Is Capitalism Actually Reducing Poverty? (with Richard Wolff)

[@TheGravelInstitute]

Thank you for watching! We're launching this project to counter right-wing disinformation sources like PragerU. The problem is, they have millions of dollars in oil billionaire money and we have nothing but our supporters and our ideas. The only way this can succeed is if the people who want to see it help us out. Consider becoming a patron of the Institute and making these videos possible: www.patreon.com/gravelinstitute. We will be forever in your debt.

[@ullasjoseph4502]

Loved the video, but the sound effects during transitions are distracting. Less volume would work better I think.

[@TheGravelInstitute]

@@ullasjoseph4502 We'll take a look and try to tweak it

[@massie27]

Easiest 100 dollars spent.

[@T00THY_0RiFiCE]

Love you guys and what you're doing

[@barrochocolate]

Wonderful video, but I think the music needs to be mixed lower and the vocals higher, just so it’s less distracting. Great work!

[@wormyrocks]

The animation in this is just stunning.

[@scottsvensson5314]

Really raising the bar. Incredibly good

[@nemesiszer0708]

Way better than PragerU graphics

[@GTA5Player1]

Tbh, I'd prefer they make more videos with lower production quality...

[@GTA5Player1]

@President Rob 2021 already looking fine!

[@willhiggins9563]

It’s noticeable smoother the Prageru. Which, not only employs more simplified visual aid, but animates them to be choppy and fast past. It actually fits with the style of Right-wing pundits trying to overload rational thought processes by overloading their audiences’s mind. Information being thrown at you too fast to think of it critically.

[@SecondThought]

Another absolute banger. Well done!

[@judithkim4050]

love your stuff!

[@Estradiol_Gaming]

You do great work as well

[@christiana5453]

you make amazing videos too!

[@jaidsalgado]

You're also the goat 2nd Thought 😤🔥

[@carlogaytan7010]

Do you think they will have you on? I hope they can have Chomsky on as well!

[@Over-Boy42]

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it's whether we provide enough for those who have little." - F.D.R

[@febopennyficari8716]

I mean nice quote but you shouldn’t idolize F.D.R how I have seen so many do, he did many good things but he was a war criminal and he is the one who saved capitalism in America

[@Over-Boy42]

@@febopennyficari8716 I agree that he is a war criminal and talking about him should come with that preface.However he was good on the economy, createing social security and the minimum wage. Could you please elaborate on saving captilsm? I mean just read or listen to his second bill of rights speech. I do know he ran against the idea of socialism in the 1932, but he backed off that later, in fact socialists and communists were openly apart of the new deal coalition.

[@djrocksgaming6255]

@@Over-Boy42 Here: www.hoover.org/research/how-fdr-saved-capitalism

[@Over-Boy42]

Interesting, I did not know some of that. However, going back to second bill of rights, I think that suppression of a thrid was not just to keep himself in power (although that certainly was a factor) but also to make democrats the leftwing force pary. He introduced the second bill of rights a little over a year before he died and said after the war he'd make this happen. But then Truman took over and the cold war took off. So I still don't think that it was a calculated effort to keep the u.s a peremptory capitalist country.

[@rurak2727]

„The strength of a people is measured by the wellbeing of its weakest members“, literally the opening words of my country‘s constitution. The social democrats managed to sneak that one in hehe

[@KenPowers-i1z]

Richard D. Wolff is like Dennis Prager's evil twin, which of course actually means he's the good twin by definition

[@alexsmith2910]

Perfect way to say it.

[@yesiamachicken888]

That's too nice to Dennis Prager. Wolff actually uses evidence, while Dennis Prager doesn't.

[@righteyeblind23666]

Richard Wolff is bizzarro dennis prager except richard wolff is educated

[@maxbarlow3267]

Dennis Prager actually went to college for communist affairs and lived in the USSR to talk to Jews who could not emigrate. He then spoke on their repression

[@cero2277]

Richard Wolff is like a kid who never learn finance and decided that everyone else was wrong not him

[@mateo-ni8ci]

it’s the “socialism is when the government does stuff” guy!! anyways, the animation is stunning and the video is great

[@heyitsjoshmusic]

that's why the voice sounded so familiar! I just watched that clip the other day. never gets old

[@tareke586]

God that meme... Amazin’

[@MonicaG_]

heyitsjosh which clip is that? Please let me know where to find it, I'm pretty sure it's one that I've tried to find before.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

@@heyitsjoshmusic i love how people who come to this video don't know who he is. that tells me Gravel might have some circulation going!

[@andrew23456able]

the funniest part is he basically said it, unironically. with a qualifier at least.

[@dankuser8303]

Wonder why we’ve had so many economic recessions recently. Maybe it’s our economic system.

[@tareke586]

Falling rate of profit and so on and so on

[@nikste23]

Nah it's the Mexicans

[@kitty7184]

Fun fact. Every Republican president of the last 100 years has had a recession

[@TheDiamondSea]

Hate to be pedantic, but we've actually had fewer recessions than normal. Like he says in the vid, normally they're every 4-7 years. The period between the 2008 recession and now was actually the longest period of economic growth in US history. And yes, I'm a leftist.

[@elpi2804]

@@TheDiamondSea Wasn't it said that the 2020 recession was "long overdue"? Wonder if it had gone for longer, would've it have been worse?

[@reubennb2859]

Wolff's voice is highly satisfying, and weirdly that makes his arguments even more convincing

[@Monaleenian]

Well he wouldn't want to be relying on their substance! His own figures in this video show that there were 1.34 billion people outside China living above the $7.40/day poverty line in 1982, with that number increasing to 2.65 billion people by 2018. A major own goal if his intention was to implicate capitalism in global poverty.

[@reubennb2859]

@@Monaleenian I actually think this is the worst Gravel video they've made (the rest are far more watertight) for this reason. However, studies during the late 20th century showed that Socialism consistently produced higher quality of life than capitalism when at the same level of economic development. Despite this, China's integration into global markets was obviously how it became successful. Wolff analyses this far better in some of his own videos, often to illustrate some of the beneficial ways in which the Chinese government sometimes goes against market forces. Also bear in mind, Wolff is pro-markets. Global trade, economic growth and manufacturing aren't inherently capitalist, though they're currently operated that way. These things (and international aid + NGO work) are responsible for overall reductions in poverty, but Wolff and socialism as a whole isn't fundamentally opposed to any of them.

[@wanderingkernel5002]

"Socialism is when Vezela" - Dennis Prager

[@dihainthegreat]

Inspirational.

[@markojovanovski3372]

Well I mean If you want 30$ wages like in Cuba then go for it lol

[@dihainthegreat]

@Func the Fucc pronk

[@ratedpending]

@@markojovanovski3372 you can praise a certain part of a society without saying that the whole thing is good

[@piotrxyz8814]

But vuvuzela stalin gulag no food 100

[@SirDeathDark]

The algorithm is when people comment stuff, and the more stuff people comment, the more algorithmier it is.

[@laurensahanna5826]

This is clearly a bad faith argument, the the actual consequences of the algorithm is no iPhone

[@CabbagePreacher]

@@laurensahanna5826 This is clearly a red herring, the actual actual consequence of the algorithm is Vuvuzuela

[@AnotherChampagneSocialist]

The Algorithm! Stuff! More Algorithmier!

[@AnotherChampagneSocialist]

@@laurensahanna5826 Don't be silly in North Algarithmia they have all kinds of Cell Phones with touch screens they just don't call them iPhones

[@arowace498]

Allllllgorythmnns

[@raumerfrischer872]

the animators and editors are insanely talented, but there was a bit much noise for my tastes.

[@jordanhwelch]

I agree, I think there is a balance issue, the voice louder and the effects quieter.

[@Riverinthesky-i9m]

True

[@SlugKiss]

the little noise whenever wolff blinked was very distracting

[@TheGravelInstitute]

We're working on fixing the audio balance! KZbin doesn't allow for reuploads but it will be fixed in the future and we'll upload a fixed version elsewhere.

[@unarei]

@@TheGravelInstitute KZbin has an option to replace audio in videos from in the youtube editor

[@KonkeyVG]

The presentation for this video is actually art, it's so slick.

[@el5880]

Music is good too

[@BonktYT]

No, it is very stuttery? Either no motion blur is used or lower than 24 fps. Just look at the list of patrons, it hurts my eyes. And the 'music' and sounds playing during the space-sequence and at other times was truely awful. Otherwise good visuals and content.

[@daddyleon]

*+Konkey* About as slick as those capitalists.

[@stepanotrisal1512]

I'm a conservative and I approve this message.

[@LycoLoco]

They're now really cracking into the style that makes PraegerU videos pop and the 22k likes shows it paid off. We only go up from here.

[@MoonatikYT]

When they say "reducing poverty", they mean "turning rural peasants into wage-labourers". That's it.

[@ugadugaga4972]

And since we dont live in the Scandinavian countrys where it's considered a basic human right to get educated, theres no escape from the shit wage work.

[@banzobeans]

That explains a thing or two! thanks

[@montolonzo3836]

did u know chinese factories install suicide nets to stop workers from offing themselves?

