English transcript

Yanis Varoufakis, who likes to repeat Europa

is kaput. No, no, no, no. I think that the first

symptom is that what unites all around the world,

left and right, they all hate United Europe.

For example, Latin Americans claim Eurocentrism

is the worst; in Africa: "You did the slavery,

blah blah". First, here I learned from intelligent

rightwingers it is not true. You know that the

Muslims got more slaves from eastern Africa

then Americans, Latin Americans from the West?

So then Putin against Europe, everybody, China

and so on. Why is this happening when everybody

is telling us Europe is over, but at the same

time, Eurocentrism is presented as the as the,

as the ultimate enemy?

No, I think today history took care of, under

quotation marks, "that aspect" of Eurocentrism.

But what remains is... I mean: are we aware,

one argument, that even those who criticize

European legacy, they do it strictly in the

terms which were articulated by the European

legacy?

European enlightenment is the only civilizatory

view which includes, this will sound Stalinism

but I don't mean..., which includes self criticism.

In this sense, I think... look at the other

models, Latino American left. Okay, we know

where Hugo Chàvez and other finished. United

States, European neoconservative... It's a catastrophe.

China: I respect them, but still, in contrast

to another of my good friends who was here,

Wang Hui, I don't think this Chinese attempt

will propose a truly post-capitalist alternative.

It's more complex. India?

God forbid. No, thanks. So I think, yeah, let's

do all the standard whipping on our back, European

masochism... But after all that, sorry, Europe

is still the only thing we have. For example,

I had a couple of years ago a debate with Judith

Butler and I... she was as it fashionable against

European traditions: cogito, Cartesian, masculine

and so on. But I told her, but are you aware

that modern feminism begins with Descartes?

That many women already read Descartes and they

said because cogito doesn't have a sex it's

not... because pre-modern advocacy of women's

rights is strictly this organic cosmic principle:

Yin yang, masculine feminine, they must be brought

in balance. No, this is not the birth of modern

feminism. It begins with Descartes. So I still

absolutely shamelessly insist that with... because

authentic European legacy is already radically

self critical. So more than ever today, we have

to say Europe is our only hope.