Yanis Varoufakis: We are all just brands now, available for sale 24 hours a day

Zero-hours contracts make workers fearful of downtime, and we package ourselves online in the image that we hope most appeals to employers, says Yanis Varoufakis.

IT used to be an axiom of liberalism that freedom meant inalienable self-ownership. You were your own property. You could lease yourself to an employer for a mutually agreed price, but your property rights over yourself could not be bought or sold.