23,052
of experience of applied
misanthropy in Africa, in Asia,
257
00:16:23,392 --> 00:16:26,029
in all sorts of different
societies that were
258
00:16:26,112 --> 00:16:27,972
plundered on behalf of creditors.
259
00:16:31,642 --> 00:16:33,372
This troika of the European Commission,
260
00:16:33,792 --> 00:16:34,972
the European Central Bank,
261
00:16:35,352 --> 00:16:38,579
and the International Monetary
Fund became the shadow
262
00:16:38,662 --> 00:16:39,972
government of Europe.
263
00:16:40,832 --> 00:16:44,252
And its first task was
to impose the bailouts,
264
00:16:44,502 --> 00:16:46,719
which is a combination of
socialism for the bankers
265
00:16:46,802 --> 00:16:48,092
with austerity for the many.
266
00:16:49,802 --> 00:16:52,652
This country is engulfed in a crisis.
267
00:16:52,792 --> 00:16:56,372
And for the past 48 hours
has been tearing itself apart.
268
00:16:56,992 --> 00:16:58,439
On the streets here of Syntagma Square
269
00:16:58,522 --> 00:17:00,812
a battle has been fought
270
00:17:01,472 --> 00:17:02,909
and lost by protesters,
271
00:17:02,992 --> 00:17:05,132
but the evidence on the ground here
272
00:17:05,392 --> 00:17:08,829
of political resistance
means it will be very difficult
273
00:17:08,912 --> 00:17:10,852
for the Prime Minister, George Papandreou,
274
00:17:11,232 --> 00:17:14,052
and his government, to
push through the package
275
00:17:14,432 --> 00:17:17,172
of austerity measures
that they say this country
276
00:17:17,712 --> 00:17:19,132
so desperately needs,
277
00:17:22,042 --> 00:17:22,960
"Thieves. Thieves," they
278
00:17:23,043 --> 00:17:24,789
shout at their government as
279
00:17:24,872 --> 00:17:26,169
inside the Greek parliament
280
00:17:26,252 --> 00:17:28,092
they debate a motion of no confidence.
281
00:17:28,222 --> 00:17:32,189
There is certainly no confidence
outside, just fury at those
282
00:17:32,272 --> 00:17:34,192
who have brought such
hardship on their country.
283
00:17:34,552 --> 00:17:36,812
In this crowd, at least,
there is consensus.
284
00:17:37,042 --> 00:17:39,812
They can never repay the
debt and nor should they.
285
00:17:40,912 --> 00:17:42,729
The problem is that in
the Greek parliament here,
286
00:17:42,812 --> 00:17:44,772
there is not a single,
major political party
287
00:17:45,152 --> 00:17:47,649
or political figure who
represents the views
288
00:17:47,732 --> 00:17:51,012
of these protesters: that there
should be no more bailouts
289
00:17:51,152 --> 00:17:53,172
and that Greece should
default on its debts.
290
00:17:57,192 --> 00:18:00,452
The onus was upon me
to come up with proposals,
291
00:18:01,072 --> 00:18:05,209
and I began to write articles
and appear on BBC television
292
00:18:05,292 --> 00:18:08,089
left, right and centre,
talking about the European
293
00:18:08,172 --> 00:18:13,132
crisis that was coming, with
Greece being the subprime nexus
294
00:18:13,472 --> 00:18:17,329
of Europe. Due to the fact
295
00:18:17,412 --> 00:18:19,089
that it was common knowledge
296
00:18:19,172 --> 00:18:22,469
that I had been close at
some point to the person
297
00:18:22,552 --> 00:18:25,429
who had become Prime Minister
in Greece, the prognostication
298
00:18:25,512 --> 00:18:27,892
from me that the Greek state is bankrupt,
299
00:18:28,042 --> 00:18:29,052
that became big news,
300
00:18:29,632 --> 00:18:34,372
and I immediately became
the pole of attraction of
301
00:18:34,592 --> 00:18:38,012
the oligarchy's intense hatred.
