What are the consequences of the decline of the U.S. empire? Is the country becoming more Marxist? Comment below and subscribe! FOLLOW RICHARD D. WOLFF: Richard Wolff website: www.rdwolff.coma Twitter (@profwolff): twitter.com/profwolff Democracy At Work: www.youtube.com/@democracyatwrk
No.. not marxism.. is Communitarianism.. and I believe it is already happening.. with so many social groups and believes forming here and there.. Communitarianism is very difficult to achieve as it requires high level of trust in a large complex society.. but now? We have decentralise technologies such as cryptocurrency and IoTs.. we may eliminate the greatest hurdle, trust.
Wolff is the Al Sharpton of economics. He can't even define marxism and yet he claims to be an authority on it. All his passionate rhetoric and idealism is a sermon to obfuscate his ignorance. He is a total asshat, and I can't believe young people look to him. Yeah everyone deserves everything! Sounds like a great plan. Just give me your money, I promise to distribute it fairly because I am a morally righteous dictator.
Today's capitalism isn't capitalism. Too much government manipulation and lobbyist bribery. When manufacturing come back, companies will have to compete for workers. In the 70s jobs were plentiful I'd ojt driving a forklift and gain experience and if I didn't get a raise I'd look for work elsewhere. He talks about immigration, legal or illegal? One has to offset the other. He talks about democracy at the workplace, look at our colleges and the lunacy that goes on there. I would like to see a debate between a capitalist and a socialist. I think Ray Dalio's Changing World Order shows why we're in decline.
Less freedom and less opportunity. Dick Wolfe doesn’t give an accurate description of what capitalism, socialism, and communism are. They all have to do with the means of production and he doesn’t bring it up once what a fraud. Great job David, but I know you are free market guy, you should have pushed back a lot more unless you had some kind of agreement not to.
So meritless people at home don't want you to learn about meritless people abroad? I'm not sure how that motivation works. Are the bad people at home actually good people because they don't want you to learn about the bad people abroad? What you've posted is a logical truism, but from a human standpoint I fail to see the meaning.
Its a common practice for tyrants, king Herod the great killed all babies under 2 years old in order to stop jesus from taking his throne, the nazi's burnt books and america tried to stop socialism whenever it tried to rise, as we say in africa ''the tree with the sweetest fruits gets the most stones''
Mind blowing discussion. Work until you drop to fill corporate coffers. The older I become the less I want to conform to society’s so called ‘life style’. Thanks for the stimulating content.
@@mcitron3534Because that would help no one but the people who control the supply of money afterward, the new government aka the rich aka the old government
Thank you David for having Richard Wolfe on. Such an informative hour. I just became familiar with him. I have listened to the very informative lecture he gave from the Boston church regarding our country, US empire in decline and denial. Our leaders and most media are misinforming the American people, or some are just stupid that are in office. Being informed by great minds is so helpful. Thank you both!
Say what you want about Richard Wolff but the man know his stuff, has a brilliant mind and is a visionary. To me he's spot on about the current world economics and the state of capitalism. And he's right, throughout history all ecomomic and societal structers have their birth and their end. Hopefull the next systems will be for the better.
@@honkytears "How is it visionary to advocate more money to government as a solution to any issue under the sun?" Seemed to work in the past. The U.S. government defeated the Third Reich, built the interstate highway system and put a man on the Moon. I'd rather give more money to the government that at least in theory is accountable to the electorate, rather than to billionaires who aren't accountable to anyone.
As a European watching much American TH-cam, am amazed at the ignorance of Marxism or socialism among US TH-camrs. You hear more about "cultural Marxism" a variant of the Nazi term "Cultural Bolsheviks" to refer to liberals after the Nazis had imprisoned most socialists and trade unionists, claiming the latter were "economic Marxists" and the former, "not normal or economic Marxists, but are Lefties on art and sexual politics". Marxism is a critique of 19th Century political economy, and even interestingly quite pro capitalist in many ways, claiming that it had not only been the most productive economic system until that time - 1850s - but would become far more successful. He also wrote that it would progress technology and processes but found weaknesses in the system that would eventually kill it, even as it created more technology. It would create a world mired in debt led by enormous corporations with very little competition. A truly prescient prediction. An essential read. Thanks for the interview.
Agreed! The problem is that people think Marx was some evil ideologist that was out to peddle an imaginary idea out of nowhere. In reality, Marx was just a scholar, observing and attempting to make sense of the past and his present, as well as track the patterns to attempt and estimate the future.
David!!! This is fantastic !!❤ So many investment-type folks are sorely uninformed on political economy issues, to their detriment. This is so on-point. I LOVE that you are so broad-minded to have content of this nature. And you ask great questions !! Keep up the great work.
You should also have Michael Hudson as a guest. He is also an economist with an inside look of how things work that those in power do not want known by us common people.
What hipocrisy. I would like to ask Mr. Wolff if he donates all his money to the poor of the world, because if he is truly a MARXIST then he believes that we are all equal and that wealth has to be evenly divided amongst us all. And since he loves Lenin and all the people whom he quotes, did they live a life of equality? Did Stalin, Brezhnev, Castro, Chavez, Mao Tse Dong? Please... please... before you preach something, you need to practice it.
@@amadisdee6054I’m not hating but as a Marxist, you are failing to understand the fundamentals of Marxism and Socialism. Let me ask you, who owns the means of production under capitalism? Then who owns it under socialism?
As someone who is quite familiar with doctor Wolf i am glad he is reaching out to other channels that have not heard his message that capitalism has its virtues but we as a human race can do better than capitalism
What hipocrisy. I would like to ask Mr. Wolff if he donates all his money to the poor of the world, because if he is truly a MARXIST then he believes that we are all equal and that wealth has to be evenly divided amongst us all. And since he loves Lenin and all the people whom he quotes, did they live a life of equality? Did Stalin, Brezhnev, Castro, Chavez, Mao Tse Dong? Please... please... before you preach something, you need to practice it.
@@amadisdee6054 All your gaslighting does not change the fact that 3 Americans own as much wealth 170,000,000 Americans. No religion or morality sanctifies such inequality but i suspect you belong to no religion or possess any morality
He did not say equality in the sense but equality in citizens and inequality we see now between invisible billionaires and common citizen who starved after working for 8 hours
I have listened to Dr. Wolff on many occasions and find his thinking compelling, at least in terms of the changes implied to the United States. Aside from the question of Marxism replacing capitalism, what is clear to me is that the economic principles adopted here in 1981 (which basically revolve around the central themes of individualism and self-interest) have led to severe fiscal, economic, social, and political problems over the course of the last 40+ years. And, yes, we are in denial of that fact. To even suggest it is widely thought of as anti-American. No politician will touch it. Nevertheless, whether through evolution or revolution, we must change. Will change only happen through economic/monetary/social/environmental collapse. We are close to all four happening, either individually or collectively. How many more bullets can we dodge. How many more rabbits can the FED pull out of the hat? The world can no longer tolerate the separation of economics from social and environmental considerations, let alone an economic system that exploits the latter, which capitalism clearly does. What is needed is a way of thinking that unites all those factors into one. Whatever that system is, it needs to be found and advocated not only for the United States, but around the world. We will never be able to solve global warming through the same economic system that created it! Our planet is very close to delivering a perfectly devastating wake-up slap. Ultimately, I suspect that will be the change agent required.
You summarize the US and global economic problem with capitalism pretty well. Whatever people want to call our system now, whether it is broadly monetray-market capitalism or some mixture, it isn't working and isn't sustainable. So, if we want to see some sort of livable future, we are going to need evolution of our social system. How is that going to look? Well, probably different for different regions and faster for some areas with rich natural resources and slower for areas with less. I do believe, change must come from local communities standing up and building something better, forging a new path with willing members of society who are sick of this system. We can't wait for big governments and big business to help, they are already part of the problem and we need to push by them to get somewhere we want to go. I am very encouraged by the new and developing initiative called One Small Town, with Michael Tellinger. Anybody heard of it? Of course our mainstream media will not touch it with a 10 foot pole because it threatens capitalist profits. But everybody here is welcome to do their own research and check it out. See the website and see if this model works for you and your town. And if it does? Start sharing. Start having conversations and building community. This isn't just an idea, it is an action plan that has already started in Lebanon, South Africa, USA and more. Contributionism, collaboration and cooperation to create sustainable abundance and prosperity for ourselves.
The biggest issue we have in the US is the government becoming too big. They suck our tax dollars and create legislation so cumbersome that only mega corporations can compete in certain markets. The most capitalistic companies are small businesses that do their best and care about their employees. I’m anti large company and anti large government for the most money part
Lea e infórmese sobre el distributismo igual le satisface . Ojo me refiero a las élites de EEUU que tienen a su propio pueblo sometido a la miseria, sin sanidad pública ni derechos sociales. Al resto de naciones nos somete con la amenaza constante de su poder militar.Los EEUU son el país más odiado del mundo junto a Inglaterra por su continua forma de forzar a los países. Repito no hablo de la gente hablo de las élites. Un saludo desde España.
