{
  "title": "There’s no such thing as democracy. Yanis Varoufakis",
  "author": "Caerith Alondar",
  "source_url": "https://caerithbooks.com/p/theres-no-such-thing-as-democracy",
  "excerpt": "From the deep ascends a Patriot",
  "published_date": "2026-10-05T12:52:32+00:00",
  "content": "[![Image 1: Caerith Alondar | Novelist & Essayist](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Xnak!,w_40,h_40,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fab81a6e6-d6d8-4bea-ae54-7cfe1839b738_768x768.png)](https://caerith.substack.com/)\n\n# [Caerith Alondar | Novelist & Essayist](https://caerith.substack.com/)\n\nSubscribe Sign in\n\n[Video 2](blob:https://caerith.substack.com/78a90ffd-1a38-453c-85a3-44890dbd9657)\n\nPlayback speed\n\n1×\n\nSubtitles\n\nShare post\n\nShare post at current time\n\nShare from 0:00\n\n0:00\n\n/\n\n52:07\n\n1\n\n## There’s no such thing as democracy. Yanis Varoufakis\n\nFrom the deep ascends a Patriot\n\n[![Image 2: Caerith Alondar's avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SPMz!,w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbf1c37a-b4d2-471b-a79a-58c52bcaf49b_2408x2408.jpeg)](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\nOct 05, 2026\n\n1\n\nShare\n\nTranscript\n\n**Yanis Varoufakis** is a Greek-Australian economist and academic whose life has been deeply shaped by his identity as a Greek patriot committed to his country’s sovereignty. Born in Athens, his perspective on democratic governance and economic justice was informed by his family’s experience surviving Greece’s turbulent political history, including the military junta.\n\nDespite building a highly successful international academic career teaching economic theory in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, his core focus remained tethered to the future of Greece.\n\nThis sense of national duty ultimately led him to step away from academia to enter the volatile arena of domestic politics when his country faced its most severe modern crisis.\n\nIn January **2015**, he was appointed **Minister of Finance** for Greece under the Syriza government, a pivotal role that placed him at the center of the European sovereign debt crisis.\n\nAs minister, he refused to accept the terms of the existing international bailouts, arguing that the severe austerity measures imposed by European creditors were destroying the Greek economy and trapping its citizens in a cycle of debt.\n\nHe sought instead to negotiate a debt restructuring plan that would allow Greece to achieve sustainable economic growth. Refusing to yield to intense institutional pressure from the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund, Varoufakis chose to resign his ministerial post in July **2015** rather than sign a new bailout agreement that he believed, as _**[Christine](https://www.google.com/search?num=10&sca\\_esv=cbebc86b742c5175&sxsrf=APpeQnv6qM9aOXHaS72h\\_89BWWpO93Y8Cg:1791204560006&q=Christine+Lagarde&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFlZP89KKXAxV\\_SvEDHSl9H6QQkeECKAB6BAgaEAE)**_[](https://www.google.com/search?num=10&sca_esv=cbebc86b742c5175&sxsrf=APpeQnv6qM9aOXHaS72h_89BWWpO93Y8Cg:1791204560006&q=Christine+Lagarde&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFlZP89KKXAxV_SvEDHSl9H6QQkeECKAB6BAgaEAE)_**[Lagarde](https://www.google.com/search?num=10&sca\\_esv=cbebc86b742c5175&sxsrf=APpeQnv6qM9aOXHaS72h\\_89BWWpO93Y8Cg:1791204560006&q=Christine+Lagarde&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFlZP89KKXAxV\\_SvEDHSl9H6QQkeECKAB6BAgaEAE)**_ view too, compromised his country’s independence and economic viability.\n\n[![Image 3: Caerith Alondar's avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SPMz!,w_32,h_32,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbf1c37a-b4d2-471b-a79a-58c52bcaf49b_2408x2408.jpeg)](https://substack.com/profile/129024852-caerith-alondar)\n\n[1 Like](https://caerith.substack.com/p/theres-no-such-thing-as-democracy?x-respond-with=json)\n\n[](https://substack.com/note/p-218927386/restacks?utm_source=substack&utm_content=facepile-restacks)\n\n#### Discussion about this video\n\nComments Restacks\n\n![Image 4: User's avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!TnFC!,w_32,h_32,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fimg%2Favatars%2Fdefault-light.png)\n\n[![Image 5: Caerith Alondar | Novelist & Essayist](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!FgJW!,w_96,h_96,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack.com%2Fimg%2Fpodcast%2Fgeneric.png)](https://caerith.substack.com/s/the-dissenter-video-files)\n\nTHE DISSENTER VIDEO FILES\n\nREFLECTIONS ON THE CRAFT OF MYTHMAKING, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE SYSTEMS OF MASS CONTROL IN AN EPOCH OF TECHNO-FASCISM. ▪ THE READER CONTRACT: There is a pernicious erosion of the social contract between reader and creator. People will unblinkingly hand over $7 for a coffee that lasts fifteen minutes or $20 to a corporate streaming giant they barely watch, but hesitate to pay the price of a sandwich to a writer whose words permanently altered how they understand reality. Please be mindful. ▪ (Click \"See All\" below to access the full archive).