302
00:18:39,252 --> 00:18:41,612
I was accused of being a national traitor,
303
00:18:41,802 --> 00:18:44,292
because only a national
traitor can precipitate
304
00:18:44,992 --> 00:18:46,829
and bring forward a bankruptcy
305
00:18:46,912 --> 00:18:48,769
by declaring the Greek
state to be bankrupt.
306
00:18:48,852 --> 00:18:50,812
And, of course, I was
not the bankers' best mate.
307
00:18:51,612 --> 00:18:54,532
I knew that there would be repercussions.
308
00:18:58,232 --> 00:19:01,092
One night, it was a Saturday night in 2011,
309
00:19:01,832 --> 00:19:03,689
my wife's son arrived home
310
00:19:03,772 --> 00:19:05,172
after having been out with friends,
311
00:19:05,352 --> 00:19:06,372
very late.
312
00:19:06,752 --> 00:19:09,449
We hear the thud, we
hear his footsteps going
313
00:19:09,532 --> 00:19:10,652
towards his bedroom,
314
00:19:11,952 --> 00:19:13,812
so we both surrender to sleep.
315
00:19:15,692 --> 00:19:19,532
A few minutes later, the
landline rings. I pick up the phone,
316
00:19:19,632 --> 00:19:22,372
and there is this suave male voice saying
317
00:19:22,842 --> 00:19:25,172
"Mr. Varoufakis, we are very pleased."
318
00:19:25,632 --> 00:19:28,572
We, the royal we.
319
00:19:28,882 --> 00:19:31,772
"We are very pleased that
your son has come back from
320
00:19:32,452 --> 00:19:33,692
a good night out with friends."
321
00:19:35,232 --> 00:19:36,592
I said "Who are you? Who is this?"
322
00:19:37,472 --> 00:19:40,092
He carried on describing
323
00:19:40,902 --> 00:19:45,732
where Danae's son had been, naming streets.
324
00:19:47,192 --> 00:19:51,529
He finished by saying, "If
you want him to continue
325
00:19:51,612 --> 00:19:54,812
to return safely every
night, you better lay off ..."
326
00:19:55,192 --> 00:19:56,692
And he mentioned a particular bank.
327
00:19:59,552 --> 00:20:01,569
The next morning I told
my wife what had happened,
328
00:20:01,652 --> 00:20:05,369
and she said to me, "Listen,
either you get into politics
329
00:20:05,452 --> 00:20:08,212
to protect us or we
get out of the country."
330
00:20:08,872 --> 00:20:11,932
So we got out of the
country. We migrated to
331
00:20:12,022 --> 00:20:13,572
Austin, Texas of all places.
332
00:20:16,682 --> 00:20:17,692
Outside the headquarters
333
00:20:17,952 --> 00:20:19,809
of the conservative New Democracy Party
334
00:20:19,892 --> 00:20:22,972
tonight, the cheers of
supporters who have won a narrow
335
00:20:23,232 --> 00:20:24,532
and uncertain victory,
336
00:20:25,032 --> 00:20:28,469
but a victory for all that.
Their leader, Antonis Samaras,
337
00:20:28,552 --> 00:20:29,489
is the man most likely
338
00:20:29,572 --> 00:20:31,172
to be the country's next prime minister,
339
00:20:31,352 --> 00:20:33,969
but it's still far from certain
he'll have the votes in
340
00:20:34,052 --> 00:20:36,132
Parliament to govern with any effect.
341
00:20:36,402 --> 00:20:38,082
Will you be able to form a government now?
342
00:20:38,582 --> 00:20:41,772
We'll have to, and very
soon. I will make sure
343
00:20:42,602 --> 00:20:44,772
that the sacrifices of the Greek people
344
00:20:45,762 --> 00:20:49,092
will bring the country back to prosperity.
345
00:21:03,322 --> 00:21:07,659
By 2014, Greece had already undergone four,
346
00:21:07,742 --> 00:21:10,222
five years of a great depression.