Beautiful interview, Lin asks for exactly the right questions and Wolff surgically takes them apart. I feel like I learned so much today, I’m going to actually take notes! Brilliant work guys. More please.
David, this was an important discussion. I really liked your tough questions and challenges to Dr. Wolff and allowing him to explain. This kind of discussion is so important.
America is experiencing the same kind of decline that Britain started to experience post WW2 - during the 1950's and 60's. Conversely, at that same time, the US was experiencing an unprecedented boom. Well, America today is playing the role Britain played back in the period I mentioned above. And China has assumed the role America played back in the 1950's. It's a revolving cycle of boom and then bust......from good times to hard times. This is the story of Capitalism. This is what it's all about. And you can't change this, no matter how hard you try to. America now has to find a way to deal with this, the best way they can, in a rational and coherent way...without descending into civil war. They have to accept that they aren't the power they once were. Just as Britain had to accept this post- WW2. It adapted and found a way to change its relationship with the rest of the world. America must now do the same.
Thucydides's Trap ...perhaps world war III after more pain poverty for Americans #capitalism. #War is the business of #America established by #WAR time #POTUS #General George Washington. #Mossad is established to interfere in other nations for benefit of Jewish Zionist. Always sow confusion so no one can think clear to solve. Why did #POTUS John F. #Kennedy get assassinated on November 22, 1963 as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas on American soil ? #AIPAC #Mossad
@@liamrmorgans921we played capitalism and now the capitalists have left the building with the bag. They have no loyally to anything but profit not even country
This is so inspiring. I hope Dr. Wolff and Mr. Lin have encouraged you and your family/friends to start their own entrepreneurships.📌 It's never too late.
@@James-il3tqlmaoo, it was schiff who got his schooling and never solved the contradiction in capitalism....owners/employers/entrepreneurs want to pay labor less and less or outright get rid of it (ai, robotics etc) but then who will buy the products? How does a society not collapse under the huge wealth inequality?
He has great Passion, I think the USA should be communist and then you can experience what our life was like in Hungary during the USSR. Very existing!!! My parents were told what job to do they we had to share an apartment with another family. We had no freedom, no individualism, no rights, no security and our authority was dictated to us by the smart guys in gray suits because they bullied their way in to power. We had very little food and no luxury in life becasue no one has incentive to work hard as they don't get to benefit from working hard, life was great. I think we should have this in the USA. I am sure you will love it too.
Investment is your only way up to financial freedom. financial growth happens with a steady engagement in financial stability through solid investment. those who leave it to market dynamics to determine when to trade or not are either new to the Market or are probably just naïve. The market has seen far worse times than this, enlightened traders are taking advantage of the dip and pumping even more towards trading sessions
One of the best interviews I saw in the last 3 years! Bravo to both! Sad fact is that people around the world dont have a clue why themselves hate/don't like Russia.
@@nickfrate4396KGB programmed ppl to hate the US? 😂 US “leadership” did that all on their own. Give General Smedley Butler’s War Is A Racket speech a listen. Its well over 100years old. We still do the same bs all over the world. Well over a century of abusing smaller nations for profit will cause many generations to feel a certain kind of way about the US
lol we dont have capitalism and havent had it for a long time - just look at the central bank and the perfect marriage that's developed between the government and corporations which conspire to violate every law we have to protect individual rights
Richard Wolff is amazing, period. We are very fortunate to have him fighting the fine fight so to speak. I would challenge anyone to debate him from the capitalistic viewpoint - yet few do and from what I've seen their arguments are idiotic at best. He is fearless and an inspiration for all that simply do not want to be controlled and manipulated.
The US is declining BECAUSE it is turning more Socialistic. How many people get government jobs & government checks to not work or a pension for retiring early? Look at the pensions for politicians, free food oayments for millions of able- bodied people...and Every empire that rewarded people not to work has imploded.
So true. I get so discouraged by these echo chamber elitist intellectuals that sit around and come up with conclusions on how everyone should live so everyone is better off. They lack the cold reality of human nature. I'm sorry to inform these people that you cannot out think human nature. A culture or society that attacks success and props up failure will get more failures every time. Capitalism in its purest form is the closest thing to true freedom and the way nature and the universe really work. This professor is so off base in his thinking because he lacks a sound foundation for his belief system. And that irrefutable foundation is that freedom is the answer every time. The last time I got into an debate with one of these so called intellectuals, he said that people don't want freedom really, because it's dangerous and scary and they are to uneducated to be trusted with it..... I was completely blown away by this BS. It's honestly sad how off-base our culture has become.
@@soberanisfam1323Nonsense you say? really? Head of water dept. in my town used every scheme to double his pay the last 3 years so his pension would be way up in 6 figures. Retired to big controversy. Police chief in one town by me was pushed to resign after he was found running his construction business out of police station & not doing his job.. Resigned with massive 6 figure pension and close to half a million in sick pay! All paid for by the suckered taxpayers. I have many more examples, some I've met personally through my business. I guess you're all good with these schemes..
Can we wake up to the history books of what fascism capitalism and communism actually are???? Clearly he does not understand what capitalism is. Anyone who understands what capitalism is will argue all the way back to the civil war for its death. Some will only go back to 1913. This does not make any sense whatsoever unless you believe that fascism is okay. No government should participate in giving any funds to anyone in the government or in the civilian world.
A random guy trying to teach an extremely accomplished professor, you can find anything in the comment section... Out of all of Professor Wolff's debates I have watched, one thing no one ever challenged successfully was his definition of capitalism. Maybe you should give it a shot
dont we already have socialism? we get taxed from our income, taxed again when we spend whats left... taxed again when we sell...taxed to pass property to our children...meanwhile, people get free everything to sit home and live off of those that work 😂
Socialism is where the "society" decides where their taxes go, not like here where corporations pay the elected government to write laws that send peoples taxes back to the billionaires & corporations. Just compare the 2023 budget for U.S. vs China & you'll see the difference @jianlinzou3100
@@bcadams75 bruh, socialism by definition is redistribution of wealth. my family owns and operate a small business in NY. business and personal taxes eat up roughly 60% of our total income. my cousin in China only pay around 18%.
The most in-depth, relatable, and comparative History of Economics lessons I've ever enjoyed... Didn't cost a dime, just a bit of undistracted... time. Thank you Dr. Wolff, x the last 7 years.
Your mythical mode of capitalism has never existed and never will. There is no "pure" version of capitalism in the real world. It is always entangled with the State and the capitalists and elites will always get bail outs and be given special favors from the State such as access to land and resources from which they create their wealth and power. This is the history of capitalism from the beginning.
@@donovanpeterson837 Oh it's been given it's shot. Bailouts and welfare prove that. Hand me outs are the worst thing for society. It creates a world of where's mine? Weak people.
"The goal of Socialism is Communism." ~V.I. Lenin And the reason Marxism has a bad name is because they accuse others of what they, themselves do! Which means, they know they are wrong, no excuses!
This was excellent and very informative. I appreciate you being open minded and brave enough to bring someone like Richard Wolff on your show. He offers a very informed, historical perspective on capitalism and offers many valid and correct Marxist critiques of capitalism. You don't have to agree with everything he says but you are wallowing in ignorance or are too ideologically brainwashed if you block yourself from understanding this analysis and critique of capitalism.
Your channel is very much underrated, David. I'm a Chinese, studied in the UK and the US, I observed things happened in the "democratic" UK & US, compared with what happened in China (the real China, not the picture the western media painted), and I came to realize which government really cares about its people. Capitalism is not the answer. Look at the streets in the west now, homeless and drug addicts left undealt with, legalize drugs - making more people unable to do deep thinking, but drowning in dopamine and fantasies. The underclass has been paralyzed in such ways. The middle class is shrinking fast, many of them became the underclass because of debts. Police are not doing their job to keep the society safe, but they issue "club cards" to rich people, as if they are private guards of theirs. Firefighters are like so as well. How could anyone think this only need a reform? There has been no reform on your political system since established. The world has changed, the west needs to work out a new system to adapt to it. You can use last century's method to deal with a 21 century problem.
communism necessitates authoritarianism because you need an authoritarian state in order to sieze the means of productions from people who will not give up their property without violent force. Marx did in fact forsee authoritarianism, and even used the phrase "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" , its not just an unlucky byproduct of communsim, its the plan
Who fares better off - Americans ($80,000/year income) or Vietnamese ($4475/year income)? In all economic systems (including capitalism, communism/socialism, etc) there are income/wealth disparites. What matters is which system lifts the most out of poverty. Capitalism has record of lifting most people out of poverty by a landslide.
@@James-il3tq"Capitalism has record of lifting most people out of poverty". That was very true in the past, but it is no longer true now. With automation, AI and robots eliminating mass numbers of jobs, in capitalism, people without mean compete for these ever dwindling jobs that pay less and less. Wages have not kept up with inflation for almost 5 decades. Homelessness has increased by 6% YEARLY since 2017. We need to implement some kind of wage control and cut work hours to spread out the dwindling jobs.
