I just have to say how amazing, intelligent and warm you are. It’s so wonderful to feel like someone (anyone!) gives a damn about the American poor. We are nearly invisible. Certainly on mainstream media, but even online. Capitalism is unbelievably cruel if you’re not talented at making money (or unable due to disability, like me). Thank you for the refreshing sanity, Professor.
Another great video; I received your Essay "Understanding Karl Marx" last week and it was a great Marx refresher course.There was one statement in the book that resonated with me which was "The very logic that Capitalism imposes is what undermines its success." Capitalism is a system in contradiction that refuses to accept its contradiction. My Wife critiques me and I critique her and that is why we have a healthy relationship. Someone may look at our relationship and not agree with my assesment but 36 years together means we're doing something right. For the 250 plus years of Capitalism existence there has been a consistant attempt to silence any critique of Capitalism. This has led to the election of a petty crook to rule a system that can't function without the rule of law. Finance and unproductive Labour has confiscated so much of future Surplus that the economic system is about to collapse for the third time in 20 years. Instead of critiquing and addressing these contradictions we've decided to try and destroy countries that want a different business model. We can and will do better.
Agreed. I like to understand Macro in simple terms of Supply and Demand: Capital is good at creating Supply, but is greedy and always cripples Demand by robbing wages and property from the Working Class. Hence why we need sensible governance that redistributes wealth more equitably.
hhhhmmmm...that's a good start. What is missing is the "understanding" that capitalism is an "economic system".....and all present "economic understanding", will end up in the same place, if any of the "elements" that contribute to its failure, are present in any "proposed" alternative system.....so, the ideas of credit, money, interest, profit and a reliance on "continual growth", will also produce the same results, albeit a little more slowly.....and capitalism has exacerbated all of the problems we now face, that attempting to tinker around the edges, will not work. While a more equal distribution system is desirable, it does not address the fundamental problem that "economics and its present understanding" is a deviation from the "empirical" elements, which allow what exists to exist.......and since, civilization, itself, is itself, a deviation from what would be considered "natural economics", any transition from where we are now, to a "system" that would be "sustainable", will require a bit more "effort", than the use of "words" whose "concepts" are as equally ephemeral, as the economic ones, cited above. In nature there is competition and co-operation....does this result in just or moral outcomes? If humans are going to impose justice or morality, upon nature, even in terms that a clearly directed for its own collective benefit, and limited to it....that nature will co-operate, is not a reasonable expectation...and since humans are, whether they want to admit it or not, part of nature......to expect co-operation, there, is also an unreasonable expectation, unless the elements of the imposed system of "justice and morality" can be shown to produce more beneficial, than harmful results......and even here, this "judgement" is one of "perception", which may or may not be congruent with "empirical reality". Since humans have invested much of their intellectual efforts, in denial of their connection to nature and the behavior that survival and continuation demands, a transition is also required.....if we are to have any hope of accomplishing the "economic" transition, upon which our very "survival" depends. If these discussions, regarding economics, co-operation, democracy, etc....are to be successful, they must begin at a more fundamental level, rather than proceeding from the "assumption" that our present understanding, is a correct and reliable foundation, upon which we can build, for it is clearly NOT! I propose, therefor, an alternative set of interrogatories, beginning with..... Is "civilization" just or moral? Has it ever been just or moral? Was it ever directed at being just or moral? and finally depending on those answers and the reasoning for them, for there is no reason to ASSUME that there will be agreement here..... What would be required to actually achieve a just and moral civilization? We return you now to your REGULAR programming.......
Mr. Wolff is a good man attempting to replace capitalism with socialism but that is a massively hard thing to do in the USA and not the least lines of resistance. Consider this; the basic equation of commerce is most of the problem, think different. If the consumer's dollar was treated as an investment credit by the participating business (new age business) that took that dollar in, the system will begin to redistribute asset based wealth over time whereas the masses will develop growth from consumption - no longer grossly marginalized by the elite and the elite's take will be diminished as the masses begin to enjoy passive wealth growth as the 1% have enjoyed over the years. These my friends are the LEAST lines of resistance and totally doable thanks to digital technology. If you're so inclined please join the discussion on th-cam.com/users/PIELOGIC, there are other empowering steps that complete a new people centric equation of commerce. Don't think we should rely on technology? There are over 80,000 airplane flights every day in the USA, if the masses are willing to place their very lives in the hands of technology, why hesitate to correct capitalism with technology? Power to the people.
