I’ve been following Yanis Varoufakis for many years, and what truly stands out is the clarity with which he speaks, an eloquence born from a lifelong dedication to his craft. His insights carry the weight of deep experience and thoughtful reflection. In interviews, like the one he had with Obama, it’s clear how well respected he is by leaders and thinkers alike.
I find myself hoping sincerely that the ongoing Israel/Trump war does not drag on much longer. The consequences of such prolonged conflict would be devastating, reaching far beyond just the United States to affect people everywhere around the globe. It’s a painful reality that reminds us all of our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness in these chaotic times.
I just looked at data from exit polls from the 2025 presidential election, which showed that Trump received 49% of the blue collar vote (defined as people earning less than $50,000/yr) as compared to 48.5% for Harris. Blue collar workers are going to be hurt by the war in Iran regardless whether they voted red or blue. Trump did gain support in this category, but too often the seers equate voting stupidity, i.e., “voting for Trump,” with lower incomes. The polls don’t always bear this out. They didn’t in 2016, despite Hillary Clinton’s reference to a basket of deplorables. A majority of blue collar workers voted for her. And the polls didn’t really bear it out in 2025, either, as the .5% difference shows. I was surprised that Trump’s biggest gains in 2025 were with “Middle Class” and “Upper Middle Class” voters, his having won a majority of each. A majority of both the poorest (below blue collar) and the richest voters voted Democrat. I had to look at a few sites to believe the latter. How often have we heard in the MSM about the stupid, presumably poor, Trump voters who vote against their own economic interests? This reflects the usual prejudice against poor people, in my opinion, blaming them for their own circumstances. But they lose no matter whom they vote for. According to the polls, immigration was a large factor in the election, with southern border towns and states tending to vote red. And there’s a correlation between education and party affiliation, those with college degrees leaning blue. But a larger part of the equation is that many of the usual suspects voted for Trump, e.g., the more affluent middle class voters wanting their tax breaks. Nonetheless, the poor, as usual, get the bulk of the blame for Trump.
From the description of the situation in the interview, Iran is in a no-win situation playing the best hand it can. Two nuclear powers bearing down on it, Gulf states having aligned themselves with the U.S. The U.S. does have on off ramp, just not one it’s looking for — get out and cut ties with Israel. The U.S. citizenry could have forced that to happen a couple of years back. It didn’t, and the whole world pays the price.
I realize that this discussion is about economic effects of the war, BUT ... Oil and artificial fertilizer are very environmentally harmful, so good if they go up in price, the more the better! Get rid of that crap altogether and return to living naturally, which humans should never have stopped doing. The environment is worth infinitely more than money. Earth First!!!
Alternatives to what? What do you mean? My alternative is to greatly lower human population and return to living naturally. It will take hundreds to thousands of years to accomplish, depending on what one's goal is, but it's the only real solution to the environmental mess that humans have created.
Thank you again to Chris Hedges and Yanis Varoufakis.
Particularly appreciated were the questions at the conclusion by Mr. Hedges with respect authoritarian measures that might result from social unrest and other reactions to economic stresses - the troubling possibility of increasing discretionary application of draconian measures such as those used on Hüseyin Dogru and Francesca Albanese on a widening segment of the population, those who resist.
It would seem to be only be a matter of using existing post 9-11 and Project 2025 laws, (and perhaps the creating of others). Incredibly easy to implement with essentially all financial processes and communications being now transacted via the internet, owned, surveilled and controlled by the American oligarchy.
(edit: State of the art totalitarianism! New and improved! Kicking in door is so last century. And...it's scalable!!)
..........
And tangentially, Mr Varoufakis provides the least dismal explanations of financial matters that I have read or heard, outside of someone named Michael Mischaikow (1918 - 2003).
I will never understand the Japanese "alliance" with the US. In essence, they are submissive to the US economically but will leave the alliance at the first opportunity.
Super interview. Thanks both! Chris Hedges’s questions are top-notch! Yanis Varoufakis’s responses are excellent when it comes to economic analysis(insofar as I can tell) but seems wanting when he starts to veer outside the field. I watched this video here and on Rumble with the transcript that is graciously provided by Chris Hedges(which he almost always does but this time I decided to read along). There are many sections I could provide a quotation, but I found this one from Yanis the most interesting:
“And maybe the working class in Missouri and Mississippi is going to lose even more than the working class in Bangladesh because let’s not forget that countries like Bangladesh have very strong social networks. They have family units and they have village units and they look after each other. There’s a degree of solidarity. They have not suffered the dislocation of the working class, of the nomadic working class of your country, Chris.”
I think Yanis may have overlooked something. In the past couple of months, some private equity funds have issued statements blocking redemption requests out of some of their funds.
It started with Blackrock, now JP Morgan has joined in restricting lending to private credit funds. So, you can now add Cliffwater LLC to that growing list which already contains funds managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc, Blackstone Inc and Blackrock Inc, all of whom have faced redemption requests. And to give this some perspective: The private credit fund market has a close to 2 Trillion dollar valuation. (1.8 T)...And now that the ball is rolling, it'll only pick up speed. It would be great if Yanis could look at the issue and give is view. I personally fear it can come crumbling down even worse than in 2008 if they let this continue.
Chris, the electricity prices in kilowatt hour indicated in the text of article as well as quoted by Yanis are incorrect. Those numbers are in euro cents not euros.
Great interview! Thanks to both of you!
I’ve been following Yanis Varoufakis for many years, and what truly stands out is the clarity with which he speaks, an eloquence born from a lifelong dedication to his craft. His insights carry the weight of deep experience and thoughtful reflection. In interviews, like the one he had with Obama, it’s clear how well respected he is by leaders and thinkers alike.