[@renlevy411]

@@montolonzo3836 State Capitalism working as intended. God i hate Capitalism with Chinese characteristic.

[@notabene7381]

Without poverty you cannot push people to accept working for less than 100% of the value of their productivity. To quote the great George Carlin: "The upper class: keeps all of the money, pays none of the taxes. The middle class: pays all of the taxes, does all of the work. The poor are there...just to scare the shit out of the middle class."

[@Agos226]

“Socialism is when you subscribe to the Gravel Institute. The more you subscribe to the Gravel Institute the more socialist it is” - Richard Wolff

[@lucagug16th]

"and when you hit the bell, that's communism!"

[@lucadhagat9364]

libtard sjws destroyed

[@TheGravelInstitute]

Can't argue with that

[@kardoxfabricanus7590]

@@TheGravelInstitute But can you argue with Furries? Why don't you invite furries to talk about progressive cultural changes and economic aid they've provided to its poorest members? We need a Gravel Institute video on the furry fandom! I would happily provide relevant data and information for you on that! In fact thousands would gladly provide information!

[@KiraleosAkis]

@@kardoxfabricanus7590 Is this a joke?

[@completelyordinary4782]

“Socialism is when the government does stuff and it’s more socialism the more stuff it does, and if it does a real lot of stuff, it’s communism” - Richard Wolff

[@massie27]

Based

[@ulipeterson6112]

true.

[@calebjohnson3537]

based and uncucked

[@chrismoderate3495]

Camyanizm actually...

[@emoosavimehr]

Why did the gravel institute like the shitpost?!

[@ermgerd]

socialism is when you comment to bring this up in the algorithm

[@joshuaneff2283]

Socialism is when I then reply to your comment to further boost this in the algorithm.

[@landcruiserfan4206]

@@joshuaneff2283 replying becoause socialism

[@turonparker4552]

Replying cuz socialism

[@isabelle5547]

and the more comments there are the more socialister it is. when you like the video too thats communism.

[@titankorellc2937]

@@isabelle5547 A socialist makes social lists for a social society, sending stimulus to stabilize survivable situations.

[@Zaekyr]

If capitalism, as a system, is so great why do large banks and corporations need bailouts? Why in such a supposedly stable system do governments need to pass specific laws to support free trade?

[@urrywest]

Capitalism is great.. It was admired by the time marx came along. It is well documented that Marx admired capitalism. We have not had capitalism in your or my life time... What we have is the neoliberal experiment that obummer put an abrupt end to.. Now the bankers have won.. It is likely that we are going from feudalism to the neo-dark-ages...

[@urrywest]

It is the people who need bailouts so that the industrialists can create wealth. That is not what we have right now... Sadly we are entering an economic apocalypse because of this. Wolff doesn't seem to understand..

[@clup3136]

Business people have a tendency to parasite power to incite that interventionism that destroys free competition and benefits them. The same goes for bankers. It's easier to satisfy a politician (bribe) than satisfy 100.000 costumers (good products at low prices). That's why State action should focus in protecting Free Markets, not because it's instable, but because citizens benefit from a free competition whose purpose is to satisfy their needs. The banking system is not a free market system, it's in fact, one of the most regulated sectors of any economy (try to read about the _Community Reinvestment Act_ and its implications in financing people to get in debt in the crisis of 2008 for example).

[@urrywest]

@@clup3136 Banking is not only the most parasitic but the most unstable in the economy needing constant free loans as well as relief as they become indebted to survive. This is because they don't write good loans but higher interest loans that can't be repaid. When those loans go bad, as the often do, they need grants from the fed to stay afloat. With those grants they pay their stock holders and CEOs. In essence they are a monopolistic unstable parasites between the fed and the people. This is not your father's 'industrial capitalism' ... It is the economy's over head that adds nothing to industrial production but in fact diminishes it. Wolff doesn't seems to understand this. It seems as as if he read marx one, feeling that we are living in what marx admiringly termed 'capitalism' , a point, when reached, increases production and economic justice. Wolff doesn't seem to understand this and seems to think all we need to do, being in capitalism, is to take over the ever diminishing work places 'democracy at work' and all is right with the world. I am very frustrated with Wolff for this reason.

[@coolioso808]

Because of course the answer is market capitalism is unsustainable. It’s not a viable system. It’s not a healthy system. It’s a debt-based system that expects infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. We need system change. Resource-based economy is a viable system.

[@atticusthegamingllama8302]

"Socialism is when the government does stuff. And I'm stuff." - Karl "Cultural" Marx

[@PlatinumAltaria]

Culturalism-Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism with Chinese characteristics.

[@stilltmg]

yet another banger quote from mr. stuff-I mean Karl Marx.

[@azazel166]

"And it's more Socialism the more stuff it does."

[@TheShattubatu]

*laughing* Engels your boyfriend is awesome!

[@jonathancastin5010]

@@PlatinumAltaria 😂😂its Marx lenim and philosophers with xi thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics

[@NevaehsCapture]

Better time than ever to get this trending in the US.

[@joshuaneff2283]

Definitely

[@whysocurious7366]

Yee

[@WiloPolis03]

Yeah the economy is in a chemical dumpster fire rn

[@4mbrose]

America is corporatist but aight

[@4mbrose]

@@whysocurious7366 the US government interacts with corporations and companies more or less the exact same since the Clinton administration if not earlier. government subsidies and bailouts isn’t unregulated capitalism, that’s state intervention.

[@stilltmg]

If we can't even afford to feed ourselves, then what's the point of money, anyways?

[@stilltmg]

@Karl Marx I am rather not familiar with that concept. What's it about?

[@stilltmg]

@Karl Marx Sounds sophisticated.

[@KS-kx2yb]

If you have the time and resources to type this, use those assets to bring in more income instead of typing

[@richjuin9504]

@@KS-kx2yb so I guess people can’t engage in commentary online anymore?

[@DiThi]

@@stilltmg In economics, praxeology is basically rejecting empirical evidence and using deduction alone to reach the very same conclusions of the Austrian school. In other words, it's a rejection of the scientific method, it's a pseudoscience.

[@Spamhard]

I'm always reminded of an old cinema job i had for much of the early and mid 2000s. When i first started we were earning about £6 an hr and a ticket cost around £3-4 depending on concessions. As the years went by those ticket prices crept up, and not long before my job there ended, we were getting just over £7 an hr, but ticket prices had increased to £12-15 (sometimes nearly £20!). I worked as a projectionist in the later years, but then they decided to replace *all* the film projectors with digital projectors. They needed no man power to run, less maintenance, and required no film handling or heavy deliveries. They swore these projectors would save the company millions in running costs, and kicked out all projectionists (6 of us in total). While claiming these changes would save them money, the ticket prices still soared each year, and the workers wages barely changed in the space of a decade, while they cut jobs to run as few staff as they could, giving empoyees twice the work for the same wages.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

Capitalism is trash.

[@Spamhard]

@@scottandrewhutchins Amen to that. Working full time on a 'decent' wage and I still can't get accepted for mortgages. But no, no, the system is working fine u guys, totally, you just need to work harder. Got a full time paying job and not enough money? Get two jobs! What's that?! You still can't afford basic groceries on top of your housing and bills. Hm, clearly it's your fault and not the systems.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

@@Spamhard i have a master's degree, and businesses think that a few dollars above minimum wage is OK. The only jobs I've had that paid well were with small outfits that couldn't take me on full-time or just needed me for one project. I became homeless seven years after earning my master's because of medical issues. Social Security says that I can do a desk job, but the replies top my applications are rare, and most are known scams (entry-level marketing scam, sell insurance at your own expense disguised as a job interview, and advance fee scams).

[@Spamhard]

@@scottandrewhutchins That's shit to hear, sorry you're being dragged through it. The job sites are definitely full of scams these days. If it's not those marketing scams, it's either at home call taking to sell scams to other people, or people messaging about pyramid schemes. I got made redundant because of covid so I've got to start at the bottom yet again at some place new. Likely looking at min wage for a whole bunch of years. Timing sucked because I'd done everything fucking right, I'd been working hard and saving harder, JUST saved up enough for a potential housing deposit after 15 years of saving, but thanks to that small chunk of cash in my savings, I'm not allowed to claim Unemployment Benefits, so I gotta drain out my savings again while I look for work... back to square one. Capitalism is great.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

@@Spamhard This is exactly why @bart doo loves it.

[@MartyTuro]

Capitalism is when iPhone Socialism is when no iPhone -PragerU

[@supermichelangelo5763]

Vuvuzela 100 kabillion dead bottom text

[@petecoleman3443]

@@supermichelangelo5763 USSR 16 dujillian people killed shm mh haed h

[@kirk7708]

Soviet China animal farm 1984 human nature basic economics iphone mcdonalds communism killed 11 billion

[@tareke586]

Vladimir Stalin

[@nikste23]

Even more reasons to love socialism!

[@WiloPolis03]

Man, the artistic value on these are so good. So much more stylized and genuine than the corporate vector clipart PragerU pumps out.

