In his boldest and most far-reaching book yet, world-famous economist Yanis Varoufakis argues that capitalism is dead and a new economic era has begun.

Yanis Varoufakis will be in conversation with Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of the Australia Institute and Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor at the Australia Institute.

Insane sums of money that were supposed to re-float our economies in the wake of the financial crisis and the pandemic have ended up supercharging big tech’s hold over every aspect of the economy. Capitalism’s twin pillars – markets and profit – have been replaced with big tech’s platforms and rents. Meanwhile, with every click and scroll, we labour like serfs to increase its power.

Welcome to technofeudalism.

Drawing on stories from Greek Myth and pop culture, from Homer to Mad Men, Varoufakis explains this revolutionary transformation: how it enslaves our minds, how it rewrites the rules of global power and ultimately what it will take to overthrow it.

About Yanis Varoufakis
Yanis Varoufakis is an economist, political leader and the author of numerous bestselling books: Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism; Adults in the Room, a memoir of his time as finance minister of Greece; an economic history of Europe, And The Weak Suffer What They Must?; and Another Now: Dispatches from An Alternative Present.

Born in Athens in 1961, he was for many years a professor of economics in Britain, Australia and the USA before he entered politics. He is co-founder of the international grassroots movement DiEM25 and a Professor of Economics at the University of Athens.

Ebony Bennett
Ebony Bennett is deputy director of the Australia Institute and host of its popular webinar series and Follow the Money podcast.

Stephen Long
Stephen Long is Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor at the Australia Institute. Stephen is a highly acclaimed journalist, renowned for his forensic investigative reporting, analysis and commentary. During a long career he worked as a senior reporter on the ABC’s flagship investigative journalism program, Four Corners, as economics correspondent and national finance correspondent, filing across nearly all ABC outlets.

About the Australia Institute: Celebrating 30 years of Big Ideas

In 2024 the Australia Institute is celebrating its 30th anniversary as Australia’s leading independent think tank.

For 30 years the Australia Institute’s independent, non-partisan research has led the national policy debate. From our groundbreaking 1997 paper on better measuring wellbeing in Australia, The Genuine Progress Indicator, to the influential 2005 book Affluenza and then Curing Affluenza, to our cutting-edge research exposing the role of corporate profits in driving Australia’s inflation in the aftermath of the pandemic, to our work for fairer tax reforms like reshaping the Stage 3 tax cuts to make them better and fairer—the Australia Institute plays a critical role in shaping the national economic debate for a fairer society and economy.