As a black person growing up in an economic backwater in Northeastern Canada, that has been called "the Mississippi of the north" more than once, the model that Cooperation Jackson is taking I find deeply inspiring and relatable. It's a program that is transferable here, and a post-work economy option that is hopeful and positive, rather than the dystopian and or nostalgic like the futures proposed by the leaders of our respective societies.
I love what he said about immigrants. There is an amazing lefitst organization in my area doing incredible work but they're a church so people don't want to work with them. They make it clear it's not about agreeing, which we do, it's about not being affiliated with religious ppl. Seems like not a good way to build a broad working class coalition if you ask me. Everyone deserves the rights outlined here, reguardless of race, gender or creed. I'm so grateful for Cooperative Jackson they're leading with an incredible example!
The problem is not the system, but our acceptance of the system. We can create whatever we want. I applaud Cooperation Jackson for their commitment and wish them all success.
I sense a contrast to our capitalist way while learning about labor rights. Rather than sharp and painful, I sense soft and comfortable. What a nice world it could be.
Finally the truth is told about the agriculture system we have. I have met few people who will even take a look at it. The farming methods are to blame. Endlessly adding chemicals, fungicides, and herbicides to the soil . It is unsustainable and now we are seeing the results of this short sighted practice done on a massive scale. We also need to shift to less meat and more plant based foods. Not all become vegans, but moderate our collective habits for health and the health of the environment.
I started a food forest. A slow process, but I am retired and enjoy the superior food I eat from my own land, using no pesticides and no soil burning fertilizers. From telling me it is "impossible" to grow food here, people shifted to asking to buy produce.
I see co-ops in my vision of the sustainable future. I starts with one to seek and others to join in a fair and equitable discussion of the nuts and bolts to attain equilibrium in an otherwise unstable market bent on obsolete consumerism. Ban war, promote peace and the worst element of insane greed and power abuse would be tethered to a moral code.
This is a productive focused approach. It is effective but we must also compete with capital in the realm of governance. This means building up revolutionary base areas governed by workers democracy. This means claiming worker sovereignty over a polity. Take over jackson!!!!
When The Farmers Home Administration was shut down, foreclosures on the family farmers caused the rise of Corporate farms. This was huge and why we now can't trust most of the food we buy at the grocery store.
@Supercommulist 29 The issue with our government is that the big money, including the largest consumable producers, own the government. Our military has been used for profit since we stole this land from the people who stole it from the natives. Blackwater, which was founded by Betsy DeVos' brother, has intersections with our government as well as the corporations partnered with our government. I don't care who you are - that is some scary shit.
Mr. Wolff is a good man attempting to replace capitalism with socialism but that is a massively hard thing to do in the USA and not the least lines of resistance. Consider this; the basic equation of commerce is most of the problem, think different. If the consumer's dollar was treated as an investment credit by the participating business (new age business) that took that dollar in, the system will begin to redistribute asset based wealth over time whereas the masses will develop growth from consumption - no longer grossly marginalized by the elite and the elite's take will be diminished as the masses begin to enjoy passive wealth growth as the 1% have enjoyed over the years. These my friends are the LEAST lines of resistance and totally doable thanks to digital technology. If you're so inclined please join the discussion on th-cam.com/users/PIELOGIC, there are other empowering steps that complete a new people centric equation of commerce. Don't think we should rely on technology? There are over 80,000 airplane flights every day in the USA, if the masses are willing to place their very lives in the hands of technology, why hesitate to correct capitalism with technology? Power to the people.
Love this man !! He is so right about everything !! A good example of how livestock is being treated only for profit : watch the documentary "Dominion" on TH-cam
The plowman is broad as the back of the land he is sowing As he dances the circular track of the plow ever knowing That the work of his day measures more than the planting and growing Let it grow, let it grow, greatly yield!
Hungary is protesting now too. Protests in China were occurring too, but most were stopped, was concerning mostly the P2P loan crash. Race to the bottom the obvious conclusion to exploitation of so called developing nations has come full circle. This has happened all through history, most recent was early 20th century that gave us WWI and WWII.