\n\nREFLECTIONS ON THE CRAFT OF MYTHMAKING, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE SYSTEMS OF MASS CONTROL IN AN EPOCH OF TECHNO-FASCISM. ▪ THE READER CONTRACT: There is a pernicious erosion of the social contract between reader and creator. People will unblinkingly hand over $7 for a coffee that lasts fifteen minutes or $20 to a corporate streaming giant they barely watch, but hesitate to pay the price of a sandwich to a writer whose words permanently altered how they understand reality. Please be mindful. ▪ (Click \"See All\" below to access the full archive).\n\nSubscribe\n\nAuthors\n\n[![Image 6: Caerith Alondar's avatar](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SPMz!,w_32,h_32,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdbf1c37a-b4d2-471b-a79a-58c52bcaf49b_2408x2408.jpeg)](https://substack.com/@caerith?utm_source=author-byline-face-podcast)\n\n[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\nRecent Posts\n\n![Image 7](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!w9B7!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F224134971%2F0b68b576-5678-4ecc-8d95-11f8295ee9db%2Ftranscoded-1794222392.png)\n\n[Millions of Brits Can't Afford Groceries Anymore—And No One Is Stopping It](https://caerith.substack.com/p/millions-of-brits-cant-afford-groceries)\n\nNov 9•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 8](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!scQQ!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F222905529%2Fff74beb6-1dde-4ff7-af80-6ddfb6eecac4%2Ftranscoded-1793446703.png)\n\n[Honest Government Ad | The Great FuckOff](https://caerith.substack.com/p/honest-government-ad-the-great-fuckoff)\n\nOct 31•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 9](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!KdO7!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F222780862%2Fe558f48a-6221-4a27-95f1-85d49d57a22d%2Ftranscoded-1793365383.png)\n\n[The Whole World Is Protesting](https://caerith.substack.com/p/the-whole-world-is-protesting)\n\nOct 30•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 10](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!nvjr!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F221552613%2Fea4c728f-2814-4765-a5b8-e6861620af92%2Ftranscoded-1792620062.png)\n\n[HAHAHAHAHA](https://caerith.substack.com/p/hahahahaha)\n\nOct 21•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 11](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6odR!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F221275739%2Fb5212d25-629e-49fa-980a-c90b52ad9d05%2Ftranscoded-1792478886.png)\n\n[France Protests Are a Western Spring. America Is Next](https://caerith.substack.com/p/france-protests-are-a-western-spring)\n\nOct 20•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 12](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6vow!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F221091909%2F7f377992-1f32-4607-8d86-d257b201bd70%2Ftranscoded-1792385768.png)\n\n[Are those Russians?](https://caerith.substack.com/p/are-those-russians)\n\nOct 19•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 13](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!iRZT!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F219791888%2Fa29c8e11-82e6-44c6-a9f0-2684a14102c5%2Ftranscoded-1791673541.png)\n\n[Cuba Before 1959: An Advanced Country, My Country of birth](https://caerith.substack.com/p/cuba-before-1959-an-advanced-country)\n\nOct 10•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n![Image 14](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!7spZ!,w_150,h_150,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-video.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fvideo_upload%2Fpost%2F219118158%2F536aad2e-8ff3-4fca-a1b0-2d0afa05fbd3%2Ftranscoded-1791300679.png)\n\n[Zack Polansky is different to the rest](https://caerith.substack.com/p/zack-polansky-is-different-to-the)\n\nOct 6•[Caerith Alondar](https://substack.com/@caerith)\n\n### Ready for more?\n\nSubscribe\n\n© 2026 Alexis Molina Lopez-Hidalgo · [Privacy](https://substack.com/privacy) ∙ [Terms](https://substack.com/tos) ∙ [Collection notice](https://substack.com/ccpa#personal-data-collected)\n\n[Start your Substack](https://substack.com/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer)[Get the app](https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button)\n\n[Substack](https://substack.com/) is the home for [writing,](https://substack.com/get-started)[podcasting,](https://substack.com/podcasts) and [media founders.](https://substack.com/startups)\n\nThere’s no such thing as democracy. Yanis Varoufakis\n\nCaerith Alondar · Oct 05, 2026\n\n0:00 / 52:07",
  "storage": "Cloudflare Edge KV (Sovereign)"
}