Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present from the Sunday Times bestselling author Paperback – 9 Sept. 2021

Varoufakis imagines a wormhole in the space-time continuum through which his three main characters – Costa, Eva and Iris – communicate with their other selves in an alternative reality created by a fork in the road in 2008, after the financial crash. In the Other Now, markets have been democratised, so that they operate without capitalism, and technology has been used by radical “people power” to smash the power of the big corporations and create a society that is far more free and equal than ours. Varoufakis uses the novel form brilliantly to explain complex economic concepts to non-economists such as myself.But what is so interesting about Varoufakis’s Utopia is that, though greatly preferable to our Now, the Other Now is flawed and does not satisfy the deepest human needs. A longing is expressed for a society that is not dependent upon markets and technology but realises the aspirations to the Good, the True and the Beautiful that Plato discusses in his Socratic dialogues – to which this book of dialogues is a worthy successor. At the end, the idea is floated that, precisely because our Now is so much worse than the Other Now, we actually have more chance of reaching this real Utopia. A great and beautiful book.

I was drawn to this book having noticed the author’s wit & wisdom in current affairs interviews. Here he makes a contemporary case for a post-capitalist society, including how we get from here to there and answering many of the inevitable FAQ’s. This manifesto is wrapped in some sci-fi hokum to entertain and draw in the reader, although it sometimes feels too binary ( narrative passage, then manifesto passage). I personally would have read it even without the interweaved story, since the ideas are radical, exciting and leave you wondering how the masses sleepwalk through powerless, tough lives governed by the one-trick pony of market capitalism. If you’re interested in ideas, futurism, politics and business, I think you’ll enjoy this.

A work of fiction which lays out how a better society could work. It’ll never happen, but elements could. I bought it in kindle format and a hard copy to pass to my son who is interested in socialist politics.

This was the 5th book from Yanis Varoufakis I've read - also the first fiction (actually science fiction). Really took me by surprise, but as usual with his writing, hard to put down!

Using the format of a novel to explore the possibilities of a non capitalist world is an interesting concept but didn't really work for me.The two "parts" of the book (novel and polemic) are so intertwined that it is a confusing read.Some critics have argued that this book offers optimism and opportunity to those of us seeking a better world. However, the book contains no real plan of action, no real theoretical basis and at times seemed quite "pretentious" in the way it is written.Overall, the book is worth a read, but don't expect any real practical answers as to how capitalism can be overcome.

Another Now paints a future we could have made from the 2008ff crashes. Yanis creates a blueprint for a post capitalistic society that is rather complete, applicable, realistic and at the same time easily understood and fun to read. Highly recommended. Live long and prosper.

I didn't think this was fiction but I'm glad it was. It shows a different world is possible, although I'm with Iris wrt criticisms about it. But who knows, maybe it will get other people to think outside the box in a way reading theory wouldn't.

I bought this as a present for my husband for Christmas. He finished the book and enjoyed reading it

Might professor Varoufakis have cracked the code?I shall be thinking on the ideas presented here for some time. A truly original proposal.

After a second reading for deeper understanding of this book, I cannot recommend it any higher to thinking persons. The theses is only partly a fiction. It should be required reading for all students.

Against the much touted and propagated TINA about Capitalism, Varoufakis introduces TATIANA- That Astonishing There is AN Alternative. In fact, the book celebrates in a somewhat youngish vein the possibilities that the history is not ended, and that there is definitely a way of re-routing the destiny of human race in a world of non-capitalism. A book that would be in near future a guidebook for the mankind and its politico-economic rearrangement in the global setting. Bravo! The New World.

Lots of intelligent insights about philosophy, economics and politics. I wish he keep's writing and challenging the status quo the way he does!

Pretty much all political books suffer from one of two failures: either they criticise everything about the status quo and don't explain how they would do better, or they talk about a utopia that has not the vaguest relation to the status quo (utopian societies set on a remote island, on another planet, in the far future, and similar).This book is different, and unique: it presents a more-or-less utopian society that is realistic and relevant to us. This society emerged on an alternative timeline after the 2008 financial crisis and we get a snapshots of it in 2025-2035 - so not long enough for it to have vastly different technology or structure. "Another Now" essentially answers the question how much more utopian our present society could realistically be, or what kind of changes we might aspire to. As a bonus, it also hints at who the driving forces in the transformation were and how they achieved this different society. Few books are as eye-opening as this.