I wonder if this yellow vest protest is a social change anarchy that will spread and at least start scaring the shit out of the elites for the first time in generations into re-thinking their economic vice grips?
what triggered the protests was the fuel tax increase, which would of have a greater affect on rural poor as they need to travel further to get work but it is the most recent in measures to reduce the debt of France to bankers. The tax would of been used to pay down their current debt. Now, while not bad on its own, Macron's government has been consistently reducing their welfare programs, like their great healthcare, where they trying to force people to buy health insurance from private corporations for things that government is now not covering.
It sounds like a return to the "Primitive Communal Societies" that humanity started out with according to Marx. Indeed that was what Engels said was the goal except now on a global basis. This is from his book The Origins Of The Family, Private Property, And The State.
Global food system produces more greenhouse gas then transport, heating, air conditioning, and lighting combined. And the biggest part of it is meat production. 600M people are obese and 2Bn overweight. 1Bn tons of food is wasted 1/3 of the total amount produced. We need to put on big taxes on food, especially on meat and sugar in developed countries and use that money for the green economy.
... LMAO. Yeah. Good point. Like the recovery that people have experienced -- totally. I'm going to quote Lee Camp, here: "Judging the economy based on the stock market is like judging the health of a patient based on their leeches."
It's an average. And and prof Wolff said on previous episodes that the 3 main banks of the US are expecting a recession in 2019-20. He read it in some newspaper.
Um... bad news for you my dude, major economists and financial firms ARE predicting and planning for a recession in 2019 or 2020. Have you been paying attention at all?
I can answer that! The reason we let private entrepreneurs produce our food is because they do such a good job of it that we'd be crazy not to do it. Under our system, 2% of Americans produce enough food to feed the other 98% of us, plus huge numbers of foreigners, and at the lowest cost of anywhere in the world. In many foreign countries, over 80% of the people are farmers, and the food is so expensive people have to go hungry.
It the automation and availability of heavy machinery that makes that possible. It's not capitalism that makes it possible, just the machinery. In many foreign countries they can't afford the initial cost to buy the machinery, and don't have the infrastructure to support it. Capitalism makes sure that a few people collect most of the profits that many more farmers, factory workers, drivers, and store workers all helped to produce. We have people in the US who go hungry, and many more who can't afford quality food that supports health. We have unsustainable farming practices as well. The overproduction and over-promotion of meat contributes heavily to greenhouse gas production. Meat takes much more land and resources to produce; it's consumption should be done in moderation. Food ingredients are shipped great distances to take advantage of lower wages, all the while burning more fuel.
man could you imagine what could be achieved if we would give power to a team composed of Julian Assange, Ron Paul, Jimmy Dore, Richard Wolf, Judge Napolitano, Noam Chomsky, and Peter Joseph?, oh and Joseph Whatson to troll them up when they mess shit up... talk about making america great again...
A solution no one is willing to consider; fewer people. Lower greenhouse gas emissions and waste from food production by diminishing the amount of people over time. Smaller consumer base, less need for production, downsized producers. Capitalism itself is the problem, I agree. But there's not a single large scale problem in the world today that can't be made easier by the presence of fewer human beings on the planet.
Plenty of people are very willing to consider that solution. It's very popular and has enthusiastic support among certain groups. They might not be groups you want to associate with ("eugenics" has become a taboo word for a good reason), but the support is there. As for whether it's a good solution, the answer is a clear "no". See th-cam.com/video/lMbvtmb79N0/w-d-xo.html
@@yesimstuntdude Eugenics (and anything that requires the deaths of human beings) is most certainly not the solution, and I wouldn't want to be associated with that. I agree. I see it more as a reevaluation of our reproductive/sexual ethics. Women shouldn't be socialized into thinking of themselves as mothers. Not everyone has to have a child or a family as a matter of course. They should be empowered to make such reproductive decisions themselves. Wanting fewer people on the planet is, itself, not problematic. How we decide to make it happen is. I daresay that empowering women is an ethically laudable way to go about it.
Have you ever read Albert Einstein's 1949 article titled _'Why Socialism?'_ ? He discusses this in some detail. Einstein said that our profit-driven system results in a _"crippling of the social consciousness of individuals."_ If you're not already familiar with it I definitely recommend it. He makes some very interesting observations.
I have to disagree with Prof. Wolff on food. I really don't want government to be put in charge of food production, not because I trust massive multinational producers to do a good job of it but because I trust the government even less. The problem with food production today isn't that it's subject to market forces but that consumers are uninformed and uninterested in the quality of their food and the methods used to produce it. If people just took responsibility for their own actions and demanded healthy, ethically produced food the market would be more than happy to provide it to them.
