Crisis in the Eurozone

Building on his work as a leading member of the renowned Research on Money and Finance group, Costas Lapavitsas presents a searing critique of the neoliberal nature of the Eurozone and ruthlessly dissects the roots of the current financial turmoil and the European debt crisis. Lapavitsas argues that European austerity is contradictory because it leads to recession, and worsens the burden of debt, further imperilling banks and the monetary union itself. Controversially, Lapavitsas suggests that impoverished states would be wise to quit the Euro and pursue debtor-led, sovereign and democratic default that would lead to deep cancellation of debt. Lapavitsas envisages a restructuring relying on the forces of organized labor and civil society, drawing on the theoretical tradition of political economy and heterodox economics, and treading a careful path between declining Europeanism and nascent nationalism.