The establishment of this blog coincided with our campaign for a rational resolution of the euro crisis. By we, I mean Stuart Holland and myself. Such a resolution, we felt, was always feasible within the current insititional framework but requires clear vision and political will to implement. Moreover, it can be agreed to by people of different political persuasions since it is founded upon a minimalist, common sense, set of assumptions and policy recommendations.
Yanis Varoufakis and Stuart Holland published the Modest Proposal in November 2010. Since then, it has undergone a number of revisions, in response to the crisis’ evolution. In July 2013 Version 4.0 was published, this time jointly with James K. Galbraith.
A Modest Proposal for Resolving the Eurozone Crisis – Version 4.0
by Y. Varoufakis, S. Holland and J.K. Galbraith (July 2013)
TABLE OF CONTENTS (to read only segments click on a heading below)
- Prologue
- The nature of the Euro Crisis
- Political constrains for any solution
- The Modest Proposal – 4 crises, 4 policies
- Conclusion: Four realistic policies to replace five false choices
- For a French translation, with a Preface from former Prime Minister Michel Rocard, click here (and here for an article on it published in Le Monde)
- For a Spanish translation, click here (courtesy of www.sinpermiso.info/).
- For a Greek, much enhanced and revised, version, click here. See also this.
Click here for many interviews/articles/posts in favour (and critical) of the Modest Proposal
Earlier versions of The Modest Proposal follow:
- The Modest Proposal 1.0 (Original version, November 2010)
- The Modest Proposal 1.1 (Shortened December 2010 version)
- The Modest Proposal 1.2 (A short Greek version)
- The Modest Proposal 1.3 (A short version for the New Year, January 2011)
- The Modest Proposal 2.0 (14th March 2011 version)
- The Modest Proposal 2.1 (24th March 2011 version)
- The Modest Proposal 2.2 (6th April 2011 version) – adopted by the Levy Institute (Bard College) as one of its policy papers (click here)
- The Modest Proposal 3.0 (for a french translation, courtesty of Gilles Raveaud and the Veblen Institute, click here)
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I see you propose a New Deal for Europe, there is already a European Citizens’ Initiative on it. check it out on http://www.newdeal4europe.eu/
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Yanis,
I discover your blog today, thanks to the link in the nakedcapitalism’s blog concerning your debate with Klaus Kastner.
I posted a comment about the Juncker’s 315 billions euros plan this morning, here :
The “New Deal” words seem to be wrong. Because you can lead a new deal when a public pilot exists, and EU is not a federal state but a private club of 28 heads of governments of State members.
This Juncker’s plan is nothing else than a continental Private-Public Partnership, in which private states projects will be financed by their private lobbies, while warranties of ROE given by european institutions, and so european citizens. Clearly a shame as european citizens already captive with many local insane PPP, and will now also be captive of continental ones.
Both egoistic states members sovereignties and their favorite lobbyists interests can win something. At the first rank stand financial ones, of course. No real continental overview, development scheme, european citizenship consciousness are to be mobilized. In the dark pool of European Council secret negociations go on. Both EU institutions and 28 governments are quite unable since 1992 to be real states. Because tax, budget expenses and money policies aren’t hold in the same hand to be a true one. In crisis times, the general interest of 510 millions of people cannot be protected by such a neoliberal architecture of powers. Ok, states members have to be federated now, but EU is a non-State, and there stand the problem that neither M5S or Podemos or Syriza can address. Yes Alternative für Deutscland, Front National, Ukip, aso. are taking off seriously.
Is Europe poor ? Not at all, it still remains the richest part of the world. But don’t forget that here only common people and small entreprises pay taxes : global firms don’t pay, thanks to the tax competition between states members, thanks to many taxes paradises and offshore finance places. What could be a federal european budget with the end of this undemocratical situation ? Something between 2.000 and 3.000 billions euros, I guess (do you know strong studies about that ?).
Not only recession could have been fully avoided (where is speculation about the US public debt since 2007 ?), but we could also be something else than a children group of negociators with PRC or USA in order to reform IMF and UNO in a Stiglitz’s report way. Climate changes, not finance nor our old-fashioned political elites : 28 heads for one body make a monster, not the needed responsible Europe, for the european people and for a better world.
Everywhere, common citizens are hostages of very low level politicians in our so called democracies. Chinese government cannot be a model, because hardly refusing democratic principles, but in the other hand, it now appears to be as the sole global regional power to know that stability is a huge thing to keep citizens confident with their representative powers.
Do you agree with this position ?
Alcofribas
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