347
00:21:12,522 --> 00:21:15,862
We had lost 28% of national income.
348
00:21:18,482 --> 00:21:22,182
1.3 million unemployed in a
country of 10 million people,
349
00:21:22,402 --> 00:21:25,862
of whom only 9% ever
received a single penny
350
00:21:26,442 --> 00:21:27,662
in unemployment benefits.
351
00:21:29,852 --> 00:21:31,139
400,000 young men
352
00:21:31,222 --> 00:21:33,302
and women, the best
qualified, had left the country.
353
00:21:40,402 --> 00:21:43,302
So, effectively we're
talking about a failed state.
354
00:21:52,892 --> 00:21:54,742
When pensions began to decline
355
00:21:56,772 --> 00:22:01,492
and older people
increasingly felt that they were
356
00:22:02,572 --> 00:22:06,922
a burden on their families,
we had a spate of tragic,
357
00:22:07,582 --> 00:22:09,442
heart-wrenching suicides.
358
00:22:15,182 --> 00:22:17,202
A man in northern Greece went to
359
00:22:17,862 --> 00:22:21,242
the Social Security
Department's offices to inquire as
360
00:22:21,362 --> 00:22:25,442
to why his tiny little
pension had been eliminated.
361
00:22:26,112 --> 00:22:29,159
They told him that these are the rules
362
00:22:29,242 --> 00:22:30,539
and regulations under the troika,
363
00:22:30,622 --> 00:22:31,902
and there's nothing they can do.
364
00:22:32,902 --> 00:22:36,642
He thanked them. And bystanders, witnesses,
365
00:22:38,032 --> 00:22:40,122
tell us that he looked dazed.
366
00:22:44,102 --> 00:22:45,562
And he walked out, disappeared.
367
00:22:46,182 --> 00:22:50,162
His body was found about two
weeks later in a nearby woods,
368
00:22:51,022 --> 00:22:52,042
He'd hanged himself.
369
00:22:53,462 --> 00:22:56,002
The only message he left was to his wife:
370
00:22:58,382 --> 00:22:59,402
"Look after the kids."
371
00:23:07,392 --> 00:23:10,682
It's a little bit like Greece
was the subprime borrower,
372
00:23:10,942 --> 00:23:12,739
such as we know here in the US,
373
00:23:12,822 --> 00:23:15,159
and the banks over in
Europe are getting nervous that
374
00:23:15,242 --> 00:23:17,999
that subprime borrower,
Greece, is essentially going
375
00:23:18,082 --> 00:23:21,882
to walk away from the
mortgage that they owe the bank.
376
00:23:22,182 --> 00:23:24,762
And so that's essentially
the root of the problem.
377
00:23:27,942 --> 00:23:29,879
How would you respond to someone who said
378
00:23:29,962 --> 00:23:33,362
that Greece had a moral
obligation to pay back its debts?
379
00:23:37,392 --> 00:23:42,362
Debtors have traditionally
been presented as sinners.
380
00:23:43,462 --> 00:23:47,492
The problem with biblical
economics, with moralism
381
00:23:48,242 --> 00:23:51,372
applied to debt, is firstly
382
00:23:52,082 --> 00:23:54,372
that it's from an ethical
point of view, very dubious,
383
00:23:55,032 --> 00:23:59,012
but I find it more
interesting to criticise it as
384
00:23:59,812 --> 00:24:02,452
absolutely inimical to
the notion of capitalism.
385
00:24:03,302 --> 00:24:07,492
Capitalism took off only
when the bourgeoisie
386
00:24:08,372 --> 00:24:10,972
accepted that every debt is not sacred.
387
00:24:12,312 --> 00:24:15,692
It was only the institution
of the public limited company
388
00:24:16,682 --> 00:24:18,492
that allowed capitalism to take off.
389
00:24:19,792 --> 00:24:23,612
So the workhouse, the debtor's
prison, had to be closed down
390
00:24:24,072 --> 00:24:25,572
before capitalism succeeded.
391
00:24:25,952 --> 00:24:27,732
And the reason is really very simple.
