@@patriciafarrow9586 My issue with him is the lack of evidence for any claim he makes. He’s essentially made of rhetoric, and I don’t think his reputation would survive an encounter with Thomas Sowell or Larry Elder for that matter.
@@Sincerely_MrX which claims do you speak of? Maybe someone can help point you in the right directions for answers to your questions. Also, if you disagree with Wolff, that's ok, but he's not a doofus just because he reaches different conclusions than you.
Same here. I always got the feeling most people online screaming the phrase "DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM" all the time have either a poor understanding of what it is or none at all, because they're never able to actually define it. Instead they just opt to use a lot of nominalizations and jargon to make it sound like you're just not smart enough to understand.
It’s just further proof Hayek was right - that if socialists understood economics they wouldn’t be socialists. How do you not see the complexity of a production on market enough to think NO ONE - not a dictator, nor a vanguard - can even understand it much less control it.
@@TrichordoKostas Wachowski siblings studied philosophy of german idealism and marxism I bet. The movie trilogy Matrix and Jupiter ascending go into such topics but the average layman audience cant spot it due to their lack of education.
You can read the book by Maurice conforth named materialism and the dialectical method the book is so simple and easy to grasp and available in PDF format in Marxist. Org
I think Mr Richard wolff must write a book on dialectics and historical materialism cause his explanation contains the real essence of it and also a simplicity in explaining things.
I've been trying to really understand Dialectical Materialism for months now, and finally I did. You've broken it down in a way that even someone like me could make sense. Thank you so much!
Wow! What a great and profound response to a very equally great question. Prof Wolf, you have connected the dots for me between these two ideas. Very much a yin (materialism) and a yang (idealism/spirituality) aspects of life!
I get better educated from Prof. Wolf’s TH-cam videos than I get from all of my other sources of online information combined. Thank you for taking the time to create these videos and educate us in such a clear, concise and easy to understand fashion (especially for those of us who aren’t at all familiar with these topics).
Professor, Could you please talk about the works of Murray Bookchin and your opinion of him if possible? And your opinion of the rise in cooperatives in the European Union
Excellent! Dead to center. A superb explainer of which it was 45 years ago it was taught to me with such beauty and simplicity by one lone professor eventually fired by the college for so called indoctrinating his students with quote" ideology ".
Thank you prof. Wolff. I have studied philosophy and sociology in an ex-YU country and these concepts are sidelined to metaphysics. You are combining them with economics again, as they should have been applied.
Thank you ,Dr. Wolff for your much needed discussion about the dialectics of debate. Hopefully reality will catch up with us and we will be able to question, critically the choices that we make in order to maintain an inhabitable planet.
Astute explanation as usual sir! It is wonderful to have the lecture time of such a learned person available to a proletariat like myself! Professor Wolf is changing the world one mind at a time.
Professor Wolff you are a marvell in explaining concepts and theories, etc that has to do with marxismo, what have to do with today events, economic, materialism and what is happening today world. I thanks very much to you for all you have done to make as understand why, what and how things happens in the world we live in. Also thanks to my brother who recommended to watch your videos. I am an avid reader and I have been all my life since I learn how to read. When I was young I read the most famous authors and the best like Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Also there is a Chilean writer who wrote about the land and the mine. His books more known are "Sub terra" about mine and "Sub sole" about the land. His name was Baldomero Lillo All of these authors and more had taught me about the life of the working class, the poor and the world where they live. Karl Marx live in England so he could see with his own eyes about the conditions of workplace and the place where they lived.
I think i understood it when he explained it, but if you asked me to summarise it ten seconds later, i couldn't. I'll have another go. Thanks Prof....!
there are dilemmas between our ideas and our material conditions, even though our material conditions shape our ideas, and our ideas shape our material conditions but usually to a lesser extent. people disagree on what is the main shaping force in what circumstances even though what i said generally seems clear to me and other materialists versus idealists who would have it the other way. that is all he said if you want to save 9 minutes.