[@benmuller5618]

The fact that this is something you have to explain to people with access to the internet is crazy.

[@subhadityasen5486]

Mainstream media does not propogate these views and even youtube/google have modified their algorithm to throttle traffic to channels/websites that are anti-capitalist.

[@jessearnivas]

@@subhadityasen5486 but somehow those same companies are controlled by communists. it’s really just a bunch of double think with conservatives

[@andersonandrew1079]

The rich see’s economic crises as a garage sale, that’s why investing right now will be the best decision

[@sarahjones9944]

*I invested in both stock and crypto but currently I believe crypto is doing more better*

[@janeashley4008]

@@sarahjones9944 Crypto is the future Silver and gold are good but crypto is best

[@stephenc2481]

It is nice to see a chat on how to invest and make money, blazing your own success. Complaining about the evil 1% gets old.

[@charlescasaburi5333]

@@sarahjones9944 the only reason why crypto’s are even tolerated is they draw demand away from precious metals. If they ever become a significant threat to the dollar the NSA will vaporize them in a nano second

[@5kamon]

@@ConfusedConfusionMan probably? I would not be surprised if there was a widespread effort to use AI to inflate assets.

[@DavEstra01]

This is too much nuance from the argument “capitalism good, socialism bad” now the Right side of my face is hurting.

[@PHYRBRND]

You may be having a stroke. Hope your ready for your $1000 ambulance ride!

[@elkyubi4281]

Angel Rodarte trusting and depending to much in the government could lead to Argentina

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

"Be grateful for the improvements." - every Boomer's mom, whose ghosts now collectively haunt the mind of Steven Pinker

[@KS-kx2yb]

Why shouldn't you? The only other way to look at it invokes one of the seven deadly sins... jealousy. If you are doing well, and better than before, celebrate that

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

@@KS-kx2yb I'm grateful, I just don't see the point in responding to an unsolved problem by giving attention to a solved problem.

[@KS-kx2yb]

@@Pensive_Scarlet perspective?

[@abmaw]

Pinker can bite me

[@daveruda]

The improvements that socialist parties forced capitalism to produce. Nothing was gifted

[@scrobuscrumbus1515]

Where the hell does all Prager U's oil money go? This video looks a million times better than any of old PU's not to mention that it's grounded in factual reality. Keep up the good work!

[@xXEvangelXx]

probably just grifting it never ceases to amaze me how sheerly corrupt the powers that be are, anytime you give them money for something there's like a 99% chance a solid 40-70% of that money is being (literally, thanks Epstein) for hookerz and blow

[@kylehayden3113]

"Where the hell does all Prager U's oil money go?" The bank accounts of the grifters they pay to have on...

[@Tom-it6gi]

"Where the hell does all Prager U's oil money go?" Up Charlie Kirk's nose.

[@JSpradley123]

@@Tom-it6gi his face shrinks every time he snorts a line of shill money coke

[@wyattmcwilliams6734]

All the money goes to Dennis Prager's daily Starbucks and avocado toast.

[@fg786]

Always remember when talking about poverty, we never mean that we have to produce more, so that one day we finally can feed and house everyone and to do so we need the innovative power ofcapitalism. We always mean, these people don't have enough money to buy stuff and no means of getting some. Isn't this weird? We don't have a problem of producing enough food or raw materials to build houses, electricity lines etc. all the stuff that makes modern life easy. That would be childs play and only a task of coordinating time, workers and materials in short: a technical challenge. With capitalism we somehow have a different problem, there never seems to be enough money to undertake these tasks.

[@lost4468yt]

Money is just an abstraction of value though. Getting someone to coordinate the time, getting workers, and materials, none of that is free. You can't just eliminate money and suddenly get that for free. Money is made up, but the energy and value it represents is not. So please explain where do you expect the money (or what it represents) to come from?

[@fg786]

@@lost4468yt Let's start with this: What do you think about this difference between what we could do but don't, because it is not profitable, but in reality easily manageable from a standpoint of resources, labour necessary etc.? Is this good, bad, do we have to do something about this, how can money, the government the common citizen who- or whatever help? *Money is just an abstraction of value though.* What are you abstracting from an already highly abstractive term like value? *Getting someone to coordinate the time, getting workers, and materials, none of that is free.* I'm not saying "Boo, these filthy rich dudes only doing administrative work but no real work". That is not the "critique". *You can't just eliminate money and suddenly get that for free.* Why would that administrative work be needed to be done for free? Producing what is needed by everyone for everyone does not mean anyone is working for free or that administrative work would be considered not "real" work. It means that you help to produce what is needed and get from society what you needed, produced by yourself and others. The exchange between people is set in stone before production even starts and not mediated via money after productions has taken place without knowing if the stuff produced was actually necessary to produce. *Money is made up, but the energy and value it represents is not.* So why use money then? We could measure energy (hours of work done for example) to exchange products. In the end it boils down to relations between work done in different fields that can't be compared, because they are of a different quality. A costs 1 $ and B 5 $ and they are of different quality. As you can't compare different qualities A and B have to have something in common that they both share and that get's compared via money? What is that? You don't put an equal sign between 1 l of gasoline and your laptop. But somehow money does that. So rice and gasoline must have something in common and it can't be what they are used for. How do you compare fueling your car to doing work and fun stuff on your laptop? Money however has other qualities which my original post was trying to point at. There isn't really a lack of money, but in a money economy there is one singular goal and that is to increase its amount. This very process tends to accumulate money where there already is money and some are left out. That is inherently build into an economy that pays for labour with money. There is nothing to be done about this. And a developed industrial economy based on money will always only ever have capitalistic money (that which tends to make some filthy rich while others starve in overabundance).

[@coolioso808]

​@@fg786 A lot of great points you have made here. I especially liked: "So why use money then? We could measure energy (hours of work done for example) to exchange products." Indeed. You know how they say "time is money" well, how about time just being your time to spend how you want it? Like you said, we have the raw materials and ability to grow food, build homes, computers, etc. and we could easily manage it if it was as simple as "Just find out who needs the basics: food, water, shelter, etc. and make sure everyone in a community has that." Right there you solve major health problems and poverty as well. But, someone will say "Why would anybody work hard at all if people who work less hard still have food, water and shelter?" Well, what a anti-humanistic thing to say. How low do you think of the human species that you have been brainwashed to believe if humans were all given the basics for decent survival through the management and practice of science and technology that we'd all just sit around and do nothing of value? That's what most of us have been trained to believe. As George Carlin said (paraphrased) the poor exist just to scare the crap out of the middle class! Well, what kind of messed up human existence is that? How dare we call ourselves an intelligent species when we CAN but choose not to make sure all our brothers and sisters don't go without the basics for survival. I'm not directing this all at you, by the way, I'm just adding much of this to the conversation. Respond to whatever you wish. Again, many great ideas!

[@iwontreplybacklol7481]

@@lost4468yt the motto of capitalism is go for the money and serve that group of people exclusively. The people with no money, get completely disregarded amd kicked while they are down. Ive worked in construction, it wouldn't even take them a year to build small houses to house every homeless person in the US. The US spend more money dropping bombs and fueling aircraft for training exercises in a month. a chain is only as strong as it weakest link. A strong country has no poverty. Lifting people out of poverty will transform this country. Poverty is more than just not having money, it erases all hope for the future for those in poverty..also, history has shown that incredible people have come from of poverty, so lifting people out of poverty effectively increases the odds of the next genius to help change the world to be found.

[@scottgraham2154]

@@lost4468yt barter systems can work instead of money, money is pretty much an abstract. Once upon a time the u.s. dollar was based on the gold standard, that stopped being the case when nixon was in power. So now the dollar is based on nothing. These days more and more people don't even use physical money, they use debit and credit cards. So when this happens you have automatic deposit of your paycheck, then you use your debit card. At what point does the dollar become just numbers on a screen. Look at bitcoin for a moment, a currency based on nothing and uses up a great deal of resources just to achieve..numbers on a screen. Although in this case you cannot carry a bitcoin in your pocket and you can only use it for trading. In my opinion cryptocurrency is a scam. But if enough people accept it and use it for goods and services, it could become a legitimate currency. My point is at the point where currency becomes numbers on a screen ( not bitcoin ), why can't we just assign money to rid the world of poverty? I know most people would reply " but then everyone would stop working ", I really believe this would not be the case. " When people love what they do, they don't work a day in their life

[@big_guy_of_leiden5688]

GRAVEL INSTITUTE UPLOADED AGAIN MORE COMMENTS FOR THE ALGORITHM GOD

[@supermichelangelo5763]

Do it again Uncle Billy!

[@Smitywerban]

Praise the algorithm!

[@victorvelez8469]

All hail youtube

[@tareke586]

Gubermint do stuff

[@hectorcm2063]

Billy, why did you stop?

[@andrewrobinson3681]

Socialism is when the government watches the movie “The Stuff”.

[@crunchytoast4993]

Tasty space goop

[@stefanlangenhoven78]

Underrated comment

[@fakepants]

I'm sick of your "Chocolate Chip" Charlie bashing!