392
00:24:28,832 --> 00:24:32,692
If a debt that cannot be repaid
393
00:24:33,572 --> 00:24:36,012
confines one to a prison forever,
394
00:24:37,162 --> 00:24:39,689
then clearly nobody's going
to take any substantial risks.
395
00:24:39,772 --> 00:24:42,892
The risks that capitalism
requires in order to keep
396
00:24:44,452 --> 00:24:47,372
progressing, leaping boundlessly,
397
00:24:47,712 --> 00:24:49,892
as it has been over the last 200 years.
398
00:24:52,242 --> 00:24:55,172
Suppose we as a society
were to guarantee bankers
399
00:24:56,002 --> 00:24:58,909
that which we have
guaranteed, at least since 2008,
400
00:24:58,992 --> 00:25:01,369
but, setting that aside, suppose we were
401
00:25:01,452 --> 00:25:04,879
to guarantee all bankers
that every single loan
402
00:25:04,962 --> 00:25:08,612
that they gave out would be
somehow repaid. Somehow repaid,
403
00:25:09,272 --> 00:25:12,092
by God, by society, bailouts.
404
00:25:12,322 --> 00:25:14,052
Certainly the bankers never have to worry
405
00:25:14,562 --> 00:25:16,529
that they will lose money, that some
406
00:25:16,612 --> 00:25:18,092
of their loans will not be repaid.
407
00:25:19,792 --> 00:25:24,452
If you were a banker with
such a cast-iron guarantee
408
00:25:24,922 --> 00:25:27,252
that all your loans will
be repaid with interest,
409
00:25:28,492 --> 00:25:32,089
suddenly you have absolutely
no incentive to be careful as
410
00:25:32,172 --> 00:25:33,332
to whom you lend money to.
411
00:25:34,552 --> 00:25:39,052
But that means that a gigantic
debt bubble would be created,
412
00:25:39,862 --> 00:25:42,969
which would inevitably burst, and
413
00:25:43,052 --> 00:25:44,932
therefore the guarantee
would not be honoured
414
00:25:45,032 --> 00:25:46,552
and the banking system would collapse.
415
00:25:47,512 --> 00:25:52,412
So, unsustainable debt, debt haircuts,
416
00:25:53,442 --> 00:25:57,772
debt write-offs, are an
essential aspect of capitalism.
417
00:25:58,892 --> 00:26:02,852
Moreover, to say that the
ethical burden falls squarely
418
00:26:03,072 --> 00:26:07,212
and exclusively with the debtors is to
419
00:26:07,802 --> 00:26:09,909
lose sight of the very simple fact that
420
00:26:09,992 --> 00:26:12,852
for every irresponsible debtor there is an
421
00:26:13,602 --> 00:26:14,692
irresponsible lender.
422
00:26:28,532 --> 00:26:31,312
Economic and psychological
depression was in the air,
423
00:26:31,892 --> 00:26:35,472
in reality, but in propaganda
424
00:26:35,732 --> 00:26:38,152
it was being presented as a success story.
425
00:26:42,172 --> 00:26:46,289
The whole purpose of the
propaganda was to win the elections
426
00:26:46,372 --> 00:26:50,149
that were coming up in
order to maintain the fallacy
427
00:26:50,232 --> 00:26:53,052
and the illusion that
Greece had been stabilised.
428
00:26:56,112 --> 00:26:58,572
It had been stabilised in the same way
429
00:26:59,002 --> 00:27:02,732
that a comatose patient is
stable, in the same way that death
430
00:27:03,632 --> 00:27:05,092
is equivalent to stability.
431
00:27:13,052 --> 00:27:15,542
That was the state of Greece in 2014...