The guest seems to be disconnected from reality, claiming that the US growth rate is 1% while China's is 4%, making it an obvious choice. However, it's important to note that half of China's economic data is fabricated (as local officials must provide Beijing with what it wants to hear to survive), and the other half is nearly fabricated (with the construction of 60 million empty flats in 300+ ghost cities the size of Chicago, solely to stimulate material purchases and employment). Currently, China is facing an unemployment rate of 20-30% (no data to indicate the truth). Additionally, China has printed five times more money than the US. While PhDs are knowledgeable and explore uncharted areas, their practicality is often less than 2%. I can see similarities between this guest and Dr. Yellen. If individuals of this mindset have influence over public policy, it could spell trouble for the world.
Well US cpi is totally under reported to the tune of 50% to make our economy look prosperous. The method of reaching that bogus figure has been changed 3 times since 1980. 1980 based CPI is 12%, not this fictional 6%. Look outside a textbook or CNBC clip. The math never lies.
Oh yeah and where did you get such granular data about china's finances? You have an internal connection to the people's bank of china? You happen to see how many American homes are completely vacant and sitting around as some rich guy's paper assets?
@@philfortner1805 Thank you for a courteous debate. At least there is no name calling here. I agree with you completely. Statisticians have the ability to manipulate numbers to suit their agendas, as seen in the case of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) where goods are substituted to fit desired outcomes. While this practice can be misleading, at least there is a framework that statisticians follow. In contrast, China operates under a "I say jump, you say how high" approach. Having experienced being Chinese, I understand the historical challenges the country has faced. Life in China has been incredibly difficult, leading to the development of thoughts and beliefs that are considered unhealthy in Western philosophy. For example, children are taught the saying "grind a steel rod down to a needle" to emphasize persistence, even to the point of obsession. Throughout history, China has faced countless hardships. The Ming Dynasty was relatively reasonable, but the Qing Dynasty proved to be subpar, causing great suffering for the people. The Boxers, with their misguided beliefs, incited conflicts with foreign countries, resulting in a devastating loss for China. Dr. Sun Yat-sen played a pivotal role in modernizing China, but the country lacked comprehensive governance. Internal conflicts between left and right factions, as well as the influence of warlords, further exacerbated the suffering of the Chinese people. In such circumstances, Mao emerged as the leader. Mao aimed to improve agricultural productivity but unintentionally caused the Great Famine. When his authority was challenged, he promoted the Cultural Revolution. As a result, 80M people died under his watch. Before people had a chance to recover, Deng opened China for trade. The combination of a tough upbringing and obsessive behavior created a recipe for disaster, leading to dysfunction among the Chinese population. A dysfunctional person is a person walking in pain. Rewind back to 1900 - Following the invasion by eight countries, China had to repay its debts to the world. The United States was first to pardon an indemnity to which the Qing Empire of China committed itself in writing on 7 September 1901 in relation to the Western countries in the Boxer Rebellion. US established universities in China. It educated bright young minds in Ivy League through the Foreign Student Initiative. Interestingly, China and its people have not shown appreciation for America; instead, they often mock it. Paradoxically, many aspire to retire in the United States. Over the past three decades, approximately $10 trillion has flowed into the US economy. The events of June 4th in China, known as the Tiananmen Square massacre, were even more devastating than the September 11 attacks in America. China knew that someone had to pay the price, and they chose Xi Jinping as their leader. While they were right about his lack of intelligence, he proved to be a non-team player. Hong Kong served as China's gateway to global finance, but China abruptly dismantled it in 2019. Chinese tech companies, once leaders in the industry, were feared by the insecure emperor, who believed their growing wealth could lead to dissent. As a result, he destroyed the Chinese tech industry. China's fertility rate of 1.07 falls far short of the 2.1 required for population sustainability. China heavily relies on imports for 80% of its energy, and without extensive fertilization, it must also import food. Additionally, the construction of 60 million vacant flats was an attempt to fabricate GDP growth. Xi Jinping figuratively silences messengers who bring him bad news and resides in a disconnected reality. China has printed five times more money than the US and currently faces an unemployment rate of over 20%. With 80% of Chinese savings invested in real estate due to a lack of trust, even that market has become unreliable. China is left with nothing, and its collapse seems inevitable within the next decade. While capitalism is not perfect and can lead to complacency, it still pales in comparison to China or Russia. In every aspect, the West is a thousand times better. You have to live there to understand what I am trying to say. PhD attained in classrooms are not qualified to enter this debate.
The professor is a gem. It was never made more clear how Capitalism takes out of communities more value than it puts into them leaving in its wake the skeletal remains of a once thriving community of workers.
Because most of the capital on Earth is owned by the richest members of society. What Richard Wolff is pointing out is that workers have a better chance when they work collectively for the purpose of owning their own means of production.
Prof. Wolff : These discussions of yours create a lot of interest! You don't have to be right with everything you come up with. I find frustration and disconnect on the individual level. What is the real reason for these things here? Would you be happy to migrate to Cuba, if so, please describe so we can understand! The same for other countries you have mentioned as desirable.
Corporations “abandoned “ US workers when our jobs were shipped to super cheap labor markets. Sir James goldsmith warned us in 1994 that social chaos would decimate our lives. So it has come to pass.
That's one of the major problems with capitalism. The richest members of society own the capital and the means of production. They get to decide what is produced, how things are produced, where things are produced, how much workers get paid, excetera. All workers can do is organize and form unions. The goal of capitalist companies is to maximize profit. And as you already know, profit is maximized by getting workers to produce as much as possible while paying them as little as possible. But then they can't afford the goods and services that they produced. Can't have a viable economic system when production output increases at a faster rate than income.
I can agree with him on only 3 points: 1) using the dollar as a weapon ( thanks Joe Biden) 2) ridiculous expensive support for Ukraine ( thanks Joe Biden & FAMILY). 3) US regulation has chased jobs overseas. Thank the party of regulation( Joe Biden & Democrats...although Republicans aren't great with this either)...and, ironically, he calls himself a Democrat
I'm positive Wolff stated he is NOT part of the U.S. Democratic party, but a small "d" democrat, meaning "democracy," especially in the workplace... the exact place capitalism excluded democracy from.
How do you compete with 1 dollar an hour labor and massively disgustingly polluted cities and 12 hour workdays 6 days a week? So basically you want to become like Chyna.
This man is upsetting me. He is an educator. People do listen to him. Unfortunately, he is making false claims. During undergraduate studies, students typically follow a predefined curriculum established by the university. However, in graduate school, there is more freedom in choosing research topics. Students have the opportunity to select their desired area of study, find a suitable supervisor to guide them, and write and defend their thesis. It is unclear what he means by not being exposed to Marxism throughout his university education, as Marxism is a subject that can be explored depending on individual research interests and academic focus. Just because he “bills” Yale and Stanford, just because he is a PhD, just about he has grey hair, it doesn’t mean he is right.
@@DonRua In other discussions, Wolff has only claimed he wasn't exposed to Marx by the MAJORITY of ivy league professors. But there was one in particular who did open up on the subject, and it was this prof who led him in a new direction. Sometimes a limited time frame rules out the possibility for expansive details or nuance on a specific issue. However, I think Wolff might have still had enough time to mention that "outlier" professor --- sorry, can't remember his name at the moment.
He’s so convinced of things that are true and then equally makes jump to conclusions that are far from true. Capitalism is corrupt so socialism can’t be. Ummmm Richard …. That’s not how it works.
I think he got some histories wrong, Korean war was started by North Korea with full support from Russia and China, then US is forced to join to defend South Korea. Same is Vietnam.
He also erroneously called Sweden a socialist country which it is not. even the PM recently declared Sweden is a capitalist country with some social programs..... This man, like his classmate Yellen, have no real-life practical measure and live in an academic laboratory world ... not the real world
Why was the U.S. "forced" to defend Korea? Korea is on the other side of the world... The U.S. had no business being in Korea in the first place. There was no danger to the U.S.'s personal sovereignty.
He is an academic. This does not guarantee clear, thinking He has with no experience in the practical world of making and creating abundance. His theories are actually not very useful.
This was a monologue, not an interview. Only made it halfway through before tiring of Wolff's superficial pro-communist sales pitch. When Lin pointed to numerous examples of socialism's inherent tendency to facilitate dictatorships, Wolffie seemed focused on selling the idea that socialism is autocratic but 'here's some examples showing capitalism is also', so they're both oppressive. I guess he would just rather be in the seat of his preferred oppressive system. Did Lyn even ask why it's better to trust a system based on concentration of bureaucratic power rather than one in which business interests compete with each other, as is inherent in a free market system? Did Lyn even ask if Wolff would nationalize (steal) private ownership of assets? Nonetheless Comrade Wolff will have his day of delight when young virtuous highly educated university grads gain political power and overthrow the Constitution in favor of 'from each according to your abilities, to each according to your needs' (as Wolff decides both of those). He may find himself at a high position in the politburo when Bernie Sanders becomes party chairman after the collapse.
I wonder if he even realises in his glee when talking if us debt.... is to pay for all of the socialist programs that have no bound in budget. And with big gov socialist programs, the money never gets to pgrams because of corruption.....