[@tomasturbado3942]

Yummy alien yogurt

[@dandylionsloth446]

Such a great movie

[@GreebusBleeb]

He's like Dennis Prager but actually listenable and correct

[@aleksszukovskis2074]

yah lol. Its true. though i disagree with implication that minimum wages make a better impact.

[@MrZauberelefant]

@@aleksszukovskis2074 gotta accompany them with a reasonable tax system.

[@brucetenhave6952]

He's like Dennis Prager, yes, and I understand what he was saying. I know there are both pros and cons to both, and capitalism doesn't escape that. Once doing a cost-benefit analysis on which is better, comparing socialism and capitalism, my firm opinion is that capitalism wins.

[@GubekochiGoury]

@@brucetenhave6952 like it's an all or nothing sort of thing between capitalism and socialism. Do you have to subscribe to your fire station or does the gov't pays for that? Looks like socialism to me.

[@MrZauberelefant]

@@brucetenhave6952 since Prager is a liar and Wolff might just be wrong, I tend to swing with the commie here. But his point, that socialist policies create better standards of living, is quite strong. US, as the paragon of unfettered capitalism, rank 16th in human development index and even lower in other Performance indicators. So, it seems that reality tends to comfirm his Hypothesis

[@peterleadley7103]

I'd like to describe the reality of Democratic Socialism. I am a single, retired truck driver. I have lived and worked in the Netherlands for 20 years. My income from my pension does not bring me up to the minimum income requirement set by Dutch law, so I receive subsidies from the government to bring it up to that level. In other words, by Dutch standards, I AM POOR. I live comfortably in a nice one bedroom apartment in the city centre, (purpose built with lift, community areas etc.,) and run a small (albeit ancient) car. I can afford internet access and cable TV. I never have to worry about medical bills or where my next meal is coming from. In fact my doctor tells me i should loose weight, probably caused by the fact that I can afford to always have a few beers in my 'fridge! If, God forbid, I should become too old to live independently, I have the option of living in an assisted living facility (old folks home) and when I shuffle off this mortal coil, my impoverished remains will be disposed of in a dignified manner. NOT BECAUSE I WILL CARE, BUT BECAUSE THE SOCIETY IN WHICH I HAVE LIVED AND WORKED DOES! My monthly income is US$1816. That is regarded as the poverty live in The Netherlands. Oh, nearly forgot, I get 13 of these a year, as EVERYONE is entitled to a MINIMUM of a months holiday pay!

[@Diablokiller999]

It's so strange that people in such a rich country like the US don't have things we in europe (I'm from germany, hello neighbor!) take for granted for several decades now. Can't imagine how it is to leave school and being thrown into this total capitalistic driven world, in which you are not worth more than your working force. Yeah sure, it's not all shiny and perfect in germany either and capitalists are trying to take away rights people fought here over 100 years ago. But at least we don't have to die because we can't afford cancer treatment, vaccines or getting broke because we need an abulance >_>

[@peterleadley7103]

@@Diablokiller999 We have to remember that the US is a very young country and will have to undergo the growing pains that so many countries have. Maybe in a couple of hundred years they will emerge from their medieval period and begin to live decently.

[@Diablokiller999]

@@peterleadley7103 I doubt that they have to go through the same stuff, 'cause the USA didn't start from scratch ;) The citizens left their former countries before socialist ideas started to grow strong in europe so they missed the trend. Now they have to come to the conclusion that it's better for everyone to distribute things equally. Either they learn it or Cyberpunk 2077 becomes a reality for them. Hopefully we can defend our labor rights in old europe and won't be torn apart by russia financed right wing parties....

[@oldfan1963]

I'm a retired American citizen. I receive $2000/month in social security. My health care ($200/month) is deducted from that $2000. I have no dental or vision insurance, I pay $124/month is mandated auto insurance for a 13 year old truck, $800/month in rent and I can't afford cable TV. Let me know if you need a room mate!! :)

[@yonatanran659]

good for you!! you live on the expense of others, nice!!

[@Savagolem]

This comment is just here to promote the video to the youtube algorithm.

[@Smitywerban]

Praise the algorithm!

[@xzraiderzx308]

Praise the almighty algorithm!

[@tommeier1888]

That’s great fam

[@landonyoung4850]

so true

[@brodycalifornia6384]

Holy crap I can’t believe you guys got Richard freaking Wolff!

[@realchoodle]

yeah really exciting stuff here

[@evs6327]

It's pretty epic

[@theneedledrop]

ayyyyyyyyyyyy

[@alexhenry3328]

Even if I suspect you’re more of a social Democrat, thank you for helping being more people to the left. People trust you for a mature articulation of ideas, and those articulations translate well from music to politics

[@kirilichushanka1357]

@@alexhenry3328 Fantano is basically a Socialist.

[@WiloPolis03]

Comradethony Anticapitalistano

[@WiloPolis03]

@@alexhenry3328 It's hard to say, definitely a leftist though

[@franciscogallegos4609]

Feeling a strong 9 on this one

[@stephaniecarrow4898]

Prof Wolff + the Gravel Institute = a great team!

[@o0Avalon0o]

This reminds me of when we did budgets for our college class. Our teacher called me in front, asked me in Disbelief if my pay & spending were real, if it was true I was working multiple jobs, if it was true I didn't have "fun" expenses, then called me a liar when I said I hadn't gone to the movies in 3 years. He just couldn't understand someone could be a hard worker & be that poor.

[@CrowTR0bot]

Did he make you flunk the class? He sounds dickish enough to do that at this point. And people say colleges are liberal brainwashing centers. One of my own professors made us read books by Pat Buchanan, Benjamin Nethanyahu, and the Ayn Rand Institute, claimed the Islamic Golden Age was a myth, and that we should have nuked Fallujah because "all the civilians evacuated anyway and we looked weak sending in easily killable troops."

[@LimeyLassen]

@@CrowTR0bot What type of professor? Not history, surely.

[@alexj7440]

@@LimeyLassen hopefully nothing to do with politics either

[@ProfDCoy]

You witnessed the generational wealth gap. Boomers (And some of early Gen X) were basically spoiled in terms of economic opportunity and lifetime financial outcomes. Everyone after them has been fucked because politicians took away all the programs and institutions that looked after people not profits. And far, far too many boomers, after being handed the cushiest deal in human history, are so ignorant and spoiled that they don't realise everyone born after them is struggling at all.

[@ProfDCoy]

It's not even that they're bad people. They just don't understand that quality of life has been declining for everyone else while their own QOL has been improving or at worst holding steady their whole lives. They can't fathom.it because they haven't lived that experience, and they just assume that everyone who came after them must be lucky because we all have smart phones and the internet. But smart phones and the internet aren't affordable education, affordable cost of living, high wages, or any of the other key things that were simply handed to the boomers. If you're curious about more of this, check out Global trumpism m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXjYkqJ3h6-Mi5I And Have the Boomers Pinched their Children's Future? m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKa7q6mgd76KbqM

[@TheSomeDrill]

I'm glad I can send these videos to people instead of trying to memorize an entire chain of an argument just to have a chance at convincing one person.

[@LucreDenouncer]

Workers should own and control the means of production.

[@hectorcm2063]

But that's socialism and if socialism no iphone

[@stilltmg]

Agreed, workers need their voices back!

[@LucreDenouncer]

@@hectorcm2063 venezuela 100 billion dead

[@anthonytom-duyquang3558]

Workers' self-management in the workplace is really cool. Imagine representative democracy in the businesses.

[@hectorcm2063]

@@LucreDenouncer socialist russia 100 TRILLION dead

[@williameaton6330]

Making wealthy people wealthier really does not seem to be the way to lift people out of poverty...duh

[@GenerationX1984]

Let's work on making them poorer.

[@tadhgknight3484]

Holy shit, 200 years, WITHOUT ANY RECESSIONS. Fucking hell, IF the economy grows by 173x??

[@calderarecords]

How? Explain indefinite growth on a physically finite planet somebody!

[@bdot223]

@@calderarecords just make more money duh

[@david85743]

@@calderarecords Increasing Technology

[@calderarecords]

@@david85743 Planned Obsolescence, Automation shall reduce people's purchasing power, just 10% of the Amazon Rain forest is intact now, 60% of fish stocks are gone, thousands of eco-systems perished, Plastics now in the Nano-Particle range are able to pass through the blood brain barrier, a 6th great extinction event is set in motion.. but "Yeh.. lets just earn more money". Utterly brainwashed humans.

[@toshirothelolman]

They got another legend on here

[@stilltmg]

"Could you live on $1.90 per day?" Well, considering that it's difficult to live on $13-$15 per day in most places here in the states, I'm going to take a wild guess and say no.

[@judithkim4050]

where in the US could you live for $13-15 a day? I'm pretty sure that most places should be just anywhere in the US

[@tareke586]

That’s in the cheapest places. In most places in the US, like the east coast, west coast and Texas and the northwest, 13$-15$ is just not enough at all. Most who get that are renting with other people in New York City. That’s just not enough.

