And the Weak Suffer What They Must?

Europe, Austerity and the Threat to Global Stability

By: Yanis Varoufakis

Narrated by: Leighton Pugh, Yanis Varoufakis

In 2008, the universe of Western finance outgrew planet Earth. When Wall Street imploded, a death embrace between insolvent banks and bankrupt states consumed Europe. Half a dozen national economies imploded, and several more came close. But the storm is far from over....

From the aftermath of the Second World War to the present, Varoufakis recounts how the eurozone emerged not as a route to shared prosperity but as a pyramid scheme of debt with countries such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain at its bottom. Its woeful design ensured that collapse would be inevitable and catastrophic.

But since the hurricane landed, Europe's leaders have chosen a cocktail of more debt and harsh austerity rather than reform, ensuring that the weakest citizens of the weakest nations pay the price for the bankers' mistakes while doing nothing to prevent the next collapse. Instead, the principle of the greatest austerity for those suffering the greatest recessions has led to a resurgence of racist extremism. Once more Europe is a potent threat to global stability.

Drawing on the personal experience of his own negotiations with the eurozone's financiers and offering concrete policies and alternatives, Varoufakis shows how we concocted this mess and how we can get out of it. And the Weak Suffer What They Must? reminds us of our history in order to save European capitalism from itself.

©2016 Yanis Varoufakis (P)2016 Random House AudioBooks

Wonderful book and super important

After the the 2008 crash and ensuing Euro crisis so much has been extolled by the media and politicians that it has been hard to know where to start at looking at what has happened and why it has happened. Yanis dissects the problem simply and concisely, explaining in simple terms a very complicated problem. He gets to the heart of the issue of the disintegration of democracy in Europe, pointing out the key players without dictating a personal bias. He also gives an alternative view to the status quo. So overall I feel this is important book for anyone interested in politics or economics of the current era. I look forward to reading his other book The Global Minotaur and hope to see more of his work in the future.

Eye opener and hard hitting account of the crisis

Loved it. Eye opener and hard hitting account of the euro zone crisis. A must read.

Great book

Excellent use of English language to make complex matters appear simple. And very well narrated