Excellent. We can't be ideologically blind to the actual fact that capitalism does not have an alternative, there is an alternative to capitalism. In fact we need to go beyond capitalism, that's why I always follow Prof. Wolff. Good job for both of you. Let's not make taboos of all of the things we made taboo in the XX century. That's why Prof. Wolff is important.
This guy needs to be lecturing his fellow socialists because they are the ones not listening these days. They are the ones refusing to listen and to argue. I graduated from the University of Texas in 2019 and we were assign Karl Marx readings in my philosophy classes. I heard lots of wonderful things about socialism in a various classes. I remember one of my fellow students standing up in history class and proudly proclaiming that she is a communist! What we never heard were the benefits of capitalism - why it's good - what we love about it.
I wish your Texas alum chatted with my friend, who I will see tomorrow. He escaped communist Romania into Western Europe ducking the bullets shot at him via the Communists.... his buddy didn't make it. I'm sure he would be happy to speak about the virtues of Capitalism from the lovely land and home he owns free title...something a communist can never have. Your classmate needs to get his head out of a idealistic fog
You think you like capitalism because you don't understand what capitalism really means. To put it simply, capitalism is when those with capital is above the elected/selected government by the people thus able to dictate the government to set policies/ laws/ dish out contracts in favour to them. While socialism/communism is when the people put in charge a government to ensure policies are put in place to benefit the nation as a whole and ensure those with capital doesn't criminally take advantage of the government (through lobbying/ corruption/ nepotism) to favour the tiny rich minority)
@@calvyncraven1141 Son... you have no idea what you are speaking about...I'm sorry if what I say comes across as blunt. you said: "To put it simply, capitalism is when those with capital is above the elected/selected government by the people thus able to dictate the government to set policies/ laws/ dish out contracts in favour to them.' I am Canadian and can tell you 100%, that Canada and all developed Western countries are economically driven by small business (like mine)- not Walmart or GM ect. I am a small business man and a Capitalist with capital, and I voted in a provincial election recently where my vote helped elect a leader with similar value systems as mine. My vote along with many others ensured the socialist candidate, who was going to emasculate the wealth of my province and drive down the standard of living of me and millions of others of my brethren, was not elected. you said: While socialism/communism is when the people put in charge a government to ensure policies are put in place to benefit the nation as a whole and ensure those with capital doesn't criminally take advantage of the government (through lobbying/ corruption/ nepotism) to favour the tiny rich minority) Really? So, Ji Xing Ping changed CCP law allowing him to rule the CCP (thus China) until he dies or steps down. So, how are the villagers in the far West of China "putting who they want in charge"? Kim Jung Un is the Communist leader and the 3rd ruler of N. Korea in the Kim Dynasty... How is the average N.Korean electing and "putting him in charge"? Castro ruled Cuba for almost half a century.... was the average Cuban given a chance to vote for someone else? All these men are Communist dictators who were NOT elected by the common man. People who oppose Kim or Ping or Castro disappear for a while or forever. Please do not rely on your Socialist education system spinning none sense. Go speak to people who lived Communism and dodged bullets getting the e'ff out of Communist countries.
@@calvyncraven1141 Don't think morality is the issue. One can be personally kind, loving, supportive, and humane if they are a Capitalist or a Communist. I expect I give my personal time and personal wealth to causes more than most. As a capitalist, I take personal responsibility for my actions of earning and giving freely. In contrast to a Communist, you may be right wrt moraity....I do not feel entitled to others peoples' fruits from their hard work, sacrifice, innovation, and production. The fruits of these things should be earned and not simply taken from others as the socialist feels entitled to.
Democracy at the work place?? So , put no capital into the business ,take no risk , get hired than have a vote on how business is run??? I think that is absurd. For the record the USA is a democratic republic , not a pure democracy, would have never grown to 50 states if it relied strictly on popular vote
The workplace isn't a democratic republic either though. Capitalism forces the incentive to be only profit driven, and that directly conflicts with the interests of the workers. It's a system based on exploitation, where human beings are "resources". Capitalism has the impossible goal of achieving infinite growth. Often there is an attempt to achieve this by constantly increasing worker production (impossible). When growth stalls, mass layoffs typically happen, which shows how fragile and flawed our current system is. With a co-op the incentives are flipped: the workers' well-being is the decision of all, not a small few at the top. The company's goal is to be profitable, but it's not looking to achieve the impossible (infinite growth). A society that focuses on the well-being of the workers over the extreme greed of a select few, is clearly a better world to live in
Think of Basketball players or Football players. There have been many cases where a football player has had so much influence on their team that they were able to get a new head coach. They don't have any "capital" into the business. Think of fans. Fans have had so much power in sports that they can get a team owner fired (stop showing up to games, aka look what is happening to the Oakland A's baseball team. They will have new owners shortly). Lots of change would have to occur to create a new system.
![Global Capitalism: China vs. US - System Rising vs. Falling [September 2022]](/img/n.gif)
What are the consequences of the decline of the U.S. empire? Is the country becoming more Marxist? Comment below and subscribe!
FOLLOW RICHARD D. WOLFF:
Richard Wolff website: www.rdwolff.coma
Twitter (@profwolff): twitter.com/profwolff
Democracy At Work: www.youtube.com/@democracyatwrk
No.. not marxism.. is Communitarianism.. and I believe it is already happening.. with so many social groups and believes forming here and there.. Communitarianism is very difficult to achieve as it requires high level of trust in a large complex society.. but now? We have decentralise technologies such as cryptocurrency and IoTs.. we may eliminate the greatest hurdle, trust.
Wolff is the Al Sharpton of economics.
He can't even define marxism and yet he claims to be an authority on it.
All his passionate rhetoric and idealism is a sermon to obfuscate his ignorance.
He is a total asshat, and I can't believe young people look to him.
Yeah everyone deserves everything! Sounds like a great plan.
Just give me your money, I promise to distribute it fairly because I am a morally righteous dictator.
Today's capitalism isn't capitalism. Too much government manipulation and lobbyist bribery. When manufacturing come back, companies will have to compete for workers. In the 70s jobs were plentiful I'd ojt driving a forklift and gain experience and if I didn't get a raise I'd look for work elsewhere. He talks about immigration, legal or illegal? One has to offset the other. He talks about democracy at the workplace, look at our colleges and the lunacy that goes on there. I would like to see a debate between a capitalist and a socialist. I think Ray Dalio's Changing World Order shows why we're in decline.
Less freedom and less opportunity. Dick Wolfe doesn’t give an accurate description of what capitalism, socialism, and communism are. They all have to do with the means of production and he doesn’t bring it up once what a fraud. Great job David, but I know you are free market guy, you should have pushed back a lot more unless you had some kind of agreement not to.
Marxist
Govt not wanting its citizens to learn of other cultures is not proof of merit abroad, but proof of authoritarian govt at home.
It’s proof of both tbh.
So meritless people at home don't want you to learn about meritless people abroad?
I'm not sure how that motivation works. Are the bad people at home actually good people because they don't want you to learn about the bad people abroad?
What you've posted is a logical truism, but from a human standpoint I fail to see the meaning.
Its a common practice for tyrants, king Herod the great killed all babies under 2 years old in order to stop jesus from taking his throne, the nazi's burnt books and america tried to stop socialism whenever it tried to rise, as we say in africa ''the tree with the sweetest fruits gets the most stones''
In truth such a government is i un democratic controlled by propaganda; not at all for the people or by the people
Big mistake.
Mind blowing discussion. Work until you drop to fill corporate coffers. The older I become the less I want to conform to society’s so called ‘life style’. Thanks for the stimulating content.
Why don’t we just get rid of taxes and ban money printing?
@@mcitron3534Because that would help no one but the people who control the supply of money afterward, the new government aka the rich aka the old government
@@mcitron3534what a non sequiter.
Comrade!
🏴🚩✊
I love the diversity of opinion and subjects that you bring with your guests. Keep up the good work.
00000000000😊⁰
Thank you David for having Richard Wolfe on. Such an informative hour. I just became familiar with him. I have listened to the very informative lecture he gave from the Boston church regarding our country, US empire in decline and denial. Our leaders and most media are misinforming the American people, or some are just stupid that are in office. Being informed by great minds is so helpful. Thank you both!
Say what you want about Richard Wolff but the man know his stuff, has a brilliant mind and is a visionary. To me he's spot on about the current world economics and the state of capitalism. And he's right, throughout history all ecomomic and societal structers have their birth and their end. Hopefull the next systems will be for the better.
How is it visionary to advocate more money to government as a solution to any issue under the sun?
Bet Richard Wolf got a better marks than Janet Yellen!
@@honkytears And exactly when did he say that?
@@honkytearsI'd like to know, too. Where did he say that?
@@honkytears "How is it visionary to advocate more money to government as a solution to any issue under the sun?"
Seemed to work in the past. The U.S. government defeated the Third Reich, built the interstate highway system and put a man on the Moon. I'd rather give more money to the government that at least in theory is accountable to the electorate, rather than to billionaires who aren't accountable to anyone.