432
00:27:21,322 --> 00:27:25,502
and suddenly somebody who
is about to inherit the mantle
433
00:27:25,602 --> 00:27:26,822
of the prime ministership
434
00:27:27,322 --> 00:27:31,822
of the most bankrupt nation
in Europe, Alexis Tsipras,
435
00:27:32,122 --> 00:27:36,142
the young new leader of
the coalition of the radical left,
436
00:27:36,372 --> 00:27:39,259
says to you, "Your
proposals are the right ones
437
00:27:39,342 --> 00:27:40,622
and they need to be implemented,
438
00:27:41,122 --> 00:27:43,862
but we need you to play
an active part in doing it."
439
00:27:45,042 --> 00:27:48,982
At that moment, moment, I
thought, "Oops. What does one do?"
440
00:28:14,872 --> 00:28:18,962
When this party was rising up in the polls,
441
00:28:19,662 --> 00:28:21,402
it was managing to inspire
442
00:28:22,552 --> 00:28:25,282
hope in the hearts of the many.
443
00:28:25,702 --> 00:28:28,082
Its leader and leadership
were coming closer
444
00:28:28,182 --> 00:28:30,039
and closer to proposals
445
00:28:30,122 --> 00:28:32,922
I believed were the right
proposals for getting us
446
00:28:33,022 --> 00:28:34,122
out of debtors' prison.
447
00:28:37,262 --> 00:28:39,242
So let's say that Syriza
gets elected tomorrow.
448
00:28:39,392 --> 00:28:42,122
What do you do? Do you
get out of the Eurozone?
449
00:28:44,102 --> 00:28:48,962
Do you say, "I'm going to simply
create my own currency, see it
450
00:28:49,482 --> 00:28:51,202
diminish in value by 95%
451
00:28:52,342 --> 00:28:54,482
and try to go for autarchy?"
452
00:28:56,732 --> 00:28:59,722
There is a case for this.
There is a case for this.
453
00:29:00,942 --> 00:29:03,282
Argentina, more or less did that,
454
00:29:04,142 --> 00:29:06,682
and I support what they did entirely.
455
00:29:07,102 --> 00:29:11,202
But Argentina had two
major advantages that Greece
456
00:29:11,422 --> 00:29:13,042
and Portugal and Ireland don't have.
457
00:29:13,462 --> 00:29:15,342
The first one was that
it had its own currency.
458
00:29:15,982 --> 00:29:19,319
The peso existed. It was
only a matter of cutting the peg
459
00:29:19,402 --> 00:29:21,882
with the US dollar and then defaulting
460
00:29:22,822 --> 00:29:24,162
and allowing the peso to fall.
461
00:29:25,102 --> 00:29:27,559
The second thing it had was huge tracts
462
00:29:27,642 --> 00:29:30,002
of land producing the goods
that China wanted to buy
463
00:29:30,162 --> 00:29:31,402
precisely at that moment.
464
00:29:32,612 --> 00:29:34,052
Greece doesn't have either of these.
465
00:29:34,222 --> 00:29:35,702
We don't have the drachma to devalue.
466
00:29:36,102 --> 00:29:37,259
We have to create the currency.
467
00:29:37,342 --> 00:29:38,799
It will take, in my estimation,
468
00:29:38,882 --> 00:29:40,282
at least eight months to create it.
469
00:29:40,662 --> 00:29:41,892
So this is a bit
470
00:29:42,012 --> 00:29:44,369
like announcing eight months in advance
471
00:29:44,452 --> 00:29:46,092
devaluation. Do you know what this means?
472
00:29:46,702 --> 00:29:49,612
There will be nothing left
in eight months from now,
473
00:29:49,862 --> 00:29:51,492
after the new currency is created.
474
00:29:52,232 --> 00:29:53,869
So, if I'm right in that,
475
00:29:53,952 --> 00:29:58,509
and not everybody
agrees with me on the left,
476
00:29:58,592 --> 00:29:59,772
but if I'm right in that,
477
00:30:00,152 --> 00:30:01,652
the only alternative is negotiations.
478
00:30:01,952 --> 00:30:03,492
Our common future in Europe
479
00:30:04,432 --> 00:30:06,092
is not the future of austerity.
480
00:30:06,962 --> 00:30:10,772
It's the future of democracy,
solidarity, and cooperation.