@@taylorwhiteside6897 Well that would depend on what you mean by ethical. If you mean producing animal products where the production is both good for the environment and done in a way where the animals are treated humanely, raised in their natural environment, given plenty of room to roam around as they wish and fed their natural food of choice, then absolutely. However, if you think that killing animals for food is inherently unethical, then by that definition it wouldn't be possible of course. Luckily, I don't have any ethical issues with killing animals for food just like I don't have any ethical issue with myself becoming food for all kinds of worms and critters when I die.. it's just the circle of life.
The response of the co-op vision is that the goal is not to abdicate production to government. Agribusiness is full-bore capitalist - means of production, employer/worker dichotomy, profit distribution to an investor class who determine via management the working conditions, etc. Simply turning that over to a state collective, which is what seems to be implied in your critique, improves nothing. That is not the social democracy that is inherent in the co-op vision. Co-ops can compete in a market system [viz Mondragón] so long as political freedom is upheld. Historically, the political system in the US is so utterly capitalist in its bias, and co-ops such as credit unions, CLT's, etc. have to fight fiercely for their freedom to function. That means standing up for their right to compete against banking systems that understandably threatened by open competition from a co-op, i.e., a structure that deals with democratizing economics. Why not open up the agricultural market and market place?
@@canonutube I believe you might have misunderstood me. I'm certainly not advocating for food production to be turned over to the state rather it's the good professor who seems to imply this: "Allowing capitalism to be the way we organize food is interesting because other things we take seriously as basic needs we often don't let capitalism in there. [...] Why do we allow capitalism to run our food, why do we allow profit-making to get between us and something we need so vitally?" I completely agree with you regarding co-op's but we shouldn't forget that they too are a form of capitalism. Even in a co-op the means of production are privately owned as are their profits, and a co-op's success is still subject to competition on a free(-ish) market. My only point was that I'd rather leave food production up to the market than hand it over to the government, and I believe there's no reason why capitalism couldn't provide us healthy, ethically produced food if only it was demanded by the consumers.
@@lapatossu5976 , I guess I don´t assume that socialism means state ownership of all means of production. That´s a soviet model that I don´t presuppose. There´s a world of difference between a worker´s co-op, a credit union, co-op housing and their capitalist counterparts in enterprise, banking and housing development. values re ownership, distribution of profits, decision making, and more. Co-ops have their challenges, but what's evolution for? Sunkist Orange started life - still exists as - a co-op, but equity in it is so high, who can afford to become a member and purchase a share? A big issue, but resolvable if desired. Without the democraticization of wealth we are stuck with the cruelties and inconsistencies of capitalism. I prefer living with the challenges of democracy and its vision of human liberty, not the democracy-lite of libertarianism or the servitude of capitalism... I presuppose economic life in a democratic state - we barely have one, but such as it is, I start from there - There are collective decisions that humans make everywhere in history, and the future of our planet requires that we reassess the kinds of communalism that can embody democracy...
THE PROBLEM IS THE SYSTEM, NOT THIS OR THAT DETAIL! WELL SAID
I just have to say how amazing, intelligent and warm you are. It’s so wonderful to feel like someone (anyone!) gives a damn about the American poor. We are nearly invisible. Certainly on mainstream media, but even online. Capitalism is unbelievably cruel if you’re not talented at making money (or unable due to disability, like me). Thank you for the refreshing sanity, Professor.
Another great video; I received your Essay "Understanding Karl Marx" last week and it was a great Marx refresher course.There was one statement in the book that resonated with me which was "The very logic that Capitalism imposes is what undermines its success." Capitalism is a system in contradiction that refuses to accept its contradiction. My Wife critiques me and I critique her and that is why we have a healthy relationship. Someone may look at our relationship and not agree with my assesment but 36 years together means we're doing something right. For the 250 plus years of Capitalism existence there has been a consistant attempt to silence any critique of Capitalism. This has led to the election of a petty crook to rule a system that can't function without the rule of law. Finance and unproductive Labour has confiscated so much of future Surplus that the economic system is about to collapse for the third time in 20 years. Instead of critiquing and addressing these contradictions we've decided to try and destroy countries that want a different business model. We can and will do better.