As a European watching much American TH-cam, am amazed at the ignorance of Marxism or socialism among US TH-camrs. You hear more about "cultural Marxism" a variant of the Nazi term "Cultural Bolsheviks" to refer to liberals after the Nazis had imprisoned most socialists and trade unionists, claiming the latter were "economic Marxists" and the former, "not normal or economic Marxists, but are Lefties on art and sexual politics".
Marxism is a critique of 19th Century political economy, and even interestingly quite pro capitalist in many ways, claiming that it had not only been the most productive economic system until that time - 1850s - but would become far more successful. He also wrote that it would progress technology and processes but found weaknesses in the system that would eventually kill it, even as it created more technology. It would create a world mired in debt led by enormous corporations with very little competition. A truly prescient prediction. An essential read. Thanks for the interview.
Agreed! The problem is that people think Marx was some evil ideologist that was out to peddle an imaginary idea out of nowhere. In reality, Marx was just a scholar, observing and attempting to make sense of the past and his present, as well as track the patterns to attempt and estimate the future.
Talking about EU countries they are scared of USA. USA is their master
And in my opinion did a hell of a job. A lot of his predictions have come to pass in our modern day capitalist system.
Yup! 🇵🇱🇧🇾🇷🇺
The Nazis only came to power because of Marx
David!!! This is fantastic !!❤ So many investment-type folks are sorely uninformed on political economy issues, to their detriment. This is so on-point. I LOVE that you are so broad-minded to have content of this nature. And you ask great questions !! Keep up the great work.
So what’s next…. the impact of ETs on the stock market ? 😂 th-cam.com/video/e2DqdOw6Uy4/w-d-xo.html
You should also have Michael Hudson as a guest. He is also an economist with an inside look of how things work that those in power do not want known by us common people.
Yes, Wolff is Capital Vol 1 and Hudson is Vol 2&3
These interviews are amazing David. High praise! Keep up the stellar work
You are killing it David, I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion.
What hipocrisy. I would like to ask Mr. Wolff if he donates all his money to the poor of the world, because if he is truly a MARXIST then he believes that we are all equal and that wealth has to be evenly divided amongst us all. And since he loves Lenin and all the people whom he quotes, did they live a life of equality? Did Stalin, Brezhnev, Castro, Chavez, Mao Tse Dong? Please... please... before you preach something, you need to practice it.
@@amadisdee6054I’m not hating but as a Marxist, you are failing to understand the fundamentals of Marxism and Socialism. Let me ask you, who owns the means of production under capitalism? Then who owns it under socialism?
As someone who is quite familiar with doctor Wolf i am glad he is reaching out to other channels that have not heard his message that capitalism has its virtues but we as a human race can do better than capitalism
What hipocrisy. I would like to ask Mr. Wolff if he donates all his money to the poor of the world, because if he is truly a MARXIST then he believes that we are all equal and that wealth has to be evenly divided amongst us all. And since he loves Lenin and all the people whom he quotes, did they live a life of equality? Did Stalin, Brezhnev, Castro, Chavez, Mao Tse Dong? Please... please... before you preach something, you need to practice it.
@@amadisdee6054 All your gaslighting does not change the fact that 3 Americans own as much wealth 170,000,000 Americans. No religion or morality sanctifies such inequality but i suspect you belong to no religion or possess any morality
@@amadisdee6054 have you listened to any word that he said? What do you not understand about his position? You are drooling
Encouraging development for all well wishers of humanity
He did not say equality in the sense but equality in citizens and inequality we see now between invisible billionaires and common citizen who starved after working for 8 hours
I have listened to Dr. Wolff on many occasions and find his thinking compelling, at least in terms of the changes implied to the United States. Aside from the question of Marxism replacing capitalism, what is clear to me is that the economic principles adopted here in 1981 (which basically revolve around the central themes of individualism and self-interest) have led to severe fiscal, economic, social, and political problems over the course of the last 40+ years. And, yes, we are in denial of that fact. To even suggest it is widely thought of as anti-American. No politician will touch it. Nevertheless, whether through evolution or revolution, we must change. Will change only happen through economic/monetary/social/environmental collapse. We are close to all four happening, either individually or collectively. How many more bullets can we dodge. How many more rabbits can the FED pull out of the hat? The world can no longer tolerate the separation of economics from social and environmental considerations, let alone an economic system that exploits the latter, which capitalism clearly does. What is needed is a way of thinking that unites all those factors into one. Whatever that system is, it needs to be found and advocated not only for the United States, but around the world. We will never be able to solve global warming through the same economic system that created it! Our planet is very close to delivering a perfectly devastating wake-up slap. Ultimately, I suspect that will be the change agent required.
*edit - it should read cantillion effect, not carillon
You summarize the US and global economic problem with capitalism pretty well. Whatever people want to call our system now, whether it is broadly monetray-market capitalism or some mixture, it isn't working and isn't sustainable. So, if we want to see some sort of livable future, we are going to need evolution of our social system.
How is that going to look? Well, probably different for different regions and faster for some areas with rich natural resources and slower for areas with less.
I do believe, change must come from local communities standing up and building something better, forging a new path with willing members of society who are sick of this system. We can't wait for big governments and big business to help, they are already part of the problem and we need to push by them to get somewhere we want to go.
I am very encouraged by the new and developing initiative called One Small Town, with Michael Tellinger. Anybody heard of it? Of course our mainstream media will not touch it with a 10 foot pole because it threatens capitalist profits. But everybody here is welcome to do their own research and check it out. See the website and see if this model works for you and your town. And if it does? Start sharing. Start having conversations and building community.
This isn't just an idea, it is an action plan that has already started in Lebanon, South Africa, USA and more. Contributionism, collaboration and cooperation to create sustainable abundance and prosperity for ourselves.
The biggest issue we have in the US is the government becoming too big. They suck our tax dollars and create legislation so cumbersome that only mega corporations can compete in certain markets. The most capitalistic companies are small businesses that do their best and care about their employees. I’m anti large company and anti large government for the most money part
Lea e infórmese sobre el distributismo igual le satisface . Ojo me refiero a las élites de EEUU que tienen a su propio pueblo sometido a la miseria, sin sanidad pública ni derechos sociales. Al resto de naciones nos somete con la amenaza constante de su poder militar.Los EEUU son el país más odiado del mundo junto a Inglaterra por su continua forma de forzar a los países. Repito no hablo de la gente hablo de las élites. Un saludo desde España.
How did Marxism do in Cambodia?
Beautiful interview, Lin asks for exactly the right questions and Wolff surgically takes them apart. I feel like I learned so much today, I’m going to actually take notes! Brilliant work guys. More please.
Aqź
Can't recommend enough the 'democracy at work' TH-cam page. Engaging, current educational content on economics every week, Richard Wolff is brilliant
@@DrDuckman nope he is a lying idiot who peddles propaganda for other idiots
Wonderful discussion! Please invite Dr Wolff back. Thank you
Remarkable prof. Mr. Wolf.
Someone describing and explaining the obvious situation in place. Thank you
The obvious becomes hated by those who don't want to see it.
oh gosh ..now you can relax and giggle
David, this was an important discussion. I really liked your tough questions and challenges to Dr. Wolff and allowing him to explain. This kind of discussion is so important.
Yes me to
America is experiencing the same kind of decline that Britain started to experience post WW2 - during the 1950's and 60's. Conversely, at that same time, the US was experiencing an unprecedented boom.
Well, America today is playing the role Britain played back in the period I mentioned above. And China has assumed the role America played back in the 1950's.
It's a revolving cycle of boom and then bust......from good times to hard times. This is the story of Capitalism. This is what it's all about. And you can't change this, no matter how hard you try to.
America now has to find a way to deal with this, the best way they can, in a rational and coherent way...without descending into civil war. They have to accept that they aren't the power they once were.
Just as Britain had to accept this post- WW2. It adapted and found a way to change its relationship with the rest of the world. America must now do the same.
Thucydides's Trap ...perhaps world war III after more pain poverty for Americans #capitalism. #War is the business of #America established by #WAR time #POTUS #General George Washington. #Mossad is established to interfere in other nations for benefit of Jewish Zionist. Always sow confusion so no one can think clear to solve. Why did #POTUS John F. #Kennedy get assassinated on November 22, 1963 as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas on American soil ? #AIPAC #Mossad
Great interview David - really enjoyed this one
Excellent interview David. I truly enjoyed the discussion.
Awesome interview. Thank you David! My mind is blowned 🤯
Dr Wolff is a brilliant guest. Great discussion David
i dont think he is brilliant, dont abuse the word
Wolff is evil. He's a collectivist thug.
So glad you had Wolff on. He has deep knowledge and has been right on many things for a long time. But ideology keeps people turned away.
Thats because his ideology is psychopathic..
Massive indoctrination of America n ppl
@@liamrmorgans921we played capitalism and now the capitalists have left the building with the bag. They have no loyally to anything but profit not even country
@@liamrmorgans921Oh but not unless it is a corporate socialism USA
@@carlywright5127 corporate socialism, national socialism, marxism, all the socialisms are for stupid people
This is so inspiring. I hope Dr. Wolff and Mr. Lin have encouraged you and your family/friends to start their own entrepreneurships.📌 It's never too late.
