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  • Talking to My Daughter About the Economy

  • A Brief History of Capitalism
  • By: Yanis Varoufakis
  • Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
  • Length: 4 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,035 ratings)
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Talking to My Daughter About the Economy cover art

Talking to My Daughter About the Economy

By: Yanis Varoufakis
Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
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Summary

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis.

Why is there so much inequality?

In this short book, world famous economist Yanis Varoufakis sets out to answer his 11-year-old daughter Xenia's deceptively simple question. Using personal stories and famous myths - from Oedipus and Faust to Frankenstein and The Matrix - he explains what the economy is and why it has the power to shape our lives.

Intimate yet universally accessible, Talking to My Daughter About the Economy introduces listeners to the most important drama of our times, helping to make sense of a troubling world while inspiring us to make it a better one.

©2017 Yanis Varoufakis (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A provocative, challenging, yet non-patronising analysis of the global economy: what it is, how it came to be and why it can never be apolitical. By using ancient myths, contemporary culture and family stories, Varoufakis makes the text intimate and accessible." ( Observer)
"Utterly accessible, deeply humane and startlingly original – a potent democratic tool at the perfect time." (Naomi Klein, author of No is Not Enough)

What listeners say about Talking to My Daughter About the Economy

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Read a different book if you are new to economics

As a professional economist, I found this book overall pretty embarrassing.

Yanis made very good points during the peak of his career about government debt forgiveness in Greece during the euro crisis. And he made some good points about this I’m his book.

But his failures in politics seem to have led to some very far left views.

There is much to critique or debate about about the optimal state of global finance or politics and central banks, but he takes his criticism to the extreme.

The running narrative seemed to want to bash anyone or structure that had any level of authority or wealth in society.

And, in a book where he wants to teach someone about economics, he misses the point that economic success in recent centuries has done an incredible amount of good in this world.

This is clearly a guy who struggles to have a balanced view about things and has become entrenched in his views.

Put it this way, this is the last book about economics I would want my daughter to read, and it’s the last book that you should read too.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Brief, easy to assimilate, yet deals with the big questions of our societies.

This book can be read in six hours, provides huge amounts of thought provoking insights into our world and existence. Do yourse!f a favour and take the time to read it😇🐇🐰

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unexpectedly excellent

This book was completely different to what I expected when I bought it. It paints the picture of the economy in an exceptionally simple yet thorough way. The method of writing as if to a child is very well executed and works wonderfully.

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7 people found this helpful

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one sided, political, primitive

as per the subject line of this review. It's not just a waste of time, it's one of those "wash your hands if you touched that".

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening and remarkable call to action

With depth and clarity Varoufakis explains the primary drivers of the history, the present and the near future of the economy. His conclusion is that we face a choice between a society with more markets where even the air we breath is for sale - or to extend democracy, to give democratic governments power to govern the creation and distribution of money. The state of the economy is a political choice - not an objective science. I could not agree more as he reminds the reader our fulfilment and growth as human beings can never be met by a market society. In stead of competing for, we can all share in the wealth of a robotic future, and Varoufakis explains how.

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To understand the future read this book

Yanis, as ever,clearly explains key concepts and adds his point of view. This is a great primer on the key elements of the economy and how capitalism works and the problems that it causes as well as what it solves. One vital area he looks at what impact AI and Automation all have on the future of society. This alone is why you should buy this book as this is a conversation that everyone should be having. We are at a cross-roads we can live the good life or the bulk of the population can become serfs... the choice is ours and we must help lead our politicians to do the right thing

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    5 out of 5 stars

A work of utter genius

How many attempts have been made to simplify the language and concepts of global ‘economics?’ To have done so clearly, with humour humility and concision is a work of utter genius— and love!
There really isn’t much more to say: it gives me hope and restores my faith in human nature.

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Should be read by all …

Thank you Yanis for educating me about the world we live in and how it works. I’m 59 and learning everyday that this world is not fair and why that is.
Should be on the school and college curriculums though that wouldn’t suit the powers that be to educate us; we might just start to question everything.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging and accessible introduction to economics

One of the strengths of the book is its attempt to demystify economics and make it more understandable for a general audience.
I believe that the author, using the conversation between a parent and child as the framing device, makes the book approachable and relatable, even for those without a background in economics.

In my opinion, the book encourages readers to question and think critically about economic systems while providing a starting point for further exploration. It's always recommended to approach any book with a critical mindset and consider different perspectives to form a well-rounded understanding.

Thus, I recommend this book !

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  • JE
  • 12-02-23

Interesting Read. overall dissapointment

First few chapters of this book are very helpful in explaining the economy and the basics of money.
However toward the end certain things became questionable.

(Ch7 35mins) His take on robots taking over all jobs in the future and suggesting that a solution is for everyone to receive a pay out from every companies profit (this is how i read it) sounds delusional. In an ideal world yes but why would Apple for example want to share its profits with me?!! What have I done to merit that.

Ch8 30) He states the fundamental problem with human managed money; in short human interference. He briefly mentions Bitcoin and because it is FINITE and concludes it is not a solution.
Bitcoin is produced following an un-tamperable pre-determined algorithm. At a point in the future, about 2140 there will not be any more new Bitcoin issued. Yanis misses this fact by a whole 100 years and quotes in the book 2032 (38 mins). He clearly has not done his research here and sadly he has not even fathomed Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC's) given this was written in 2017 I can understand.
This section is very misleading. He talks about Bitcoin custody and tells a story of holders being scammed. These people had their assets on a CENTRALISED exchange which was hacked. You can hold Bitcoin yourself (metaphorically like a bank note, totally in your custody) and not be hacked! Very disappointing lack of knowledge here.
He then moves onto the fact that Bitcoins downfall is the fact that if you are scammed you cannot be bailed out. Now as I recall in 2008 with the human created financial crisis it was the RICH banks who caused the crisis that were bailed out, no one arrested and the every day worker loosing jobs without compensation and experiencing inflation due to money printing.

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1 person found this helpful