He argues that the global economy since the 1970s can be viewed as being built around the financing of the twin deficits of the United States – its trade deficit and government deficit.
Varoufakis argues that the United States powered the global economy by consuming the exports of the rest of the world, and then the surpluses flowed back to the United States by going to institutions on Wall Street or being used to buy U.S. Treasury debt.
He suggests the recycling back to the U.S. happened naturally due to the status of the dollar as the global reserve currency, and because of the profitability of U.S. corporations and returns on Wall Street. However, when the U.S. economy and banking system faltered in 2008, the United States' ability to consume vast quantities of imports decreased, and investing in Wall Street became a much less inviting prospect, so the system seized up.
This explains why the 2008 recession was felt so heavily around the world. The metaphor of the Minotaur is used as Varoufakis characterizes the flows back to the U.S. as a "tribute" to a great power.
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