*Cooperatives.
Great interview David. Big BRICS meeting in August. We didn’t do ourselves a favor by weaponizing the dollar
He speaks passionately, Richard Wolf and Peter Schiff debate would be good entertainment
Already happened and Peter schooled Mr Wolf (shocker). You can find it on YT
@@James-il3tq I guess we see what to...
@@James-il3tqlmaoo, it was schiff who got his schooling and never solved the contradiction in capitalism....owners/employers/entrepreneurs want to pay labor less and less or outright get rid of it (ai, robotics etc) but then who will buy the products? How does a society not collapse under the huge wealth inequality?
He has great Passion, I think the USA should be communist and then you can experience what our life was like in Hungary during the USSR. Very existing!!! My parents were told what job to do they we had to share an apartment with another family. We had no freedom, no individualism, no rights, no security and our authority was dictated to us by the smart guys in gray suits because they bullied their way in to power. We had very little food and no luxury in life becasue no one has incentive to work hard as they don't get to benefit from working hard, life was great. I think we should have this in the USA. I am sure you will love it too.
@@James-il3tqlmaoo Peter got cooked by wolf 😂😂
usa has been oppressing the world for so long
This is the best education show I have ever seen in this year❤
Investment is your only way up to financial freedom. financial growth happens with a steady engagement in financial stability through solid investment. those who leave it to market dynamics to determine when to trade or not are either new to the Market or are probably just naïve. The market has seen far worse times than this, enlightened traders are taking advantage of the dip and pumping even more towards trading sessions
He's on TELEGRAMS
@k99coin THAT IS HIS USER NAME
Fuck that. sell drugs, be a man.
Great discussion with Dr Wolff, well done David.
One of the best interviews I saw in the last 3 years! Bravo to both! Sad fact is that people around the world dont have a clue why themselves hate/don't like Russia.
The ClA can tell you - bc they did the programming
@@Voski-ld9fhtrue. but so did the KGB…
@@nickfrate4396KGB programmed ppl to hate the US? 😂
US “leadership” did that all on their own. Give General Smedley Butler’s War Is A Racket speech a listen. Its well over 100years old. We still do the same bs all over the world. Well over a century of abusing smaller nations for profit will cause many generations to feel a certain kind of way about the US
@@nickfrate4396KGB are omnipresent in USA ?
KGB & CIA are controlled by the same people: Wealthy, right-wing capitalist oligarchs.
lol we dont have capitalism and havent had it for a long time - just look at the central bank and the perfect marriage that's developed between the government and corporations which conspire to violate every law we have to protect individual rights
You should look into the flat earth theory, looks like it's something right up your alley.
@@dc_Zeinyou should look up Uranus buddy
Richard Wolff is amazing, period. We are very fortunate to have him fighting the fine fight so to speak. I would challenge anyone to debate him from the capitalistic viewpoint - yet few do and from what I've seen their arguments are idiotic at best. He is fearless and an inspiration for all that simply do not want to be controlled and manipulated.
Multiple people have debated him and exposed him as an idiot and a liar. You clearly are a fool too.
The US is declining BECAUSE it is turning more Socialistic. How many people get government jobs & government checks to not work or a pension for retiring early? Look at the pensions for politicians, free food oayments for millions of able- bodied people...and Every empire that rewarded people not to work has imploded.
So true. I get so discouraged by these echo chamber elitist intellectuals that sit around and come up with conclusions on how everyone should live so everyone is better off. They lack the cold reality of human nature. I'm sorry to inform these people that you cannot out think human nature. A culture or society that attacks success and props up failure will get more failures every time. Capitalism in its purest form is the closest thing to true freedom and the way nature and the universe really work. This professor is so off base in his thinking because he lacks a sound foundation for his belief system. And that irrefutable foundation is that freedom is the answer every time. The last time I got into an debate with one of these so called intellectuals, he said that people don't want freedom really, because it's dangerous and scary and they are to uneducated to be trusted with it..... I was completely blown away by this BS. It's honestly sad how off-base our culture has become.
Utter nonsense.
@@soberanisfam1323Nonsense you say? really? Head of water dept. in my town used every scheme to double his pay the last 3 years so his pension would be way up in 6 figures. Retired to big controversy. Police chief in one town by me was pushed to resign after he was found running his construction business out of police station & not doing his job.. Resigned with massive 6 figure pension and close to half a million in sick pay! All paid for by the suckered taxpayers. I have many more examples, some I've met personally through my business. I guess you're all good with these schemes..
How can you tell if a guy went to Harvard? He'll tell you
Cope
Richard is a gem! Thanks for having him on and giving him a good forum like this where he can express himself freely.
He a socialist fool
Can we wake up to the history books of what fascism capitalism and communism actually are???? Clearly he does not understand what capitalism is. Anyone who understands what capitalism is will argue all the way back to the civil war for its death. Some will only go back to 1913.
This does not make any sense whatsoever unless you believe that fascism is okay. No government should participate in giving any funds to anyone in the government or in the civilian world.
Your comment make you look stupid.
Wolff understands all too well what capitalism is. It is clear you do not.
A random guy trying to teach an extremely accomplished professor, you can find anything in the comment section... Out of all of Professor Wolff's debates I have watched, one thing no one ever challenged successfully was his definition of capitalism. Maybe you should give it a shot
he stated capitalism was born in England in the 1700
dont we already have socialism? we get taxed from our income, taxed again when we spend whats left... taxed again when we sell...taxed to pass property to our children...meanwhile, people get free everything to sit home and live off of those that work 😂
Socialism is where the "society" decides where their taxes go, not like here where corporations pay the elected government to write laws that send peoples taxes back to the billionaires & corporations. Just compare the 2023 budget for U.S. vs China & you'll see the difference @jianlinzou3100
@@bcadams75 bruh, socialism by definition is redistribution of wealth. my family owns and operate a small business in NY. business and personal taxes eat up roughly 60% of our total income. my cousin in China only pay around 18%.
@@bcadams75 I think you're pretty much describing fascism
Sounds like you have it figured out!
When CBDC is implement in 114 countries at around 2030 , W.E.F plans ( K. Schawb plan ) , you will see real socialism , plus A.I control .
The most in-depth, relatable, and comparative History of Economics lessons I've ever enjoyed... Didn't cost a dime, just a bit of undistracted... time. Thank you Dr. Wolff, x the last 7 years.
They wouldn't let free market capitalism work. Survival of the fittest and let the free market work things out. Capitalism. No gov't and no bailouts.
Your mythical mode of capitalism has never existed and never will. There is no "pure" version of capitalism in the real world. It is always entangled with the State and the capitalists and elites will always get bail outs and be given special favors from the State such as access to land and resources from which they create their wealth and power. This is the history of capitalism from the beginning.
@@hv3115 Of course not because they won't let it happen. Hasn't been around since our founding fathers.
@@gabrielw7773 You could say the same of marxism. Nothing is ever allowed to work, except for the privileged few.
@@donovanpeterson837 Oh it's been given it's shot. Bailouts and welfare prove that. Hand me outs are the worst thing for society. It creates a world of where's mine? Weak people.
"The goal of Socialism is Communism." ~V.I. Lenin
And the reason Marxism has a bad name is because they
accuse others of what they, themselves do!
Which means, they know they are wrong, no excuses!
Thanks Dr Wolff for the world to hear whats happening now
Well done David, great guest
This was excellent and very informative. I appreciate you being open minded and brave enough to bring someone like Richard Wolff on your show. He offers a very informed, historical perspective on capitalism and offers many valid and correct Marxist critiques of capitalism. You don't have to agree with everything he says but you are wallowing in ignorance or are too ideologically brainwashed if you block yourself from understanding this analysis and critique of capitalism.
Your channel is very much underrated, David.
I'm a Chinese, studied in the UK and the US, I observed things happened in the "democratic" UK & US, compared with what happened in China (the real China, not the picture the western media painted), and I came to realize which government really cares about its people. Capitalism is not the answer. Look at the streets in the west now, homeless and drug addicts left undealt with, legalize drugs - making more people unable to do deep thinking, but drowning in dopamine and fantasies. The underclass has been paralyzed in such ways. The middle class is shrinking fast, many of them became the underclass because of debts. Police are not doing their job to keep the society safe, but they issue "club cards" to rich people, as if they are private guards of theirs. Firefighters are like so as well. How could anyone think this only need a reform? There has been no reform on your political system since established.
The world has changed, the west needs to work out a new system to adapt to it. You can use last century's method to deal with a 21 century problem.
I meant " You can't use last century's method to deal with a 21 century problem."
Totally agree.
Wow, the breadth and depth of your guests are astounding, David!
Good to have a broad range of guests.
David, you're a genius for hosting Prof Wolff!!! Much love
communism necessitates authoritarianism because you need an authoritarian state in order to sieze the means of productions from people who will not give up their property without violent force.
Marx did in fact forsee authoritarianism, and even used the phrase "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" , its not just an unlucky byproduct of communsim, its the plan
90% of Vietnamese people have homes. How many own homes in the US? And this was a country bombed back to the stone age 50 years ago
@@VeganTrove are you aware of Dr Thomas Sowell ?