Thank you Prof. Wolff, I’ve heard many people try to define Dialectic Materialism, but only now thanks to your explanation I finally have a confident understanding.
If you want to understand these terms, then read Joseph Stalin's pamphlet by the same name "Dialectical and Historical Materialism." He quite succinctly lays it all out and defines it so that the layman can understand it.
Great video, simply put! Would love to hear you discuss the Western Marxist (post-WWI and post-WII) development of the dialectic into one that may or may not have lost touch with the intended focus on material analyses. You know, the Frankfurt School, neo-Marxist, cultural-focused people and the post-structuralists.
Bravo! Professor Wolff your answer is extremely helpful and thanks to the person who raised the question that has perplexed so many. The asker certainly knew who and what to ask.
Thank you very much for this very clear explanation. There are many attempts to explain dialectical materialism on youtube and most of them aren't very effective.
Sir the way you made it so clear I'm extremely thankful to you and I just wish I had you as my Political Science Professor and could've learnt in person from you
Getting a good feeling of what materialistic (and dialectic) thinking and analysis is, is well shown in the essay of of Frederick Engels 1876 "The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man" link to the full text following ...ff
this issue also informs our strategies for social and economic change. Do we all just stand in a public place with snarky messages on cardboard signs? That's the idealist approach. The materialist approach is to change material conditions to change the ideas, perhaps by a work slowdown or strike, by blocking traffic to a dock or other facility with large economic impact, and so on.
some people. maybe most people. but that is only because a lot of people are dumb and/or numb, and are not open to discussion or critique of their ideas and beliefs whether stemming from themselves or others. this is why material is more fundamental than ideals. your ideas can tell you to think and act one way but this conflicts with contraindicating material situations which will point out any conflicts, often painfully, physically and/or psychically, everytime.
A good example of (non-Hegelian) dialectics is the Ecclesiastes found on the Old Testamennt. The writer (Kohelet) says "too much knowledge causes too much suffering". Later he will say "I have observed, however, that the one who has knowledge walks under the light while the one who doesn't have walks in the dark". Kohelet, in these two lines expressed ideas that are contradictory in a way - a dialectic. (di means 2). Kohelet will then make a synthesis from these opposing ideas. Unfortunately my memory is not that good and the book is worth reading (at least the first pages). The final systhesis Kohelet makes is so famous it became a great 1960s pop song: The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn th-cam.com/video/9PvxAOGYjY0/w-d-xo.html
Professor Wolff , you are the most prolific teacher I have ever come across. Please don't ever retire. Im 80 years old.
He is a legend
He’s a doofus, I wish he’d debate Thomas Sowell
@@Sincerely_MrX It would be an interesting discussion - but I disagree with your opinion of Wolff.
@@patriciafarrow9586 My issue with him is the lack of evidence for any claim he makes. He’s essentially made of rhetoric, and I don’t think his reputation would survive an encounter with Thomas Sowell or Larry Elder for that matter.
@@Sincerely_MrX which claims do you speak of? Maybe someone can help point you in the right directions for answers to your questions.
Also, if you disagree with Wolff, that's ok, but he's not a doofus just because he reaches different conclusions than you.
This is the first time I understand what "dialectical materialism" is. Great explanation and examples! Thank you, Proff Wolff.
You'll never see the world the same way again man, you see it in literally every field of science
Same here. I always got the feeling most people online screaming the phrase "DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM" all the time have either a poor understanding of what it is or none at all, because they're never able to actually define it. Instead they just opt to use a lot of nominalizations and jargon to make it sound like you're just not smart enough to understand.
He explains like I'm 5 and I needed that
It’s just further proof Hayek was right - that if socialists understood economics they wouldn’t be socialists.
How do you not see the complexity of a production on market enough to think NO ONE - not a dictator, nor a vanguard - can even understand it much less control it.
