‘Capitalism is dead. Now we have something much worse’: Yanis Varoufakis on extremism, Starmer, and the tyranny of big tech::In his new book, the maverick Greek economist says we are witnessing an epochal shift. At his island home, he argues it’s now the ‘fiefdoms’ of tech firms that shape us

  • @Redredme@lemmy.world
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    269 months ago

    This is a weird take. Just because someone is (or has been) successful he can’t speak about or for socialism?

    You can’t be successful and a socialist? Is that it? That’s a very narrow and simply wrong view which has resulted in a lot of damage in societies which adopted it.

    Socialism needs succes stories. Otherwise, what’s the point? Mediocrity for all? That will never fly or become popular.

    • just another dev
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      49 months ago

      He was also the financial advisor of sorts at Valve, the company that takes a 30% of all their pc game sales.

      • @Torvum@lemmy.world
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        19 months ago

        20% after the initial $50 million. The same company that has used that revenue to revolutionize Linux as a gaming platform. Same company that helped fix graphics api integrations. Same company that actually cares about their consumers and the gaming ecosystem?

        • just another dev
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          19 months ago

          Pretty sure all those things happened after Yanis left, so I don’t think it’s fair to contribute those changes to him.

    • @doomer@lemmy.world
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      39 months ago

      He’s had a very visible career so it’s actually pretty clear what his views are. He is not at all a socialist, he is a SocDem. He likes neoliberalism with some safety nets.

    • @the_q@lemmy.world
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      -69 months ago

      The problem is he doesn’t walk the walk. His success comes from capitalism. He’s very well off because of capitalism.

      • Ready! Player 31
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        119 months ago

        So you can only critique capitalism if you’re unsuccessful? That doesn’t make any sense.

        • just another dev
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          -49 months ago

          Sure you can. It’s just that it comes across a whole lot less hypocritical coming from someone who hasn’t first exploited that system themselves.

        • @the_q@lemmy.world
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          -69 months ago

          Why would someone talk about the pitfalls of a system while benefiting from that system?

            • @the_q@lemmy.world
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              -39 months ago

              What? I don’t know if it’s my age or what, but I can really tell when I’m interacting with someone younger than me.

        • @the_q@lemmy.world
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          -19 months ago

          By choice or by circumstance? The rich profit from capitalism therefore they use their wealth to maintain the system that is benefiting them the most. The poor have to participate in varying degrees just to survive.

          You think people choose to bust their asses for $8/hr?

          • @HaggierRapscallier@feddit.nl
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            19 months ago

            You admit then that there is nowhere else in Europe for Yanis to have not participated in capitalism, unless he somehow miraculously managed to stop the dissolution of Russia and it’s friends in the 90s.

            • @the_q@lemmy.world
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              09 months ago

              Look, the only thing I’m getting from you is the realization that you should not play baseball. You’re so focused on making your own point or trying to zing me that you’re missing the point entirely. I’m not disparaging your intellect, which you clearly are trying to prove to me, an internet stranger, but your need to champion for this guy for ANY reason whatsoever is off-putting.

              • @HaggierRapscallier@feddit.nl
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                19 months ago

                I’m championing nobody, I’m questioning your silly trumptard-tier statement that Yanis is successful because of capitalism. What on earth does that even mean? You can’t level a charge of hypocrisy there when we all live in that system. Which was why I asked you which country doesn’t engage with capitalism.

                • @Torvum@lemmy.world
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                  19 months ago

                  Guy is either delusional or a troll. Either way, too many terminally online morons on the Internet to tell