481
00:30:11,732 --> 00:30:15,069
I felt that it was almost impossible for me
482
00:30:15,152 --> 00:30:17,612
to resist getting involved with them.
483
00:30:18,392 --> 00:30:19,612
But I have to admit
484
00:30:19,762 --> 00:30:23,692
that when the offer was made, I panicked.
485
00:30:26,112 --> 00:30:29,532
Can I trust Syriza? Can
I trust the leadership?
486
00:30:33,212 --> 00:30:37,492
Because I knew that
our election would signal,
487
00:30:38,112 --> 00:30:40,732
it would trigger, a war with the creditors.
488
00:30:41,312 --> 00:30:45,372
The creditors were hellbent on
489
00:30:45,892 --> 00:30:50,289
maintaining the status quo,
maintaining the debtors' prison
490
00:30:50,372 --> 00:30:55,012
that is Greece, maintaining
the unsustainable debt,
491
00:30:55,652 --> 00:30:58,372
because unsustainable
debt is power for the creditors.
492
00:31:00,562 --> 00:31:02,412
They would have the media on their side.
493
00:31:02,602 --> 00:31:03,929
They would have the banks on their side,
494
00:31:04,012 --> 00:31:05,529
the European Central Bank on their side,
495
00:31:05,612 --> 00:31:08,149
the International Monetary
Fund, the Wall Street Journal,
496
00:31:08,232 --> 00:31:12,812
The Financial Times, the BBC,
the whole cabal would be there
497
00:31:13,782 --> 00:31:18,132
doing battle against us to keep
our people in debtors' prison.
498
00:31:18,752 --> 00:31:21,772
So we knew, I knew, that we would have
499
00:31:22,172 --> 00:31:26,492
a massive battle on our hands,
and unity was of the essence.
500
00:31:30,992 --> 00:31:33,509
Now, like David
501
00:31:33,592 --> 00:31:36,172
and Goliath, you may win.
502
00:31:36,632 --> 00:31:39,259
If you're David, you
have a little catapult.
503
00:31:39,342 --> 00:31:43,949
Maybe it'll work. As the finance minister
504
00:31:44,032 --> 00:31:46,332
who would have to go
to the Eurogroup to fight
505
00:31:46,672 --> 00:31:49,212
for our side, I would
have that little catapult,
506
00:31:49,662 --> 00:31:52,012
which comprised a number of
507
00:31:53,592 --> 00:31:54,932
little weapons that we had.
508
00:31:56,952 --> 00:31:59,409
But for that catapult to
be used, I would have
509
00:31:59,492 --> 00:32:03,372
to have the complete backing
of our team, the Prime Minister
510
00:32:03,952 --> 00:32:06,052
and the war cabinet, as we used to call it.
511
00:32:06,552 --> 00:32:10,412
The great question that
was exercising my mind was,
512
00:32:11,102 --> 00:32:12,692
"Would I have their backing?
513
00:32:13,952 --> 00:32:17,732
Not at the beginning. Not at the middle.
514
00:32:19,832 --> 00:32:21,412
But to the very end.
515
00:32:23,622 --> 00:32:25,612
Would they stick around?
516
00:32:26,062 --> 00:32:29,812
Would unity prevail
until that last second?"
517
00:32:30,162 --> 00:32:32,372
That was the great question.
518
00:32:35,112 --> 00:32:38,572
There was a very good reason
why it was inside my head,
519
00:32:39,232 --> 00:32:41,692
preventing me from sleeping at night.
520
00:33:04,772 --> 00:33:08,182
This reluctance to join was overcome
521
00:33:09,602 --> 00:33:11,179
by writing my letter of resignation
522
00:33:11,262 --> 00:33:13,239
and carrying it in the inside pocket
523
00:33:13,322 --> 00:33:14,582
of my jacket, wherever I went,
524
00:33:15,642 --> 00:33:17,779
as a reminder of the fact that this is not
525
00:33:17,862 --> 00:33:19,462
for me, this is a chore.