@@TrichordoKostas Wachowski siblings studied philosophy of german idealism and marxism I bet. The movie trilogy Matrix and Jupiter ascending go into such topics but the average layman audience cant spot it due to their lack of education.
Prof Wolff is truly the GOAT, explains things simply and eloquently. no need for any extra fluff
memeking AND, occasionally he actually gets one right!
Kinda wish some of that simplicity and eloquence were present during the Destiny debate
He is pretty great, but don't restrict your education about Socialism to one person.
@@VerdantSerpents "debate"
@@VerdantSerpents It was on one side. Certainly not on Destiny's side.
Wow! It takes a lot of talent to communicate big ideas in such a straightforward way. With gratitude, Prof. Wolff.
That's kind of the point of being a professor.
@@alanfriesen9837 Not all do such thing however
Never heard from it explained this way before. Dialectical materialism has so far been a hard concept to grasp.
You can read the book by Maurice conforth named materialism and the dialectical method the book is so simple and easy to grasp and available in PDF format in Marxist. Org
I recommend you to watch the video "how to think like s vietnamese communist" by Luna Oi. Explains dialectical materialism in a more fun way
I think Mr Richard wolff must write a book on dialectics and historical materialism cause his explanation contains the real essence of it and also a simplicity in explaining things.
Nice Engels photo
@@NathanDudani thanks
@Rich H may be a book is a deep and concrete analysis 😏
The Science of Revolution contains much on the two concepts
Stalin's book on the topic is pretty much that; definitely recommend listening to Dialectical and Historical Materialism as an audiobook on youtube
I was stoned when I listened to this, so this episode hit especially hard when I listened to it.
that's the idea
Richard Wolff always hits harder when you're stoned. Especially in school haha
Nothin like marxism and weed, the brilliant analyses presented by marxist thinkers past and present blow your fuckin mind when you're off an edible
🙏 Professor Wolff, the 5 minute I spent on this video was more productive than reading many books on the subject.
I've been trying to really understand Dialectical Materialism for months now, and finally I did. You've broken it down in a way that even someone like me could make sense. Thank you so much!
whenever i listen to you i feel the absence of a teacher like you here in our country , india
same
Wow! What a great and profound response to a very equally great question. Prof Wolf, you have connected the dots for me between these two ideas. Very much a yin (materialism) and a yang (idealism/spirituality) aspects of life!
Having had it broken down this clearly, I’m nearly wondering why I was struggling to grasp this before. Thank you.
I get better educated from Prof. Wolf’s TH-cam videos than I get from all of my other sources of online information combined. Thank you for taking the time to create these videos and educate us in such a clear, concise and easy to understand fashion (especially for those of us who aren’t at all familiar with these topics).
I’ve never watched a person explaining this intricate aspect of history and philosophy, then this respected intellectual.
Luna oí also does a great job of explaining it too: th-cam.com/video/neI-ol2AowM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RIIKw9NUFe7h-9Hz
Professor, Could you please talk about the works of Murray Bookchin and your opinion of him if possible? And your opinion of the rise in cooperatives in the European Union
yes!
You have be on patreon to ask a question.
@@emhu2594 I'm not :(
EU should really do more to incentivize cooperatives, as of now there is no fund that would provide capital investments exclusively for cooperatives.
@@MonoFrutti Its still gaining considerable steam in the housing and retail sector
Excellent! Dead to center. A superb explainer of which it was 45 years ago it was taught to me with such beauty and simplicity by one lone professor eventually fired by the college for so called indoctrinating his students with quote" ideology ".
That was the most precise and simple explanation I have ever seen , thanks professor
Breaking down complex theories in under 10 minutes that is easily understood. This was a master class in teaching. Thank you so much
Thank you prof. Wolff. I have studied philosophy and sociology in an ex-YU country and these concepts are sidelined to metaphysics. You are combining them with economics again, as they should have been applied.
Superb explanation! Thanks Prof.Wolff
The first time I was actually able to understand dialectical materialism and historical materialism. A huge thank you. You are a great tutor.