[@PlatinumAltaria]

Average capitalist response: "Uh duh you can just live on the street and eat out of people's garbage."

[@eduardoraul5780]

@@PlatinumAltaria "JuST WokrR 3 full TImMe JOBs Coimee!!!11!"

[@ericmacrae6871]

@@judithkim4050 The sad reality if we adjusted the inflation the Real Wage should be about 25$/day if we want to be able to by the same amount of stuff 40 years ago

[@charleskesner1302]

Excellent. Thanks, Professor Wolff.

[@adambamford5894]

Wow this is like Prager U but with facts and human decency!

[@PayondeAwsome]

They were founded as a direct counter to the propaganda machine of prageru.

[@zonelet372]

And no fake/misleading graphs!

[@astrophysiciann]

that’s by design lol

[@adnanduzic8201]

@@jasser1918 Nah it's pragerU with actual facts that actually cites it's sources and fact checks everything

[@zonelet372]

@@jasser1918 the only leftists who watch it are disproving it in the comments or a separate video lol.

[@danielwareking]

Great message, but the audio mixing on this is a bit out of control. Sound effects and music are way too loud.

[@judithkim4050]

I agree

[@tadhgknight3484]

I didn’t think it was that bad

[@SlabBulkhead]

Yeah it's way too loud.

[@raina3545]

came here to say the same

[@TheVersian]

The music is a bit too loud for Richard to be understood clearly in parts, and while Closed Captioning helps a ton, I really recommend pulling the music down a bit for better a listening experience

[@TheChickengrylls]

Agreed, the sound levels aren’t optimal for getting the message across clearly to a wide audience. Consider a re-edit of what is otherwise an excellent and very important video.

[@nelsonc6173]

Really? I had no problem hearing. Maybe its' your computer or speakers?

[@Kaysler]

Agreed, the sound levels made it very difficult for me to hear clearly abd the abundance of sfx with high volume distracted me from the message.

[@NastiMarvasti]

Agreed. The mix is a bit off. I had to fight a bit to understand him. Either lower the music and effects or raise the level of his voice.

[@Sceleri]

@@nelsonc6173 not everyone has perfect hearing like you

[@alima93]

I was expecting videos on the different grades and types of gravel, but this is a pleasant surprise

[@theonewingedangel8680]

Unfortunately gravel was monopolized by Mann Co several years ago at the end of the gravel wars.

[@jakebimrose]

“Capitalism is when yes, Communism is when no.” - Dennis Prager

[@nicholasstancel]

What?

[@jakebimrose]

@@nicholasstancel Another PragerU astroturf account ^^^^ XD

[@lovelyhomeboy2782]

@@jakebimrose nah you gotta explain wtf that means

[@theluckycharms81592]

@@jakebimrose dude i almost choked on my bong hit when I read your comment! Lmao That's comedy gold right there haha

[@jakebimrose]

@@lovelyhomeboy2782 Astroturfing is the process by which a political movement (usually the right) masks their sponsors and supporters to make it appear as if it originates from and is supported by grassroots politics. Republican dark money has made it appear that many “normal people” support completely insane world views, which allowed them to gain legitimacy. Part of astroturfing tactics is having an army of bots/fake accounts poised to perpetuate the message that Republican interests aren’t the interests of the few, but the many.

[@DrSeanald]

Another banger, sound fx are drowning out Richard wolff’s voice tho

[@circle11111]

I was thinking that too

[@lausenteternidad]

The sound and the music is nice, but the drowning is real. I needed captions for this one.

[@chonkboi1976]

This is the kind of information that doesn't get taught in schools. It should be.

[@mxkhxi]

the modern day school system has been made to industrialize you, still teaching econ based on reaganomics that don't work.

[@HeavyWeapons52]

If you showed this in American public schools, conservatives would collectively implode lol

[@ediodimacaroni]

I think we should show both capitalist and socialist arguments to students and let them come to an conclusion.

[@lordyellowman]

Did you check his sources? How can you be so certain of it’s veracity, specially the part about income equality being more conducive to better living standards. He is as far as what is presented just pulling that out of his hat.

[@tnate6004]

It's also important to point out that capitalism profits from poverty. From payday loans to low wage jobs, capitalists exploit the poor. One question, sir: Do you really have a broccoli floret for a nose?

[@zodiacdana]

Nobody is forced to take a loan from payday loans or a low wage job.

[@theradioactivebananayolo2393]

My constructive comment: I think it would be good to put credentials at the beginning of the video to establish validity (similar to how PragerU does it)

[@blake031299]

I think they usually do, but in any case, it is in the description atleast

[@alexj7440]

@@blake031299 and he mentions it at the end

[@alfiedemmon4132]

Prager U? Validity. Pfffft. You have you joking. 😉

[@lynth]

Considering that "credentials" are only needed when you are to be believed based on yout authority (which is a fallacy), I'm against it. Arguments should speak for themselves. PragerU shows you credentials so you believe them, even though everything they tell you is a lie. Every person can understand these things.

[@dmarsub]

@@lynth yeah that's the fallacy fallacy, expertise exists. But yeah many people tend to invoke credentials and authority that have nothing to do with the subject at hand.

[@gabdraws7003]

Hearing that someone middle aged had to fight back against even their own family telling them to keep quiet and not complain is enormously comforting to me now, still sometimes questioning if I'm delusional or the only one who cares. Good video

[@margarineenjoyer4100]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHbEYZSBlsmBf6s

[@joelwinthrope2124]

If you'd like an opinion counter to your own please consider reading factfulness by hand roseling.

[@bartdoo5757]

You'll never hear Professor Wolff complaining about any capitalist university endowment.

[@jamisontanksley112]

@gabdraws7003 im there with you. Feeling like the reality is deny to you is hard

[@teohamacher2898]

SOCIALISM IS WHEN THE GOVERNMENT DOES STUFF GUY! realy though, im just feeding the robot.

[@hectorcm2063]

AND IT'S MORE SOCIALISM THE MORE STUFF IT DOES. Let's feed the robot.

[@teohamacher2898]

🤖 🍞

[@teohamacher2898]

Venezuela no iphone china communist karl lenin evil 1984

[@Montork]

879 people are fucking angry because capitalism can't work without strong socialism.

[@davidmoreno9191]

They unleashed the kraken with Wolff!!! (not to undermine the other speakers!)

[@ericmacrae6871]

You see the other speakers were just a warm-up now things get more serious

[@marlenedanko942]

The minimum wage has hardly changed but the cost of living keeps rising!

[@Suth1172]

Minimum wage increases always seem to tail the cost of living by decades...

[@kylehayden3113]

Not only has the rate of inflation and the cost of living fair out paced the increase in minimum wage, due to improvements in technology the average worker is also fair more productive today than they were 6 decades ago. We are working more hours and producing more value per hour, for less proportional pay in a time that costs proportionally more.

[@Suth1172]

@@kallerokanen8979 "Cope", you're a child. Living in your filthy rich Scandinavian country has made you forget how necessary Labour laws are, if we are to apply the same idea to say Indonesia, how do you think it would go for them? Even worse than it currently is. Unfortunately for you, the strong Unions which built your welfare state are dying, slowly but surely the labour laws you currently have are eroding, you may not find it necessary now, but when crisis comes knocking to your doorstep, you'll find out the hard way what it feels like to be starving and working for peanuts...

[@Suth1172]

@@kallerokanen8979 That is ridiculous, give it a couple decades, these right wing politicians fostered in the youth love the Neo-Liberal filth you are spreading, then will come the period of "Austerity Policy", policy enacted when your booming economy based off of the third world starts to stagnate. The welfare of your country will be stripped, and as you rot in an underfunded aged care home you will sing PRAISE for the Thatcher/Reagan like figure, you will praise them for "saving the economy" even if it's to your own- and your working class interests, and to their interests to strip the welfare state instead of bringing Corporations into line. You will be so entranced in fervent nationalism that you don't even notice the crippling state of your country, you will once again learn what it's like to be thrown bare onto the rocks of Neo-Liberalism. Until then sister/brother, I pray you be well, you will need your health as you pick up your second job without healthcare security...

[@kallerokanen8979]

@MÅGÅ TÊÅRS ARË HÜMÅÑ NÏRVÃNÃ Well Ig My own goverment has brainswashed me because when i realized i Have to pay a real tax rate of almost 50% If i Make The equilevant of 15$ an hour, i became right wing. Its insane How much tax you Have to pay, and i still choose The Private services over The public ones.

[@HeuristicsEnjoyer]

Kinda wish they'd turn down the volume on the music and the sound effects...

[@josemaria8177]

Richard D. Wolff is always a pleasure to watch.

[@boogathon]

So was Hitler.

[@kylewatson5133]

He's a lying socialist. You have to unpack his arguments but they are garbage. I get his gripes, life is unfair, socialism fixes none of his grievances.