Agreed. I like to understand Macro in simple terms of Supply and Demand: Capital is good at creating Supply, but is greedy and always cripples Demand by robbing wages and property from the Working Class. Hence why we need sensible governance that redistributes wealth more equitably.
hhhhmmmm...that's a good start. What is missing is the "understanding" that
capitalism is an "economic system".....and all present "economic understanding",
will end up in the same place, if any of the "elements" that contribute to its
failure, are present in any "proposed" alternative system.....so, the ideas of
credit, money, interest, profit and a reliance on "continual growth", will also
produce the same results, albeit a little more slowly.....and capitalism has exacerbated
all of the problems we now face, that attempting to tinker around the edges,
will not work.
While a more equal distribution system is desirable, it does not address the fundamental
problem that "economics and its present understanding" is a deviation from the
"empirical" elements, which allow what exists to exist.......and since, civilization, itself,
is itself, a deviation from what would be considered "natural economics", any
transition from where we are now, to a "system" that would be "sustainable", will
require a bit more "effort", than the use of "words" whose "concepts" are as
equally ephemeral, as the economic ones, cited above.
In nature there is competition and co-operation....does this result in just or moral outcomes?
If humans are going to impose justice or morality, upon nature, even in terms that
a clearly directed for its own collective benefit, and limited to it....that nature will
co-operate, is not a reasonable expectation...and since humans are, whether they want to
admit it or not, part of nature......to expect co-operation, there, is also an unreasonable expectation,
unless the elements of the imposed system of "justice and morality" can be shown to
produce more beneficial, than harmful results......and even here, this "judgement" is
one of "perception", which may or may not be congruent with "empirical reality".
Since humans have invested much of their intellectual efforts, in denial of their
connection to nature and the behavior that survival and continuation demands,
a transition is also required.....if we are to have any hope of accomplishing the
"economic" transition, upon which our very "survival" depends.
If these discussions, regarding economics, co-operation, democracy, etc....are
to be successful, they must begin at a more fundamental level, rather than
proceeding from the "assumption" that our present understanding, is a correct and
reliable foundation, upon which we can build, for it is clearly NOT!
I propose, therefor, an alternative set of interrogatories, beginning with.....
Is "civilization" just or moral?
Has it ever been just or moral?
Was it ever directed at being just or moral?
and finally depending on those answers and the reasoning for them, for
there is no reason to ASSUME that there will be agreement here.....
What would be required to actually achieve a just and moral civilization?
We return you now to your REGULAR programming.......
Mr. Wolff is a good man attempting to replace capitalism with socialism but that is a massively hard thing to do in the USA and not the least lines of resistance. Consider this; the basic equation of commerce is most of the problem, think different. If the consumer's dollar was treated as an investment credit by the participating business (new age business) that took that dollar in, the system will begin to redistribute asset based wealth over time whereas the masses will develop growth from consumption - no longer grossly marginalized by the elite and the elite's take will be diminished as the masses begin to enjoy passive wealth growth as the 1% have enjoyed over the years. These my friends are the LEAST lines of resistance and totally doable thanks to digital technology. If you're so inclined please join the discussion on th-cam.com/users/PIELOGIC, there are other empowering steps that complete a new people centric equation of commerce. Don't think we should rely on technology? There are over 80,000 airplane flights every day in the USA, if the masses are willing to place their very lives in the hands of technology, why hesitate to correct capitalism with technology? Power to the people.
Kali is such a generous spirit. He needs to be given more mainstream platforms.
What a lovely guy Mr Akuno is. I'm a fan already!
As a black person growing up in an economic backwater in Northeastern Canada, that has been called "the Mississippi of the north" more than once, the model that Cooperation Jackson is taking I find deeply inspiring and relatable. It's a program that is transferable here, and a post-work economy option that is hopeful and positive, rather than the dystopian and or nostalgic like the futures proposed by the leaders of our respective societies.
I love what he said about immigrants. There is an amazing lefitst organization in my area doing incredible work but they're a church so people don't want to work with them. They make it clear it's not about agreeing, which we do, it's about not being affiliated with religious ppl. Seems like not a good way to build a broad working class coalition if you ask me. Everyone deserves the rights outlined here, reguardless of race, gender or creed. I'm so grateful for Cooperative Jackson they're leading with an incredible example!
Wonderful interview. I'm really inspired by Cooperation Jackson. I think you folks are doing some really essential groundwork.
How does Richard say the intro different every time lol.
The problem is not the system, but our acceptance of the system. We can create whatever we want. I applaud Cooperation Jackson for their commitment and wish them all success.