Who fares better off - Americans ($80,000/year income) or Vietnamese ($4475/year income)? In all economic systems (including capitalism, communism/socialism, etc) there are income/wealth disparites. What matters is which system lifts the most out of poverty. Capitalism has record of lifting most people out of poverty by a landslide.
@@James-il3tq"Capitalism has record of lifting most people out of poverty". That was very true in the past, but it is no longer true now. With automation, AI and robots eliminating mass numbers of jobs, in capitalism, people without mean compete for these ever dwindling jobs that pay less and less. Wages have not kept up with inflation for almost 5 decades. Homelessness has increased by 6% YEARLY since 2017. We need to implement some kind of wage control and cut work hours to spread out the dwindling jobs.
The guest seems to be disconnected from reality, claiming that the US growth rate is 1% while China's is 4%, making it an obvious choice. However, it's important to note that half of China's economic data is fabricated (as local officials must provide Beijing with what it wants to hear to survive), and the other half is nearly fabricated (with the construction of 60 million empty flats in 300+ ghost cities the size of Chicago, solely to stimulate material purchases and employment). Currently, China is facing an unemployment rate of 20-30% (no data to indicate the truth). Additionally, China has printed five times more money than the US.
While PhDs are knowledgeable and explore uncharted areas, their practicality is often less than 2%. I can see similarities between this guest and Dr. Yellen. If individuals of this mindset have influence over public policy, it could spell trouble for the world.
American bureau of labor statistics says hi
Well US cpi is totally under reported to the tune of 50% to make our economy look prosperous. The method of reaching that bogus figure has been changed 3 times since 1980. 1980 based CPI is 12%, not this fictional 6%. Look outside a textbook or CNBC clip. The math never lies.
Oh yeah and where did you get such granular data about china's finances? You have an internal connection to the people's bank of china? You happen to see how many American homes are completely vacant and sitting around as some rich guy's paper assets?
@@philfortner1805 Thank you for a courteous debate. At least there is no name calling here.
I agree with you completely. Statisticians have the ability to manipulate numbers to suit their agendas, as seen in the case of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) where goods are substituted to fit desired outcomes. While this practice can be misleading, at least there is a framework that statisticians follow.
In contrast, China operates under a "I say jump, you say how high" approach. Having experienced being Chinese, I understand the historical challenges the country has faced. Life in China has been incredibly difficult, leading to the development of thoughts and beliefs that are considered unhealthy in Western philosophy. For example, children are taught the saying "grind a steel rod down to a needle" to emphasize persistence, even to the point of obsession.
Throughout history, China has faced countless hardships. The Ming Dynasty was relatively reasonable, but the Qing Dynasty proved to be subpar, causing great suffering for the people. The Boxers, with their misguided beliefs, incited conflicts with foreign countries, resulting in a devastating loss for China. Dr. Sun Yat-sen played a pivotal role in modernizing China, but the country lacked comprehensive governance. Internal conflicts between left and right factions, as well as the influence of warlords, further exacerbated the suffering of the Chinese people. In such circumstances, Mao emerged as the leader.
Mao aimed to improve agricultural productivity but unintentionally caused the Great Famine. When his authority was challenged, he promoted the Cultural Revolution. As a result, 80M people died under his watch. Before people had a chance to recover, Deng opened China for trade. The combination of a tough upbringing and obsessive behavior created a recipe for disaster, leading to dysfunction among the Chinese population. A dysfunctional person is a person walking in pain.
Rewind back to 1900 - Following the invasion by eight countries, China had to repay its debts to the world. The United States was first to pardon an indemnity to which the Qing Empire of China committed itself in writing on 7 September 1901 in relation to the Western countries in the Boxer Rebellion. US established universities in China. It educated bright young minds in Ivy League through the Foreign Student Initiative. Interestingly, China and its people have not shown appreciation for America; instead, they often mock it. Paradoxically, many aspire to retire in the United States. Over the past three decades, approximately $10 trillion has flowed into the US economy. The events of June 4th in China, known as the Tiananmen Square massacre, were even more devastating than the September 11 attacks in America. China knew that someone had to pay the price, and they chose Xi Jinping as their leader. While they were right about his lack of intelligence, he proved to be a non-team player.
Hong Kong served as China's gateway to global finance, but China abruptly dismantled it in 2019. Chinese tech companies, once leaders in the industry, were feared by the insecure emperor, who believed their growing wealth could lead to dissent. As a result, he destroyed the Chinese tech industry.
China's fertility rate of 1.07 falls far short of the 2.1 required for population sustainability. China heavily relies on imports for 80% of its energy, and without extensive fertilization, it must also import food. Additionally, the construction of 60 million vacant flats was an attempt to fabricate GDP growth. Xi Jinping figuratively silences messengers who bring him bad news and resides in a disconnected reality. China has printed five times more money than the US and currently faces an unemployment rate of over 20%. With 80% of Chinese savings invested in real estate due to a lack of trust, even that market has become unreliable. China is left with nothing, and its collapse seems inevitable within the next decade.
While capitalism is not perfect and can lead to complacency, it still pales in comparison to China or Russia. In every aspect, the West is a thousand times better. You have to live there to understand what I am trying to say. PhD attained in classrooms are not qualified to enter this debate.
You are one of the best journalists!
The professor is a gem. It was never made more clear how Capitalism takes out of communities more value than it puts into them leaving in its wake the skeletal remains of a once thriving community of workers.
Thanks to David for his giving the voice to different opinions true journalism.
So what's preventing workplaces from becoming more democratic right now?
Because most of the capital on Earth is owned by the richest members of society. What Richard Wolff is pointing out is that workers have a better chance when they work collectively for the purpose of owning their own means of production.
Once the Ashkenazi servants of the Vatican empire hijacked our government, America has gone downhill.
Somebody is paying attention, Ty. Both capitalism and communism are the juice. Need national socialism or we lose.
Yeah clearly nazism is a more successful and proven model 🙄
Prof. Wolff : These discussions of yours create a lot of interest! You don't have to be right with everything you come up with. I find frustration and disconnect on the individual level. What is the real reason for these things here? Would you be happy to migrate to Cuba, if so, please describe so we can understand! The same for other countries you have mentioned as desirable.
Fantastic interview!
Mr Wolf is a big hearted polite and highly knowledgeable professor. It is very difficult to find such knowledgeable people with integrity.
I would say: the best interview I heard this year! Thank you very much.
Great interview. An informative historical perspective.
Very nice interview, David. Always inovating with quality. Regards from Portugal
This is a fascinating discussion. Amazing. I always wanted to listen to intelligent who talk about downsides of capitalism and upsides of socialism.
Very insightful! Provides an alternate view I never even considered! A pleasure to watch.
Corporations “abandoned “ US workers when our jobs were shipped to super cheap labor markets. Sir James goldsmith warned us in 1994 that social chaos would decimate our lives. So it has come to pass.
That's one of the major problems with capitalism. The richest members of society own the capital and the means of production. They get to decide what is produced, how things are produced, where things are produced, how much workers get paid, excetera. All workers can do is organize and form unions. The goal of capitalist companies is to maximize profit. And as you already know, profit is maximized by getting workers to produce as much as possible while paying them as little as possible. But then they can't afford the goods and services that they produced. Can't have a viable economic system when production output increases at a faster rate than income.
Love that you invited people with opposing opinions! ❤❤❤
Good one David. Keep it up with some "out of the box" thinkers.
This was good for laughs. Thanks
I can agree with him on only 3 points:
1) using the dollar as a weapon ( thanks Joe Biden)
2) ridiculous expensive support for Ukraine ( thanks Joe Biden & FAMILY).
3) US regulation has chased jobs overseas. Thank the party of regulation( Joe Biden & Democrats...although Republicans aren't great with this either)...and, ironically, he calls himself a Democrat
Who do you think pays for the traitorous "regulations?" China et al.
I'm positive Wolff stated he is NOT part of the U.S. Democratic party, but a small "d" democrat, meaning "democracy," especially in the workplace... the exact place capitalism excluded democracy from.
How do you compete with 1 dollar an hour labor and massively disgustingly polluted cities and 12 hour workdays 6 days a week? So basically you want to become like Chyna.
What a great, rare discussion about judgement without knowledge. Thank you 🙋♀️
Unlike Wolff, I was relentlessly exposed to Marxism in American Universities. I guess it's a generation gap thing 😅
This man is upsetting me. He is an educator. People do listen to him.
Unfortunately, he is making false claims. During undergraduate studies, students typically follow a predefined curriculum established by the university. However, in graduate school, there is more freedom in choosing research topics. Students have the opportunity to select their desired area of study, find a suitable supervisor to guide them, and write and defend their thesis. It is unclear what he means by not being exposed to Marxism throughout his university education, as Marxism is a subject that can be explored depending on individual research interests and academic focus.
Just because he “bills” Yale and Stanford, just because he is a PhD, just about he has grey hair, it doesn’t mean he is right.
You should expose the Central Bankers who prop up Communism
@@DonRua and?