[@TheNinja94a]

My whole childhood has been moving from house to house, apartment to apartment, because rent keeps getting raised, and the higher ups at the jobs my mom would work at would be shitty people, kicking her to the curb for being a human that needs time for herself, her children, and housekeeping(she's a single mom, she'd be juggling both breadwinning, and parenting). You'd think after workin' hard for years, and trying to save what little she could, she'd've pulled herself and us up by the bootstraps, but no, she's desperately searching for housing in the midst of a pandemic, in the U.S., a country that we pay taxes to, but don't see benefits from those taxes. Capitalism doesn't work for the poor-not even just the poor, we were more lower middle class than poor. It just doesn't work.

[@josefjensen4391]

I grew up poor based on economic metrics. IMO I was never poor. I believe there are ways for our government to improve and I am making no judgement on what you experienced one way or the other. I think your perspective of Capitalism is skewed and since that is our current system I would suggest taking a look again in how it may work for you, which may change your perspective. First you like 99% of all Americans are not a capitalist. Like most of us you work and expect a return for your work. This is great you contribute to the whole of man kind by what you do. I am not going to explain capitalism in a comment but maybe a very small part of it. Believe it or not you can turn the tables on capitalist. Capitalist need you. There are three basic ways for you to make more money per hour: One is to group with other like workers. Unions are good and part of healthy capitalism. The other two ways is a choice that you get to make. Improve your skill in an area where there is a scarcity. Improve how good you are at your job. Right now you get to make that choice regardless of what anybody else thinks. Why??? Because nobody gets to be in control. Nobody! (The whole. People only get to control their part). In other words: A non compassionate, unthinking, uncaring with no dog in the fight system decides. That doesn't sound that nice, but it works. Which means you get to own the fruits of your effort. BTW there is nothing fair about the chances you get in comparison to someone else. The only thing you get is a chance over and over and over again. As one who studies history that is pretty cool.

[@weareallbornmad410]

@@josefjensen4391 @Josef Jensen Sorry to point this out, but in every company I know you DON'T get to own the fruits of your effort. Improving your skills doesn't guarantee improving your wage in the slightest. Every seasoned worker will tell you it's more likely to increase your boss's expectations, with little to none monetary value for yourself. Acquiring "new skills in an area of scarcity" demands time and money - non-trivial amounts of both. We're talking of lifting people out of extreme poverty here; how exactly do you propose someone living on less than seven dollars a day is going to afford that? You've never felt that you've been poor? Perhaps it's you whose view of capitalism is scewed.

[@josefjensen4391]

@@weareallbornmad410 I think it is unfortunate that you have those beliefs. I don't believe those beliefs will help you. I realize you believe it to be objective truth. I don't. I am a seasoned worker and I have received the fruits of my labor. I have had a good life and it is my wish to change minds towards hope over despair. To find the smallest of opportunities from those hopes that they can grow into greater opportunities.

[@Tenhys]

@Cockroach ; @We are all born mad (and subsequently anyone reading this comment of mine.) Judging by the way the words are phrased in Josef Jensen posts, everything make them read like they were wrote by a bot. I strongly have my suspicion that this is a bot account, especially when looking at his profile : it's an account active since May 2020, yet it has absolutely nothing on it. Even both of your account respectively have some kind of activity (even mine for that matters). And, more importantly, there's always that very weird low account of "subscribers" present on all youtube accounts (even those that don't create contents like mine.) Yet on his there's nothing. Flat out nothing. Pardon the pun but that doesn't compute.

[@josefjensen4391]

@@Tenhys No I am not a bot. Even if I were a bot that would not take away from the legitimacy of what I wrote. Ideas submitted as being objective are right or wrong based upon their own merit and independent of their author (or bot). Who cares what Josef Jensen has to say...I agree I am irrelevant to the message. If one finds interests or maybe even value in a concept then investigate it yourself. Don't accept it on authority or dismiss it out of slander. BTW: I assure you that I am not a robot. I had an organic nutritional supplement this morning. :)

[@nickf7313]

Can we please emphasize that socialism is not the government doing stuff. We really need videos about taking over the workplace.

[@ashcarpenter7213]

hell yes. what he's describing in the video sounds much more socdem, which ain't bad, but we can do better still

[@FlauFly]

@@ashcarpenter7213 Yeah, but if someone goes into Richard Wolff they inevitable hit "socialism is when the government does stuff" memes.

[@granterwin952]

Part of implementing socialism will be beefing up social programs and spending. Enacting Medicare for all will reduce power of the bourgeoisie as well as give the working classes more of an ability to determine the terms of their employment.

[@kdandsheela]

Going left is ANY direction is better than we have now. But yeah, I do feel like there's a distinction between countries like China and Cuba VS Scandinavian countries. But, yeah, I'm surprised Dr. Wolf's guest video doesn't include him mentioning worker co-ops since he's well known for talking about them

[@slambrew3849]

@@Backwara the reason those people exist is because they don’t have a better alternative. My dad’s family is from West Virginia, and many of my cousins don’t work. After coal left, there was nothing to replace it and nowadays the people not living off of union pensions/military retirement/social security/etc are trapped in poverty regardless of whether or no they’re working. (With the only jobs being the local stores, or one of the fleeting coal jobs remaining)

[@tateoien871]

It's pretty easy to reduce poverty when you keep redefining what qualifies as poverty.

[@EricSandwich]

cue pic of eddie murphy pointing at head

[@warcam2592]

And include persons participating in other economic systems

[@hamnchee]

@@EricSandwich Not Eddie Murphy

[@clup3136]

Poverty has declined, no matter how u look at the data

[@johnd6389]

You redefine what poverty is as a result of what the value of the dollar is. The left are dumb.

[@WagesOfDestruction]

as a frequent traveller to India, I saw how much better it was once they changed their system from socialism to capitalism. poverty has gone down under capitalism

[@imtiazmohammad9548]

Good joke, did you visit communist state Kerala which is the best state in India ?

[@WagesOfDestruction]

@@imtiazmohammad9548 I have been many times to India and have been to Kerela. It is certainly not the best state in India, for example GOA is more than double as rich per person.

[@mouthpiece806]

Wow, citations in the description of a ~5 minute political video. Never did I think we would see the day!

[@bradleydelay]

Commenting to spread this genius to more through the Algorithm. FIGHT BACK AGAINST PRAGER!!!

[@joshuaneff2283]

Replying to your comment to further boost this in the algorithm

[@corbinglenn2567]

@@joshuaneff2283 replying to your reply to fight prager

[@alexr6705]

@@corbinglenn2567 replying to you in order to eat the rich

[@Ibrahim-pe9ti]

@@alexr6705 Replying to your reply to fight prager

[@isaiahherrera1122]

Yes. Everyone who comes across this should like this

[@planets9102]

COMMENTING IS PRAXIS COMRADES, FOR THE ALGORITHM!

[@landonyoung4850]

same me too

[@flash_flood_area]

No rithm but algo rithm

[@francosoliman103]

Communism was BRUTAL. Unfettered American Capitalism is just as BRUTAL.

[@loughlinpagnucci8182]

*Was just as Brutal.

[@Fedrowreview]

Petition to rename Gravel Institute PoggersU

[@AyeshaRabab]

Wolff is a treasure and this is the format he deserves. You're doing brilliant work!

[@MrZauberelefant]

And he is just iterating basic stuff. A very smart man, but he shines mostly because of his bleak backdrop.

[@hedgehog3180]

I live in Denmark and I do just want to remind everyone that while social democracy and welfare programs are better than rampant neoliberalism it is still a form of capitalism and therefor requires poverty. Nordic countries still benefit from global poverty since they also need to extract wealth from the global south just like the US. It's simply sharing the spoils of imperialism more equitably but it is still capitalism and as such needs to be abolished to have a truly equal and fair world.

[@kobemop]

That is true. Going beyond social democracy is needed. Establishing socialism is where its at.

[@prometheus5405]

Neoliberalism is the best ideology Gradual peaceful moderate reform over rapid violent revolution, semi-regulated free-market capitalism, social progress, strong governmental social welfare programs, legalization of weed-like soft drugs, zero corporate tax, economically liberalization (fiscally moderate), carbon tax for combating climate change (and much more), free speech, patriotic (not nationalistic) globalism, free trade & minimal protectionism, YIMBYism, minimal zoning, less strong borders (if possible open borders), liberal democracy, collectivistic individualism, liberty-based technocratic humanism, balancing inflation-unemployment, strong interventionism as counter-terrorism measures, secular (laïcité) multiculturalism, building worldwide military alliances like NATO with the EU & other similar UN countries, and multi-payer healthcare (with a public option) This is what Neoliberalism offers. It is unironically the best ideology ever tried and I'm proud to be a neoliberal 😎💹📈✊🏾✊✊🏻✊🏼✊🏽✊🏿🚀🏫🚇⚛️🗽💲🌐🏳️‍🌈

[@prometheus5405]

@@kobemop Socialism is the easiest ideology to believe in. You can just keep complaining, make no meaningful change, and then still sit on your moral high horse. Some of us want to change real meaningful change which will improve society, you should try it for once.

[@rubylefebvre]

@@prometheus5405 are you being fr bc this is such a funny comment

[@kallerokanen8979]

What? We arent exploiting The global south. We are benefiting from them and they are benefiting from us. Its a mutualistic relationship. The nr1 reason why china overcome poverty was us exporting Labour to Them.