526
00:33:20,052 --> 00:33:21,942
This is like taking the
rubbish out at night.
527
00:33:22,822 --> 00:33:24,982
Somebody has to do it. You're doing it.
528
00:33:26,232 --> 00:33:27,342
Don't get wedded to it.
529
00:33:41,922 --> 00:33:43,619
Now imagine a friend of yours comes to you
530
00:33:43,702 --> 00:33:47,462
and his income from his
business has shrunk by 50%,
531
00:33:47,682 --> 00:33:48,942
and he can't pay his mortgage.
532
00:33:49,122 --> 00:33:50,902
He's about to lose his house,
533
00:33:52,282 --> 00:33:54,742
and then he says to
you, "But I have a solution.
534
00:33:55,472 --> 00:33:59,222
There is this bank that
offers me a credit card
535
00:33:59,722 --> 00:34:01,622
to meet my mortgage repayments."
536
00:34:01,972 --> 00:34:03,532
What do you think? Is this a good idea?
537
00:34:05,042 --> 00:34:08,862
If you are a friend, you've
got to say to them, "Don't do it.
538
00:34:09,802 --> 00:34:13,369
Do not take a credit card out to pretend
539
00:34:13,452 --> 00:34:15,182
that you are repaying your mortgage."
540
00:34:16,202 --> 00:34:19,342
Now, imagine that your
friend said to you that
541
00:34:19,722 --> 00:34:23,659
the bank could only give him
this credit card on condition
542
00:34:23,742 --> 00:34:25,822
that he agrees to
shrink his income further.
543
00:34:26,322 --> 00:34:29,702
Now, that, of course, is nothing
short of complete madness.
544
00:34:31,022 --> 00:34:33,932
Don't do it to the nth.
545
00:34:34,882 --> 00:34:37,252
Well, this is precisely
what happened in Greece.
546
00:34:38,072 --> 00:34:39,892
The credit card was a bailout,
547
00:34:40,592 --> 00:34:44,932
and the austerity conditions
were the conditions that ensured
548
00:34:45,322 --> 00:34:50,212
that the falling income, due
to the recession, would crash
549
00:34:50,552 --> 00:34:53,489
as a result of the
harshest austerity in the
550
00:34:53,572 --> 00:34:54,692
history of capitalism.
551
00:34:55,952 --> 00:34:58,652
And of course, what happens
when the credit card runs out?
552
00:34:59,602 --> 00:35:01,812
Well, either you have to
declare your bankruptcy then,
553
00:35:01,952 --> 00:35:03,132
or get another credit card.
554
00:35:03,632 --> 00:35:06,329
In 2012, Greece was
given its second bailout, two
555
00:35:06,412 --> 00:35:07,492
years after the first one.
556
00:35:08,672 --> 00:35:10,529
And towards the end of 2014,
557
00:35:10,612 --> 00:35:12,452
that second bailout was running out.
558
00:35:14,752 --> 00:35:17,572
During the election campaign,
Syriza promised them
559
00:35:17,922 --> 00:35:20,519
that we would not take out a third credit
560
00:35:20,602 --> 00:35:21,852
card, a third bailout.
561
00:35:23,452 --> 00:35:25,029
The opinion polls say the leader
562
00:35:25,112 --> 00:35:27,029
of the Greek far left is on the verge
563
00:35:27,112 --> 00:35:28,872
of winning a snap election.
564
00:35:29,662 --> 00:35:32,672
Many here are way to the
left of any mainstream party.
565
00:35:33,702 --> 00:35:35,512
Tsipras' aim is to make resistance
566
00:35:35,652 --> 00:35:38,612
to austerity mainstream throughout Europe.
567
00:36:39,432 --> 00:36:42,532
It was absolutely fantastically remarkable
568
00:36:44,292 --> 00:36:46,812
watching a society that had been
569
00:36:47,952 --> 00:36:49,612
beaten into submission.
570
00:36:52,552 --> 00:36:57,292
The demonstrations of 2011
had ended. People were quiet.
