Novara Media Downstream: Was the 20th Century a Catastrophe, or a Miracle? w/ Yanis Varoufakis
14 snips
Oct 6, 2025 
Yanis Varoufakis, an economist and former Greek finance minister, dives into his memoir, *Raise Your Soul*, exploring the influential women in his family who shaped his political awakening. He discusses the detrimental effects of patriarchal structures, the legacy of colonialism on Greek diasporas, and the dangers of far-right overreach. Varoufakis critiques neoliberalism, drawing parallels between historical events and contemporary issues, while emphasizing the need for a collective ethical vision in politics and advocating for a feminist approach to liberation.
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Five Women As A Moral Lens
- Yanis frames his memoir around five women who shaped his political conscience and life story across a century.
- He argues viewing history through women's eyes offers clearer moral and political insight.
Grandmother In The Egyptian Feminist Union
- Yanis recounts his grandmother joining the Egyptian Feminist Union in 1923 and becoming politically active.
- She clandestinely organized strikes despite belonging to an expat ruling-class family in Cairo.
Colonial Debt Erased Local Modernities
- Varoufakis traces how colonial debt and British intervention erased Egyptian modernity and women's emancipation.
- He links that loss to the wider distortion of Middle Eastern history by colonial powers.