[@sebamm6469]

I've trailed your sources. They seem very good. Thank you for your work.

[@CGaboL]

I got nothing else to add, just feeding the algorithm here.

[@matthewuzhere]

same.

[@tadhgknight3484]

Same

[@latinomifune4700]

Same.

[@DoubleOhSilver]

Same

[@voxomnes9537]

Same.

[@transArsonist]

I was living on $1.40 a day and had to go to the hospital because, even though I was Eating, i wasnt getting any Nutrients. I was eating every day and I almost died of starvation.

[@Knifymoloko]

What country were you living in?

[@transArsonist]

@@Knifymoloko united states

[@Knifymoloko]

@@transArsonist dang. Did you write anything on how your survived that? Curious about your story

[@transArsonist]

@@Knifymoloko didn't do it on Purpose. I was just hella broke

[@Knifymoloko]

@@transArsonist I'm broke monetarily these days myself. But I've felt alienated by this for profit society since my teen years. For me spirituality is the key to enriching one's (true) self. It's been an interesting path but now I practice being in the moment. How are you faring these days

[@GooeyGremlin]

I'm genuinely glad a channel like this exists, thank you.

[@josefjensen4391]

Agree. I am glad opposing channels exist too.

[@Chandler36]

Me too I am glad to see where all the idiots go

[@oanonimogreg6487]

@@Chandler36 are you talking about prager U ?

[@Chandler36]

@@oanonimogreg6487 I don't know what prager eu is

[@oanonimogreg6487]

@@Chandler36 because this is where the true idiots(who think that capitalism is the best system in the world and that everything right now is perfect) go

[@xsweat1618]

Richard wolf is so great to me because he doesn’t try to lose u in translation, he understands we (me I’m 19) will barely (and probably won’t even want to) listen to all the big words and stipulations behind capitalism vs socialism, it’s American economics for dummies and I love it🤞🏽

[@Monaleenian]

"he understands we (me I’m 19) will barely (and probably won’t even want to) listen to all the big words" Oh he definitely understands that kid. He sees the likes of you as a little lamb

[@genghisdingus]

"Capitalism gets people out of poverty"* *capitalism gets a select few ambitious people into ownership roles because they stepped on others to get to the top

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

then employs propaganda to keep their families in wealth its nobility via capital accumulation.

[@aidancanoli]

"well because they work harder"

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@aidancanoli another lie they use

[@anthonynorman7545]

I'd replace ambitious with lucky. There have been plenty of ambitious people who've lived in poverty.

[@nicholasstancel]

*MORE LEFT-WING MARXIST ECONOMIC DRIVEL FROM THE GRAVEL INSTITUTE... HERE ARE ACTUALLY FACTS AND VERIFIED ACTUARIAL STATISTICS... ------------------------------------ In c.1820, 94% of the world’s population was living in extreme poverty. By 1910, this figure had fallen to 82%, and by 1950 the rate had dropped yet further, to 72%. However, the largest and fastest (stochastic deviation/orthogonal growth of multivariate M1 GDP for per capita fudiciary benefactors), poverty line decline occurred between 1981 (44.3%) and 2015 (9.6%). Reading these figures, which were compiled by Johan Norberg (a notable left-leaning centrist and proponent of Keynesian Demand-side "crowding-out" stimulus" for his book "Progress," is enough to make anyone rub their eyes in disbelief. For according to leftist anti-capitalists, these were the very decades in which so much went so wrong in the world. In his book "Capital in the 21st Century," the left-wing French economist Thomas Piketty writes that it is precisely this period that is allegedly so problematic. He bemoans a widening of the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of income and wealth in the period from 1990 to 2010. But what is more important, (in terms if capital velocity and Prime monetary fund metrics), to these hundreds of millions of people-that they are no longer starving, or that the wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires may have increased to an even greater extent than their own standard of living? According to Norberg, 200 years ago, at the birth of capitalism, there were only about 60 million people in the world who were not living in extreme poverty. Today there are more than 6.5 billion people who are not living in extreme poverty. Between 1990 and 2015 alone (in Thomas Piketty’s view the devastating years in which social inequality rose so sharply), 1.25 billion people around the world escaped extreme poverty-50 million per year and 138,000 every day. We must note that Johan Norberg himself used to be a left-winger and an anti-capitalist. In his book, he admits that he never thought about how people lived before the industrial revolution, when there was no medicine, no antibiotics, no clean water, nowhere near enough food, no electricity and no clean water. He confesses that he pretty much imagined this epoch of humanity as a trip to the countryside. But the reality of the past was quite different. In the early 19th century, poverty rates were higher even in the richest countries then than they are today in the world’s poorest countries. In the United States, Great Britain and France, between 40% and 50% percent of the population lived in conditions that we now describe as extreme poverty. Today, the only countries with such high poverty levels are all in sub-Saharan Africa. Across Scandinavia, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Spain, roughly 60% to 70% of the population lived in extreme poverty. And between 10% and 20% of Europeans and Americans were officially described as beggars and vagabonds. [British Caché actuarial statistics & epidemiology] -- It is estimated that 200 years ago some 20% of the inhabitants of England and France were unable to work at all. At most they had enough strength to walk slowly for a few hours each day, which condemned them to begging for the rest of their lives. Karl Marx foresaw the impoverishment of the proletariat, but when he died in 1883, the average Englishman was three times richer than in 1818, the year in which he was born. Progress over recent decades is particularly evident in terms of life expectancy gains. Life expectancy at birth has increased more than twice as much in the last century as in the 200,000 years before. The probability that a child born today will reach retirement age is higher than the probability of previous generations ever celebrating their fifth birthday. In 1900, the average life expectancy worldwide was 31 years; today it stands at 71 years. Of the roughly 8,000 generations of Homo sapiens since our species emerged approximately 200,000 years ago, only the last four have experienced massive declines in mortality rates. In the last 140 years there have been 106 major famines, each of which has cost more than 100,000 lives. The death toll has been particularly high in socialist countries such as the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Ethiopia and North Korea, killing tens of millions of people through the forced transfer of private means of production to public (statist) economies and the use of hunger as a weapon. The book "The Power of Capitalism" describes in painful detail the biggest socialist experiment in history, Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” at the end of the 1950s. About 45 million Chinese died at that time. The annual number of deaths due to major famines fell to 1.4 million in the 1990s-not least as a result of the collapse of socialist systems worldwide and China’s move toward capitalism. As late as 1947, the United Nations stated that around half of the world’s population was chronically undernourished. By 1971, this had fallen to 29%, ten years later it was only 19%. By 2016, the proportion of people suffering from malnutrition worldwide had fallen to 11 If there is one thing we can learn from history, it is that doom-mongers have always been wrong. In 1968, a highly acclaimed book was published with the provocative title The Population Bomb. The book stated that the 1970s would see the world plagued by numerous famines, which would result in hundreds of millions of people starving to death. Another book, Famine 1975!, predicted that famine would reach catastrophic proportions within 15 years. While anti-capitalists frequently glorify the past, they always regard the future with a strong sense of doom and gloom. In 1972, for example, the highly influential Club of Rome warned that emissions of practically every pollutant now seemed to be rising exponentially. In fact, in the decades to come, pollution would not only stop growing, but actually decrease. And drastically so. Total emissions from the world’s six leading air polluters fell by more than two-thirds between 1980 and 2014. Norberg also confirms the extent to which environmental conditions have improved over the last few decades. While acknowledging the impact of climate change, he also points out that the amount of energy needed to produce one unit of prosperity in the Western world has decreased by 1% per year every year over the past 150 years. As he demonstrates, there are ways and means to cut CO2 emissions without reducing growth, trade and access to energy. These include more efficient production processes, less energy-intensive construction methods, new energy sources and fuels. As he also explains, scientists and companies are now working on fourth-generation nuclear power plants, all of which have passive safety systems, that can generate hundreds of times more energy from the same resources and do not have the same waste problems as their predecessors. Stephen Pinker, in his book "Enlightenment Now!", also confirms that all manner of environmental problems have declined sharply in recent decades, despite the fact that most people believe they have actually increased. Pinker also sees nuclear energy as the most important means of combating climate change. In the past, according to Pinker, people’s innovative power to solve problems has repeatedly been underestimated-but a departure from progress and growth, he warns, will lead to the opposite of what environmental and climate protectors hope for. In his book, Norberg cites a seemingly endless array of facts that prove the benefits of economic progress. The weekly hours worked by the average American are now 25 hours less than they were in 1860. At the same time, people enter the world of work later in life, retire earlier and live longer after retirement. All of these positive developments are the result of technical progress and an economic system that made this progress possible in the first place -- [Privitized valuation of inter-subjective labour exchange vectors and competitive [free market] intraday parity pricing]... A study of 180 countries over four decades shows that the increase in income for the poorest in a society is primarily due to growth rather than redistribution: 77% of income growth for the poorest 40% of a population are directly linked to the average growth of a country. Capitalism is not the problem, as anti-capitalists tell us. In fact, it is capitalism that has very successfully solved many of the world’s most serious problems over the last two centuries.