571
00:36:58,402 --> 00:37:01,652
They were staying in their
homes, not demonstrating,
572
00:37:02,682 --> 00:37:05,612
licking their wounds,
privatising their fears
573
00:37:06,192 --> 00:37:07,492
and their terror.
574
00:37:10,752 --> 00:37:13,812
And suddenly in January 2015,
575
00:37:15,322 --> 00:37:19,852
that extreme depression,
that extreme case of
576
00:37:20,362 --> 00:37:23,172
privatising aspirations, dreams
577
00:37:23,312 --> 00:37:27,812
and nightmares, gave rise to an explosion
578
00:37:27,912 --> 00:37:32,189
of hope, to a popular movement that went
579
00:37:32,272 --> 00:37:35,332
beyond party political divisions.
580
00:37:40,292 --> 00:37:41,609
I had people stopping me in the streets
581
00:37:41,692 --> 00:37:42,892
saying, "I'm a right-winger.
582
00:37:43,012 --> 00:37:45,732
I voted for New Democracy
and never voted for you.
583
00:37:46,232 --> 00:37:49,452
But we are together. We
need to recover our dignity.
584
00:37:49,792 --> 00:37:54,572
We need to escape debtors
prison." Going from three, four percent
585
00:37:55,832 --> 00:37:58,452
in very few years to
40% to win government...
586
00:38:01,722 --> 00:38:05,532
That goes to show it takes
587
00:38:06,252 --> 00:38:10,892
a small spark of hope to
ignite a revolutionary moment,
588
00:38:11,532 --> 00:38:16,212
a moment in history that
rewrites the set of possibilities.
589
00:38:23,712 --> 00:38:25,412
The beginning was splendid.
590
00:38:26,612 --> 00:38:28,452
I remember immediately
591
00:38:28,582 --> 00:38:32,572
after being sworn in by the
President of the Republic,
592
00:38:34,172 --> 00:38:36,852
I popped into the Prime Minister's office.
593
00:38:37,632 --> 00:38:39,652
It was the first time I entered that room.
594
00:38:41,032 --> 00:38:43,372
It was the first day in office.
595
00:38:44,292 --> 00:38:47,932
I walked in, I looked at
Alexis, he looked at me.
596
00:38:48,712 --> 00:38:51,012
We sort of felt awkward being in that room.
597
00:38:51,512 --> 00:38:56,429
We hugged. At the same
time we looked at one another
598
00:38:56,512 --> 00:38:58,812
and we said, "Oh my God, what have we done?
599
00:38:59,152 --> 00:39:00,412
We are running this place now."
600
00:39:05,802 --> 00:39:08,289
Immediately after that, it was just the two
601
00:39:08,372 --> 00:39:10,892
of us in a large prime ministerial office,
602
00:39:12,792 --> 00:39:14,292
he says to me, "Well, look around,
603
00:39:15,832 --> 00:39:17,532
but don't get enamoured of it.
604
00:39:19,012 --> 00:39:20,972
Because these buildings
were not made for us."
605
00:39:23,112 --> 00:39:25,572
He said, "We were created
606
00:39:25,792 --> 00:39:28,069
to be out there on the
street demonstrating against
607
00:39:28,152 --> 00:39:29,352
the people in these buildings.
608
00:39:30,392 --> 00:39:32,532
So don't get too comfortable in here.
609
00:39:33,822 --> 00:39:35,382
Let's always be ready to be out there."
610
00:39:36,432 --> 00:39:40,052
And I remember feeling
very touched, very moved.
611
00:39:40,652 --> 00:39:43,212
I was almost in tears and we hugged again.
612
00:39:44,512 --> 00:39:45,449
It was at moments like
613
00:39:45,532 --> 00:39:47,772
that at the beginning when
I thought we were invincible.
614
00:39:48,272 --> 00:39:51,132
And I have no doubt that
had we remained like that,
615
00:39:51,672 --> 00:39:53,012
we would have been invincible.
47382
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