I find myself hoping sincerely that the ongoing Israel/Trump war does not drag on much longer. The consequences of such prolonged conflict would be devastating, reaching far beyond just the United States to affect people everywhere around the globe. It’s a painful reality that reminds us all of our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness in these chaotic times.
I just looked at data from exit polls from the 2025 presidential election, which showed that Trump received 49% of the blue collar vote (defined as people earning less than $50,000/yr) as compared to 48.5% for Harris. Blue collar workers are going to be hurt by the war in Iran regardless whether they voted red or blue. Trump did gain support in this category, but too often the seers equate voting stupidity, i.e., “voting for Trump,” with lower incomes. The polls don’t always bear this out. They didn’t in 2016, despite Hillary Clinton’s reference to a basket of deplorables. A majority of blue collar workers voted for her. And the polls didn’t really bear it out in 2025, either, as the .5% difference shows. I was surprised that Trump’s biggest gains in 2025 were with “Middle Class” and “Upper Middle Class” voters, his having won a majority of each. A majority of both the poorest (below blue collar) and the richest voters voted Democrat. I had to look at a few sites to believe the latter. How often have we heard in the MSM about the stupid, presumably poor, Trump voters who vote against their own economic interests? This reflects the usual prejudice against poor people, in my opinion, blaming them for their own circumstances. But they lose no matter whom they vote for. According to the polls, immigration was a large factor in the election, with southern border towns and states tending to vote red. And there’s a correlation between education and party affiliation, those with college degrees leaning blue. But a larger part of the equation is that many of the usual suspects voted for Trump, e.g., the more affluent middle class voters wanting their tax breaks. Nonetheless, the poor, as usual, get the bulk of the blame for Trump.
From the description of the situation in the interview, Iran is in a no-win situation playing the best hand it can. Two nuclear powers bearing down on it, Gulf states having aligned themselves with the U.S. The U.S. does have on off ramp, just not one it’s looking for — get out and cut ties with Israel. The U.S. citizenry could have forced that to happen a couple of years back. It didn’t, and the whole world pays the price.
I realize that this discussion is about economic effects of the war, BUT ... Oil and artificial fertilizer are very environmentally harmful, so good if they go up in price, the more the better! Get rid of that crap altogether and return to living naturally, which humans should never have stopped doing. The environment is worth infinitely more than money. Earth First!!!
Very good point... except, there are no alternatives...
Alternatives to what? What do you mean? My alternative is to greatly lower human population and return to living naturally. It will take hundreds to thousands of years to accomplish, depending on what one's goal is, but it's the only real solution to the environmental mess that humans have created.
Great interview though scary stuff!
Are the cited European electricity prices actually for a kilowatt-hour or a megawatt-hour?
Heavy one.
Thank you again to Chris Hedges and Yanis Varoufakis.
Particularly appreciated were the questions at the conclusion by Mr. Hedges with respect authoritarian measures that might result from social unrest and other reactions to economic stresses - the troubling possibility of increasing discretionary application of draconian measures such as those used on Hüseyin Dogru and Francesca Albanese on a widening segment of the population, those who resist.
It would seem to be only be a matter of using existing post 9-11 and Project 2025 laws, (and perhaps the creating of others). Incredibly easy to implement with essentially all financial processes and communications being now transacted via the internet, owned, surveilled and controlled by the American oligarchy.
(edit: State of the art totalitarianism! New and improved! Kicking in door is so last century. And...it's scalable!!)
..........
And tangentially, Mr Varoufakis provides the least dismal explanations of financial matters that I have read or heard, outside of someone named Michael Mischaikow (1918 - 2003).
US traditional allies like Japan will come to hate the US when their nations fall apart.
I will never understand the Japanese "alliance" with the US. In essence, they are submissive to the US economically but will leave the alliance at the first opportunity.
Excellent work Chris - as always. Thank you !
https://shanakaanslemperera.substack.com/
Provided for comment and not necessarily for truth.
Super interview. Thanks both! Chris Hedges’s questions are top-notch! Yanis Varoufakis’s responses are excellent when it comes to economic analysis(insofar as I can tell) but seems wanting when he starts to veer outside the field. I watched this video here and on Rumble with the transcript that is graciously provided by Chris Hedges(which he almost always does but this time I decided to read along). There are many sections I could provide a quotation, but I found this one from Yanis the most interesting:
“And maybe the working class in Missouri and Mississippi is going to lose even more than the working class in Bangladesh because let’s not forget that countries like Bangladesh have very strong social networks. They have family units and they have village units and they look after each other. There’s a degree of solidarity. They have not suffered the dislocation of the working class, of the nomadic working class of your country, Chris.”
I think Yanis may have overlooked something. In the past couple of months, some private equity funds have issued statements blocking redemption requests out of some of their funds.
It started with Blackrock, now JP Morgan has joined in restricting lending to private credit funds. So, you can now add Cliffwater LLC to that growing list which already contains funds managed by Blue Owl Capital Inc, Blackstone Inc and Blackrock Inc, all of whom have faced redemption requests. And to give this some perspective: The private credit fund market has a close to 2 Trillion dollar valuation. (1.8 T)...And now that the ball is rolling, it'll only pick up speed. It would be great if Yanis could look at the issue and give is view. I personally fear it can come crumbling down even worse than in 2008 if they let this continue.
Chris, the electricity prices in kilowatt hour indicated in the text of article as well as quoted by Yanis are incorrect. Those numbers are in euro cents not euros.
March 28th
https://youtu.be/r1XomGjucQE?si=bsFz1CKnC7AmjFCE