Great interview, and all the best to people of Jacksonville from Croatia!
wow, that is great. go jackson...
I sense a contrast to our capitalist way while learning about labor rights. Rather than sharp and painful, I sense soft and comfortable. What a nice world it could be.
Finally the truth is told about the agriculture system we have. I have met few people who will even take a look at it. The farming methods are to blame. Endlessly adding chemicals, fungicides, and herbicides to the soil . It is unsustainable and now we are seeing the results of this short sighted practice done on a massive scale. We also need to shift to less meat and more plant based foods. Not all become vegans, but moderate our collective habits for health and the health of the environment.
Go vegan!
Kali has I think the most marvelous voice I have ever heard
2018: Capitalism creates loneliness!
2020: Hold my beer.
Also 2020: On second thought, don't.
Long live, Comrade Wolff!
"Wow!"
That is very cool. I need to learn more..
*FOOD.*
Kali is the f***ing man !
I started a food forest. A slow process, but I am retired and enjoy the superior food I eat from my own land, using no pesticides and no soil burning fertilizers.
From telling me it is "impossible" to grow food here, people shifted to asking to buy produce.
I see co-ops in my vision of the sustainable future. I starts with one to seek and others to join in a fair and equitable discussion of the nuts and bolts to attain equilibrium in an otherwise unstable market bent on obsolete consumerism. Ban war, promote peace and the worst element of insane greed and power abuse would be tethered to a moral code.
I'm not sure why social impact themed content is behind a paywall. This is EXACTLY what working class people across the US need to see.
Kali has a rich voice. He could do voice work on the side if he wanted.
Stop trying to turn his attributes into commodities
@@NonDelusional74611
It is people like you that makes socialism unpalatable. It is a compliment.
Good on Kali and the workers in Jackson, MS. Also, he has a nice radio DJ / RNB singer voice and he should use it to spread the word 👍
This is a productive focused approach. It is effective but we must also compete with capital in the realm of governance. This means building up revolutionary base areas governed by workers democracy. This means claiming worker sovereignty over a polity. Take over jackson!!!!
Capitalist food is in the packaged food isles that dominate the grocery stores. Real food is in the produce section.
Is the produce food in your local supermarket not supplied by capitalists? That's amazing...
I like cooperatives but I like resource based economy more.
When The Farmers Home Administration was shut down, foreclosures on the family farmers caused the rise of Corporate farms. This was huge and why we now can't trust most of the food we buy at the grocery store.
Where is the second half of the interview??? =\ cant find it on the patreon page
Umm, did you say we don't allow capitalism into the military?
@Supercommulist 29 The issue with our government is that the big money, including the largest consumable producers, own the government. Our military has been used for profit since we stole this land from the people who stole it from the natives. Blackwater, which was founded by Betsy DeVos' brother, has intersections with our government as well as the corporations partnered with our government. I don't care who you are - that is some scary shit.
I think he ment officially.
Mr. Wolff is a good man attempting to replace capitalism with socialism but that is a massively hard thing to do in the USA and not the least lines of resistance. Consider this; the basic equation of commerce is most of the problem, think different. If the consumer's dollar was treated as an investment credit by the participating business (new age business) that took that dollar in, the system will begin to redistribute asset based wealth over time whereas the masses will develop growth from consumption - no longer grossly marginalized by the elite and the elite's take will be diminished as the masses begin to enjoy passive wealth growth as the 1% have enjoyed over the years. These my friends are the LEAST lines of resistance and totally doable thanks to digital technology. If you're so inclined please join the discussion on th-cam.com/users/PIELOGIC, there are other empowering steps that complete a new people centric equation of commerce. Don't think we should rely on technology? There are over 80,000 airplane flights every day in the USA, if the masses are willing to place their very lives in the hands of technology, why hesitate to correct capitalism with technology? Power to the people.
He's got alot of things wrong ....certain things on the right track though.
Love this man !! He is so right about everything !! A good example of how livestock is being treated only for profit : watch the documentary "Dominion" on TH-cam
The plowman is broad as the back of the land he is sowing
As he dances the circular track of the plow ever knowing
That the work of his day measures more than the planting and growing
Let it grow, let it grow, greatly yield!
Hungary is protesting now too. Protests in China were occurring too, but most were stopped, was concerning mostly the P2P loan crash.