@@DonRuahe seems to be referring to school when he was a student. When the Cold War was fresh and the scars of Mccarthyism still lingered.
@@DonRua In other discussions, Wolff has only claimed he wasn't exposed to Marx by the MAJORITY of ivy league professors. But there was one in particular who did open up on the subject, and it was this prof who led him in a new direction. Sometimes a limited time frame rules out the possibility for expansive details or nuance on a specific issue. However, I think Wolff might have still had enough time to mention that "outlier" professor --- sorry, can't remember his name at the moment.
About time you invited PHD. Richard Wolff on the program.
PhD stands for communists 😂
Amazing interview. Richard Wolff is so passionate!! Thanks for having him on David.
He’s so convinced of things that are true and then equally makes jump to conclusions that are far from true.
Capitalism is corrupt so socialism can’t be. Ummmm Richard …. That’s not how it works.
A passionate socialist? Lol
Very interesting. Thanks to both of you for providing a contrasting view.
Professor Wolff opened up the whole can of Shut It Up!. You asked and he delivered. That analogy on Ukraine and totalitarian behavior was spot on.
Unbiased! Need more people like david,
Love you channel! Great job!
Great guest speaker ,i think what we need is free market capitalism
I think he got some histories wrong, Korean war was started by North Korea with full support from Russia and China, then US is forced to join to defend South Korea. Same is Vietnam.
He also erroneously called Sweden a socialist country which it is not. even the PM recently declared Sweden is a capitalist country with some social programs..... This man, like his classmate Yellen, have no real-life practical measure and live in an academic laboratory world ... not the real world
@@good2goskee. A capitalist country with socialist schemes is not a capitalist country
Why was the U.S. "forced" to defend Korea? Korea is on the other side of the world... The U.S. had no business being in Korea in the first place. There was no danger to the U.S.'s personal sovereignty.
Loved this interview. It’s great to hear what real intellectuals have to say.
He is an academic. This does not guarantee clear, thinking He has with no experience in the practical world of making and creating abundance. His theories are actually not very useful.
@@svenoscarhansen8847to whom are his ideas not very useful?
In what way are his ideas not very useful?
This man- Richard Wolff is just such a brilliant mind- explaining the things so that everyone who listens understands.
Excellent and informative interview. I learned many things I was unaware. Thank you. ❤❤
This was a monologue, not an interview. Only made it halfway through before tiring of Wolff's superficial pro-communist sales pitch. When Lin pointed to numerous examples of socialism's inherent tendency to facilitate dictatorships, Wolffie seemed focused on selling the idea that socialism is autocratic but 'here's some examples showing capitalism is also', so they're both oppressive. I guess he would just rather be in the seat of his preferred oppressive system. Did Lyn even ask why it's better to trust a system based on concentration of bureaucratic power rather than one in which business interests compete with each other, as is inherent in a free market system? Did Lyn even ask if Wolff would nationalize (steal) private ownership of assets? Nonetheless Comrade Wolff will have his day of delight when young virtuous highly educated university grads gain political power and overthrow the Constitution in favor of 'from each according to your abilities, to each according to your needs' (as Wolff decides both of those). He may find himself at a high position in the politburo when Bernie Sanders becomes party chairman after the collapse.
Every person I know who went into business for themselves is that they aren't bossed around by someone else all day.
Excellent episode.
Professor Wolff, You're right.
A critical perspective of capitalism is essential. Absolutely!
what a fantastic interview david. definitively insightful
love the diversity David! Thank you!!
David is killing it every f*cken day !
I wonder if he even realises in his glee when talking if us debt.... is to pay for all of the socialist programs that have no bound in budget. And with big gov socialist programs, the money never gets to pgrams because of corruption.....
Dang. Someone in the future will reference this video and call it flat out iconic great interview packed with nuggets of information.
This discussion was a breathe of fresh air. Honest history can explain what's your best direction.
I try to enjoy all points of view but this is the first of David’s interviews I couldn’t get through.
Excellent. We can't be ideologically blind to the actual fact that capitalism does not have an alternative, there is an alternative to capitalism. In fact we need to go beyond capitalism, that's why I always follow Prof. Wolff. Good job for both of you. Let's not make taboos of all of the things we made taboo in the XX century. That's why Prof. Wolff is important.
This guy needs to be lecturing his fellow socialists because they are the ones not listening these days. They are the ones refusing to listen and to argue. I graduated from the University of Texas in 2019 and we were assign Karl Marx readings in my philosophy classes. I heard lots of wonderful things about socialism in a various classes. I remember one of my fellow students standing up in history class and proudly proclaiming that she is a communist! What we never heard were the benefits of capitalism - why it's good - what we love about it.
I wish your Texas alum chatted with my friend, who I will see tomorrow. He escaped communist Romania into Western Europe ducking the bullets shot at him via the Communists.... his buddy didn't make it. I'm sure he would be happy to speak about the virtues of Capitalism from the lovely land and home he owns free title...something a communist can never have.
Your classmate needs to get his head out of a idealistic fog
You think you like capitalism because you don't understand what capitalism really means.
To put it simply, capitalism is when those with capital is above the elected/selected government by the people thus able to dictate the government to set policies/ laws/ dish out contracts in favour to them.
While socialism/communism is when the people put in charge a government to ensure policies are put in place to benefit the nation as a whole and ensure those with capital doesn't criminally take advantage of the government (through lobbying/ corruption/ nepotism) to favour the tiny rich minority)
@@calvyncraven1141
Son... you have no idea what you are speaking about...I'm sorry if what I say comes across as blunt.
you said:
"To put it simply, capitalism is when those with capital is above the elected/selected government by the people thus able to dictate the government to set policies/ laws/ dish out contracts in favour to them.'
I am Canadian and can tell you 100%, that Canada and all developed Western countries are economically driven by small business (like mine)- not Walmart or GM ect. I am a small business man and a Capitalist with capital, and I voted in a provincial election recently where my vote helped elect a leader with similar value systems as mine. My vote along with many others ensured the socialist candidate, who was going to emasculate the wealth of my province and drive down the standard of living of me and millions of others of my brethren, was not elected.
you said:
While socialism/communism is when the people put in charge a government to ensure policies are put in place to benefit the nation as a whole and ensure those with capital doesn't criminally take advantage of the government (through lobbying/ corruption/ nepotism) to favour the tiny rich minority)
Really?
So, Ji Xing Ping changed CCP law allowing him to rule the CCP (thus China) until he dies or steps down. So, how are the villagers in the far West of China "putting who they want in charge"?
Kim Jung Un is the Communist leader and the 3rd ruler of N. Korea in the Kim Dynasty... How is the average N.Korean electing and "putting him in charge"?
Castro ruled Cuba for almost half a century.... was the average Cuban given a chance to vote for someone else?
All these men are Communist dictators who were NOT elected by the common man. People who oppose Kim or Ping or Castro disappear for a while or forever.
Please do not rely on your Socialist education system spinning none sense. Go speak to people who lived Communism and dodged bullets getting the e'ff out of Communist countries.
@@ciaraoh9102i guess we both have different POV on morals
@@calvyncraven1141
Don't think morality is the issue. One can be personally kind, loving, supportive, and humane if they are a Capitalist or a Communist. I expect I give my personal time and personal wealth to causes more than most. As a capitalist, I take personal responsibility for my actions of earning and giving freely. In contrast to a Communist, you may be right wrt moraity....I do not feel entitled to others peoples' fruits from their hard work, sacrifice, innovation, and production. The fruits of these things should be earned and not simply taken from others as the socialist feels entitled to.
Amazing conversation
Prof. Richard is awesome 👏👏👏👍
I’ve lived in and traveled all over Latin America. Most affluent people in Latin America don’t want to move to the USA.
Democracy at the work place?? So , put no capital into the business ,take no risk , get hired than have a vote on how business is run??? I think that is absurd. For the record the USA is a democratic republic , not a pure democracy, would have never grown to 50 states if it relied strictly on popular vote
The workplace isn't a democratic republic either though.
Capitalism forces the incentive to be only profit driven, and that directly conflicts with the interests of the workers. It's a system based on exploitation, where human beings are "resources".
Capitalism has the impossible goal of achieving infinite growth. Often there is an attempt to achieve this by constantly increasing worker production (impossible). When growth stalls, mass layoffs typically happen, which shows how fragile and flawed our current system is.
With a co-op the incentives are flipped: the workers' well-being is the decision of all, not a small few at the top. The company's goal is to be profitable, but it's not looking to achieve the impossible (infinite growth).
A society that focuses on the well-being of the workers over the extreme greed of a select few, is clearly a better world to live in
Think of Basketball players or Football players. There have been many cases where a football player has had so much influence on their team that they were able to get a new head coach. They don't have any "capital" into the business. Think of fans. Fans have had so much power in sports that they can get a team owner fired (stop showing up to games, aka look what is happening to the Oakland A's baseball team. They will have new owners shortly). Lots of change would have to occur to create a new system.
@@WoJackMan totally disagree
Wonderful interview. Very, very good.
lol a lot of mental gymnastics 😂 he is great at that.