I’m amazed how Professor Wolff can explain complex philosophical concepts in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. Thank you Professor!
Thank you ,Dr. Wolff for your much needed discussion about the dialectics of debate. Hopefully reality will catch up with us and we will be able to question, critically the choices that we make in order to maintain an inhabitable planet.
what an awesome explanation, so simply put and eloquent
Very well explained. Thank you Professor Wolff. Keep up your good work.
I kept getting confused between the terms.This video put it so well,I finally understood .Thankyou.
Excellent question very clear answer. Thank you
Astute explanation as usual sir! It is wonderful to have the lecture time of such a learned person available to a proletariat like myself! Professor Wolf is changing the world one mind at a time.
Excellent explanation: brief, simple, comprehensive.
Professor Wolff you are a marvell in explaining concepts and theories, etc that has to do with marxismo, what have to do with today events, economic, materialism and what is happening today world. I thanks very much to you for all you have done to make as understand why, what and how things happens in the world we live in. Also thanks to my brother who recommended to watch your videos.
I am an avid reader and I have been all my life since I learn how to read. When I was young I read the most famous authors and the best like Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Also there is a Chilean writer who wrote about the land and the mine. His books more known are "Sub terra" about mine and "Sub sole" about the land. His name was Baldomero Lillo All of these authors and more had taught me about the life of the working class, the poor and the world where they live.
Karl Marx live in England so he could see with his own eyes about the conditions of workplace and the place where they lived.
I think i understood it when he explained it, but if you asked me to summarise it ten seconds later, i couldn't. I'll have another go. Thanks Prof....!
there are dilemmas between our ideas and our material conditions, even though our material conditions shape our ideas, and our ideas shape our material conditions but usually to a lesser extent. people disagree on what is the main shaping force in what circumstances even though what i said generally seems clear to me and other materialists versus idealists who would have it the other way. that is all he said if you want to save 9 minutes.
@@jc6226 Thanks JC! Now i'm going to have to read your summary a few times...! ; )
Thank you Prof. Wolff, I’ve heard many people try to define Dialectic Materialism, but only now thanks to your explanation I finally have a confident understanding.
Incredible teaching skills
If you want to understand these terms, then read Joseph Stalin's pamphlet by the same name "Dialectical and Historical Materialism." He quite succinctly lays it all out and defines it so that the layman can understand it.
The article can be found here: www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1938/09.htm
Great video, simply put!
Would love to hear you discuss the Western Marxist (post-WWI and post-WII) development of the dialectic into one that may or may not have lost touch with the intended focus on material analyses. You know, the Frankfurt School, neo-Marxist, cultural-focused people and the post-structuralists.
Thankyou so much professor for making me understand this hard concept of dialectical materialism very easily in just 9 minutes of video.
Bravo! Professor Wolff your answer is extremely helpful and thanks to the person who raised the question that has perplexed so many. The asker certainly knew who and what to ask.
I have a report and this really helped me out! Thank you Prof Wolff!
Thank you for making these terms more accessible.
Thank you, Professor Wolff. I have never heard this explained so clearly and effectively.
Thank you very much for this very clear explanation. There are many attempts to explain dialectical materialism on youtube and most of them aren't very effective.
Thank you sir, for your succinct explanation in a way that a lay person not trained in deep philosophical ideas like me can understand.
I love the way he disect and get to the subject matter. Very intelligent and informative.
The ideas come from the mind , mind exists in the body and the body needs to satisfy its material needs to exist .
The best explanation I ever heard! Thank you prof Wolff!
Cannot thank you enough Professor Wolff! I had never understood what was meant by dialectical!
This was great, I've heard dialectical materialism defined/explained probably a dozen times before and never really got it until now.
An excellent and concise explanation of historical and dialectic materialism!
Thank you ,Proff Wolff. What an explanation
This is the clearest explanation I've got on this topic. 👍
A truly great teacher!