Race to the bottom the obvious conclusion to exploitation of so called developing nations has come full circle. This has happened all through history, most recent was early 20th century that gave us WWI and WWII.
I wonder if this yellow vest protest is a social change anarchy that will spread and at least start scaring the shit out of the elites for the first time in generations into re-thinking their economic vice grips?
And when the housing market collapses, my homelessness ends as rents fall back to affordable levels.
Aren't the protests in France and Belgium against tax increases and loss of sovereignty?
what triggered the protests was the fuel tax increase, which would of have a greater affect on rural poor as they need to travel further to get work but it is the most recent in measures to reduce the debt of France to bankers. The tax would of been used to pay down their current debt. Now, while not bad on its own, Macron's government has been consistently reducing their welfare programs, like their great healthcare, where they trying to force people to buy health insurance from private corporations for things that government is now not covering.
It sounds like a return to the "Primitive Communal Societies" that humanity started out with according to Marx. Indeed that was what Engels said was the goal except now on a global basis. This is from his book The Origins Of The Family, Private Property, And The State.
No matter what economic system we use, there are just too damned many humans on the planet.
Banks, in criminal activity, my lord, just how backward are the banks in Germany to not have re-drafted the laws to make such conduct legal?
Do they sell things I could buy to support them?
Buy their Jackson Rising book. it's incredible !
Global food system produces more greenhouse gas then transport, heating, air conditioning, and lighting combined. And the biggest part of it is meat production. 600M people are obese and 2Bn overweight. 1Bn tons of food is wasted 1/3 of the total amount produced. We need to put on big taxes on food, especially on meat and sugar in developed countries and use that money for the green economy.
Wolff continually says "we have a recession every 4 to 7 years", but it's now 11 yrs since the last one, and nobody foresees one in 2019.
...
LMAO.
Yeah. Good point. Like the recovery that people have experienced -- totally.
I'm going to quote Lee Camp, here: "Judging the economy based on the stock market is like judging the health of a patient based on their leeches."
It's an average. And and prof Wolff said on previous episodes that the 3 main banks of the US are expecting a recession in 2019-20. He read it in some newspaper.
Um... bad news for you my dude, major economists and financial firms ARE predicting and planning for a recession in 2019 or 2020. Have you been paying attention at all?
I can answer that! The reason we let private entrepreneurs produce our food is because they do such a good job of it that we'd be crazy not to do it. Under our system, 2% of Americans produce enough food to feed the other 98% of us, plus huge numbers of foreigners, and at the lowest cost of anywhere in the world. In many foreign countries, over 80% of the people are farmers, and the food is so expensive people have to go hungry.
...and not to mention that if food was produced by the government it would taste like shit!
It the automation and availability of heavy machinery that makes that possible. It's not capitalism that makes it possible, just the machinery. In many foreign countries they can't afford the initial cost to buy the machinery, and don't have the infrastructure to support it. Capitalism makes sure that a few people collect most of the profits that many more farmers, factory workers, drivers, and store workers all helped to produce. We have people in the US who go hungry, and many more who can't afford quality food that supports health. We have unsustainable farming practices as well. The overproduction and over-promotion of meat contributes heavily to greenhouse gas production. Meat takes much more land and resources to produce; it's consumption should be done in moderation. Food ingredients are shipped great distances to take advantage of lower wages, all the while burning more fuel.
Basically around the first world war arboriculture has become a collectivism
A Capitalist Collectivism
Arrest all the criminals in the banking system then overhaul and change the system.
no, capitalism in America has not tried to redress the balance, different political factions have tried to use the capitalist system to do so.
man could you imagine what could be achieved if we would give power to a team composed of Julian Assange, Ron Paul, Jimmy Dore, Richard Wolf, Judge Napolitano, Noam Chomsky, and Peter Joseph?, oh and Joseph Whatson to troll them up when they mess shit up... talk about making america great again...
A solution no one is willing to consider; fewer people. Lower greenhouse gas emissions and waste from food production by diminishing the amount of people over time. Smaller consumer base, less need for production, downsized producers.
Capitalism itself is the problem, I agree. But there's not a single large scale problem in the world today that can't be made easier by the presence of fewer human beings on the planet.
Plenty of people are very willing to consider that solution. It's very popular and has enthusiastic support among certain groups. They might not be groups you want to associate with ("eugenics" has become a taboo word for a good reason), but the support is there.
