First, there was the credit crunch, and governments around the world stepped in to bail out the banks. The sequel to that debacle is the sovereign debt crisis, which has hit the eurozone hard. The hour has come to pay the piper, and ordinary citizens across Europe are growing to realize that socialism for the wealthy means punching a few new holes in their already-tightened belts.
Building on his work as a leading member of the renowned Research on Money and Finance group, Costas Lapavitsas argues that European austerity is counterproductive. Cutbacks in public spending will mean a longer, deeper recession, worsen the burden of debt, further imperil banks, and may soon spell the end of monetary union itself.
Crisis in the Eurozone charts a cautious path between political economy and radical economics to envisage a restructuring reliant on the forces of organized labour and civil society. The clear-headed rationalism at the heart of this book conveys a controversial message, unwelcome in many quarters but soon to be echoed across the continent: impoverished states have to quit the euro and cut their losses or worse hardship will ensue.
About the author
Stathis Kouvelakis is a reader in political theory at King’s College London. He is author and editor of many books, including the�La France en r�volte. Luttes sociales et cycles politiques�(Textuel, Paris, 2007), �Critical Companion to Contemporary Marxism�(Haymarket, New York, 2009) and�Lenin Reloaded: Toward a Politics of Truth�(co-edited with Sebastian Budgen and Slavoj Zizek, Duke University Press, Durham, 2007), a book translated in German, Italian, Spanish and Turkish Other writings include ‘The Greek Cauldron’ in New Left Review (Nov-Dec 2007) and the preface to Crisis in the Eurozone.
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