Cant get the Madonna song out of my head now after watching this episode. You rock Professor Wolff!
Making that joke is a necessary step in the development of class consciousness that all western Marxists have gone through since the mid 80s.
Never heard any better explanation thank you so much Prof Wolff
Thank you for the wonderful lesson.
Thank you so much, this is the first time I really understand those concepts. Now I am a bit less ignorant! Keep up the great work!
Best lecture i have listened to in my life
Thank you Prof this was a great insightful explanation.
thank you so much for making this so much easier to understand!
Thank you Professor Wolff! I had a hard time following but I think I got it.
Thanks for the question and thanks to this great teacher thinker mister wolf. Very good explication. Merci
Best explanation I ever heard. The only sad part is that it was short.
Great and very accessible explanation
Take a bow professor. Finally understood.
Thank you for that concise and insightful lesson!
It seems like the material creates reality, and ideas shape and change the parts of reality we have the power to shape and change.
I love how you explained everything ❤I have watched several videos to get understanding but I wasn't getting it.Thank you so much
The best and simple explanation ever
Very excellent presentation.
Thank You 🙏
Dr. Richard Wolff 2024! please
Very precise explanation.
Very consice explanation.As a 17 year old i had trouble understanding complex ones.Thanks a lot prof:)
Luna oí also does a great job of explaining it too: th-cam.com/video/neI-ol2AowM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RIIKw9NUFe7h-9Hz
...*concise...
Sir the way you made it so clear I'm extremely thankful to you and I just wish I had you as my Political Science Professor and could've learnt in person from you
Getting a good feeling of what materialistic (and dialectic) thinking and analysis is, is well shown in the essay of of Frederick Engels 1876 "The Part played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man"
link to the full text following ...ff
Simple explanation of complex philosophical ideas. Impressive
Excellent explanation!
based
Thank you!
Thank you for clarifying sir
such a gifted teacher
Clear, simple.thanks
Thank you professor
The best professor ever.
Another great video by Prof Wolff
The only person in the world who could explain this topic is this guy. I wish i could just hit a trillion likes in this video.
this issue also informs our strategies for social and economic change. Do we all just stand in a public place with snarky messages on cardboard signs? That's the idealist approach. The materialist approach is to change material conditions to change the ideas, perhaps by a work slowdown or strike, by blocking traffic to a dock or other facility with large economic impact, and so on.
Thank you.
It seems that it grows!
Let's go, comrades!
I am nonnative and should say you are a great teacher
Such a great video.
You are an amazing teacher ❤️
Thanks for sharing this
Best explanation
Thanks, it clarified a lot the concept for me.
Very good breakdown
Important concepts to formulate arguments. The respectful part is lost through emotions, though. People are tightly backed into their corners.
some people. maybe most people. but that is only because a lot of people are dumb and/or numb, and are not open to discussion or critique of their ideas and beliefs whether stemming from themselves or others. this is why material is more fundamental than ideals. your ideas can tell you to think and act one way but this conflicts with contraindicating material situations which will point out any conflicts, often painfully, physically and/or psychically, everytime.
I see dialectics as material change that happens everywhere and so therefore there will be change in society
Superb, prof!
A good example of (non-Hegelian) dialectics is the Ecclesiastes found on the Old Testamennt. The writer (Kohelet) says "too much knowledge causes too much suffering". Later he will say "I have observed, however, that the one who has knowledge walks under the light while the one who doesn't have walks in the dark". Kohelet, in these two lines expressed ideas that are contradictory in a way - a dialectic. (di means 2). Kohelet will then make a synthesis from these opposing ideas. Unfortunately my memory is not that good and the book is worth reading (at least the first pages). The final systhesis Kohelet makes is so famous it became a great 1960s pop song:
The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn
th-cam.com/video/9PvxAOGYjY0/w-d-xo.html
Thank u so much sir for simple explanation o complicated term...
🙏🇳🇵
...excellent breakdown!