As for whether it's a good solution, the answer is a clear "no". See th-cam.com/video/lMbvtmb79N0/w-d-xo.html
@@yesimstuntdude Eugenics (and anything that requires the deaths of human beings) is most certainly not the solution, and I wouldn't want to be associated with that. I agree.
I see it more as a reevaluation of our reproductive/sexual ethics. Women shouldn't be socialized into thinking of themselves as mothers. Not everyone has to have a child or a family as a matter of course. They should be empowered to make such reproductive decisions themselves.
Wanting fewer people on the planet is, itself, not problematic. How we decide to make it happen is. I daresay that empowering women is an ethically laudable way to go about it.
Unfortunately
Machiavellism is why loneliness is a Addiction ! Fear of being back stabbed for gossip & Status
Have you ever read Albert Einstein's 1949 article titled _'Why Socialism?'_ ? He discusses this in some detail. Einstein said that our profit-driven system results in a _"crippling of the social consciousness of individuals."_ If you're not already familiar with it I definitely recommend it. He makes some very interesting observations.
I have to disagree with Prof. Wolff on food. I really don't want government to be put in charge of food production, not because I trust massive multinational producers to do a good job of it but because I trust the government even less. The problem with food production today isn't that it's subject to market forces but that consumers are uninformed and uninterested in the quality of their food and the methods used to produce it. If people just took responsibility for their own actions and demanded healthy, ethically produced food the market would be more than happy to provide it to them.
@@taylorwhiteside6897 Well that would depend on what you mean by ethical.
If you mean producing animal products where the production is both good for the environment and done in a way where the animals are treated humanely, raised in their natural environment, given plenty of room to roam around as they wish and fed their natural food of choice, then absolutely. However, if you think that killing animals for food is inherently unethical, then by that definition it wouldn't be possible of course.
Luckily, I don't have any ethical issues with killing animals for food just like I don't have any ethical issue with myself becoming food for all kinds of worms and critters when I die.. it's just the circle of life.
The response of the co-op vision is that the goal is not to abdicate production to government. Agribusiness is full-bore capitalist - means of production, employer/worker dichotomy, profit distribution to an investor class who determine via management the working conditions, etc. Simply turning that over to a state collective, which is what seems to be implied in your critique, improves nothing. That is not the social democracy that is inherent in the co-op vision. Co-ops can compete in a market system [viz Mondragón] so long as political freedom is upheld. Historically, the political system in the US is so utterly capitalist in its bias, and co-ops such as credit unions, CLT's, etc. have to fight fiercely for their freedom to function. That means standing up for their right to compete against banking systems that understandably threatened by open competition from a co-op, i.e., a structure that deals with democratizing economics. Why not open up the agricultural market and market place?
@@canonutube I believe you might have misunderstood me. I'm certainly not advocating for food production to be turned over to the state rather it's the good professor who seems to imply this: "Allowing capitalism to be the way we organize food is interesting because other things we take seriously as basic needs we often don't let capitalism in there. [...] Why do we allow capitalism to run our food, why do we allow profit-making to get between us and something we need so vitally?"
I completely agree with you regarding co-op's but we shouldn't forget that they too are a form of capitalism. Even in a co-op the means of production are privately owned as are their profits, and a co-op's success is still subject to competition on a free(-ish) market.
My only point was that I'd rather leave food production up to the market than hand it over to the government, and I believe there's no reason why capitalism couldn't provide us healthy, ethically produced food if only it was demanded by the consumers.
@@lapatossu5976 , I guess I don´t assume that socialism means state ownership of all means of production. That´s a soviet model that I don´t presuppose. There´s a world of difference between a worker´s co-op, a credit union, co-op housing and their capitalist counterparts in enterprise, banking and housing development. values re ownership, distribution of profits, decision making, and more. Co-ops have their challenges, but what's evolution for? Sunkist Orange started life - still exists as - a co-op, but equity in it is so high, who can afford to become a member and purchase a share? A big issue, but resolvable if desired.
Without the democraticization of wealth we are stuck with the cruelties and inconsistencies of capitalism. I prefer living with the challenges of democracy and its vision of human liberty, not the democracy-lite of libertarianism or the servitude of capitalism... I presuppose economic life in a democratic state - we barely have one, but such as it is, I start from there - There are collective decisions that humans make everywhere in history, and the future of our planet requires that we reassess the kinds of communalism that can embody democracy...