[@lausenteternidad]

Saying that capitalism and the market will fairly distribute money and resources, is like saying that a casino will fairly distribute the chips.

[@ediodimacaroni]

@Karl Marx austrian economists eat paint for breakfast

[@duncanohio]

Who said the market will fairly distribute resources? I thought it was always along the lines of "more fairly than the bureaucracy".

[@lausenteternidad]

@@duncanohio With fairly I mean, no one is starving, everyone has a house and healthcare and no one is so inordinately rich that the balance of power is fucked in their favour

[@duncanohio]

@@lausenteternidad Right. Who is against that? Like, less that 1% of the world is against that, even if you were to count within the richest 1% of "capitalists" only 1% would be against that.

[@emperorvalkorion489]

Yeah it absolutely does lol. Mises and Hayek proved through the knowledge problem socialism can't, and we've seen this in 20th century socialist systems.

[@louisdzialo9990]

BASED PROFESSOR WOLFF

[@gooseintheshell1290]

The cognitive dissonance in some people when you point out that the only reason poverty is declining is due to the tremendous achievements of China is astounding and frustrating.

[@tommcdermott2412]

Tells you exactly why China is deemed a ‘huge threat’ now. They risked showing the world they’re being swindled by capitalism.

[@NerdJoshua]

Remember, $7.40 is the bare minimum in the poorest countries. You need way more in a more developed country.

[@westmax8491]

Even $7.40 in poor countries is still unlivable

[@BlackKara]

Right, esp with just like. Rent! Who can pay for that!

[@niupaidanui]

To give some perspective, I do know it’s quite cheap to live in Vietnam as a tourist, so I looked it up today to see how low we could get. I assume that to survive as a tourist in the Old Quarter tourist district in Hanoi one would need shelter and food. Shelter: 3.77 USD a night for a backpacker. Found on Agoda, averaged over a 15 night stay. Food: based on memory about 25,000 VND a meal. 1.08 USD at today’s rates. We’re talking about survival, so you only get one meal. Thus a tourist could survive in Hanoi for under 5 USD per day. Perhaps the current travel situation has meant lower prices for shelter, but we’re also talking about prices in a tourist district. Also Hanoi certainly isn’t the poorest of places. Clearly we will be able to find an opposite example where $7.40 would be unbearable, it really depends on the price levels. One would probably need more in a developed country, as the op has stated. So any definition of poverty that does not consider local price levels cannot possibly be taken seriously. It’s a lazy way to analyze the issue IMO.

[@DaneElec256mb]

The $7.40 figure is in 2011 USD PPP. What this means is that it's the amount of goods/services that $7.40 USD would buy you in the USA in 2011. So...still an intolerably low amount.

[@LowestofheDead]

*If $1.90 buys one loaf of bread in America, they mean that much money in another country* - in Vietnam it might be $0.19 for bread, so that's their poverty line. It's called "Purchasing Power Parity", or PPP.

[@gas8257]

"Socialism is when the government does stuff, the more stuff it does, the Socialister it is and if it does a whole lot of stuff, that's Communism" - Karl Marx

[@canadianfox1713]

That is literally what the video says when highlighting Denmark and Finland, 2 capitalists countries

[@scroogemcfyuck8110]

I'm stuff.

[@robbyb5155]

It's great you guys got Richard Wolff on. Keep em coming.

[@SapioiT]

Please consider making a video on Solar Chimneys, and a possible implementation being using greenhouses to get seawater vapours funneled into large pipes and delivered inland, where ground-based wind turbines generate power, dew collectors harvest a big part of the water, and the rest of the water is released into the atmosphere to make clouds. The whole process causes local cooling in the hot summers, and gets water to draught-striken areas with almost no maintenance required. For keeping the steam hot, they only need a some stainless-metal or plastic-and-aliminium-foil mirror arrays to heat the pipe once in a while. And by simply airplane-dropping seeds for wild grasses, large desert areas can be turned into farmland and forests fairly quickly, especially if all the water is released into the cold winds, essentially causing the steam to turn into rain or condense on the ground, vegetation, and other structures, before the steam can get too high up.

[@Zackbfunky]

Comment for that algorithm lads

[@Smitywerban]

Praise the algorithm!

[@kilonova8939]

algorithm gang o7

[@hollandscottthomas]

FOR THE ALGORITHM

[@joseftollar6213]

Algorithm

[@KamBB-gu3pv]

Heartwarming💕💕

[@Baffon100]

Ah finally! Miss you guys!

[@WinnGale]

Hurray, more videos! Something to look forward to in the new year.

[@lucadhagat9364]

GRAVEL UNIVERSITY IS BACK

[@KamBB-gu3pv]

Institute

[@lucadhagat9364]

@@KamBB-gu3pv I'm parodying prageru

[@declanmendes2287]

Love how Gravel Institue, despite being nothing as ritch as prager, still manage to produce videos with mutch better graphic design and content every time

[@kylehayden3113]

Amazing how people who are passionate about their work can produce better content than people who aren't. Almost like the idea that humans require a profit motive to do anything other than sit around a finger their assholes all day is total bullshit.

[@josefjensen4391]

Lets setup debates. Richard Wolff vs Andy Puzder or John Stossel. Have Politco run the debates. We can be united in wanting to have a discussion.

[@truedarklander]

@@josefjensen4391 idk i think a PhD in economics will mop the floor with vulgar pundits.

[@josefjensen4391]

@@truedarklander Why would the opposition be a vulgar pundit? ....and okay sure maybe.... but that is not the point of a debate. It's unfortunate that people have not had exposure to good debate. I love to have a position challenged in a debate and not have the answer. I now have to re-think my position and possibly change it--I get to grow as an individual. I debate because I am not always right, so in your words lose. Sure I want to win but only if it worth winning.

[@truedarklander]

@@josefjensen4391 what i mean is that PragerU hasn't got a single actual expert in roll, while Professor Wolff is an actual economist

[@defenstrator4660]

Mr. Wolff will never be convinced. He has a religion he wishes to believe in, and reality will never be an obstruction to it.

[@margarineenjoyer4100]

BASED

[@ncrtrooper1782]

I currently can't afford to support with money, but I'm gonna share the living sh*t out of these videos.

[@kyleschwendiman706]

Patrolling the [Failures of Capitolism] almost makes you wish for a [Socialist Revolution]

[@ncrtrooper1782]

@@kyleschwendiman706 Amen, comrade

[@jackiesee9077]

Same!!!!

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

@@kyleschwendiman706 Reformation is more palatable than Revolution.

[@somethingdarkinside]

well that is the problem

[@jackri7676]

comment for algorithm: how was everyone’s day?

[@lilithwills812]

My day was pretty good- I got some writing done. You?

[@slunchery]

yes

[@nickchier6313]

I’m getting by

[@saifuddinmakati843]

@@nickchier6313 bruh

[@flash_flood_area]

Pretty good so far, since I just got up.

[@GlitzPixie]

The sound design is just as stunning as the animation huge props

[@ynotamil]

Surely it made a tiny dent on poverty, but the big, huge knock on poverty was made when the left, unions, socialists and communists started striking and so putting pressure on the right (the business owners, the corporations, the capitalists) and forced them to start paying better (although mediocre, to say the least) salaries and wages to the workers. The left forced the corporations to give us workers annual paid leave, paid sick leave, compensation on retrenchment, contribution to our medical expenses, to our retirement, etc, etc. All this made a huge dent on poverty. Not capitalism. If it wasn't for the left we would be still working 15 hours a day 7 days a week, with a minimum salary well below the poverty line.

[@9002RPMS]

Richard Wolff is such a based king we love him

[@chowking_express]

Just feeding the al gore rhythm, left is best

[@Smitywerban]

Praise the algorithm!

[@hectorcm2063]

When nothing goes right, go left

[@landonyoung4850]

yasssss

[@ullasjoseph4502]

Love the video, but the sound effects during transitions are distracting. Less volume would work better I think.

[@S3lvah]

Finland and Denmark are both social democracies, meaning countries that heavily rein in capitalism-borne inequality with redistribution of wealth and social programs. But even here in Finland, inequality has slowly been on the rise, due in part to successive center-right gov'ts and international pressure against high taxes (e.g., wealthy ppl moving their assets to a tax haven, or companies being unable to compete with lower-tax countries' ones). This is an international problem. I like Janet Yellen's initiative to negotiate international minima for corporate etc. taxes as one of many necessary solutions.

[@caterosf]

Is it inequality or fairness? The people who produce the most, innovate and takes risks are keeping more of what they produced. Just asking

[@S3lvah]

@@caterosf Good question; it's not a yes/no thing. Whether or not it's fair depends entirely on _how much_ more they get. 1.1-3X as much, great. 3-10X as much, OK. 300X as much (CEO vs. minimum wage worker, currently) is insanity.

[@seth561]

Terrific video! Such beautiful animation and incredibly helpful information! Can’t wait for more!