Richard Wolff: Capitalists Have Never Been More Incompetent

[@douglastaylor8039]

They're not only incompetent they're crooks.

[@jackdepalma]

Doing the profit maker thing but making like you are macho man house rep or senatoor hulkster is so PROBLEMATIC. They get rich, usa gets a screwing. 7:03

[@GrandmaCathy]

Do you know how companies are run now? It's completely insane. I don't understand how the whole thing hasn't completely collapsed yet.

[@ddhqj2023]

And that is why China is going to outstrip the West in the near future. Because China moves toward a long game goal while the West is caught up in this ridiculous '4 year' battle (two steps forward, 1 step and a stumble backwards).

[@NigelDeans]

I would say that it has... The audacity of the upcoming Trump administration is a response to the collapse that is already happening... where the oligarchs are claiming their rights to the remaining life boats while the "common" people are still utterly confused about what is happening. The limits on education and the culture wars are helping to keep people in the dark as the oligarchs prepare for the day when the people actually do catch on. What happens then? Ask the pro-Trump, prison-industry.

It's coming!!

[@farinshore8900]

The country may be rich, but the vast majority of the citizens most certainly are not rich!

[@JosedeJezeus]

I would call America less poor than the rest of the world, but we still have poverty here!

[@limitisillusion7]

The stability of a capitalist economy relies on the people in the economy choosing to be capitalists. In other words, in order for a capitalist economy to function, the masses must have diverse sources of capital. If the wealth inequality reaches a point where an significant portion of people can't purchase capital because they have no money left over after purchasing necessities, then the economy will collapse. You can't rely on an economic system that prioritizes profit if the laborers creating the profit aren't being given enough of that profit to live. Capitalism can work _if and only if_ the masses can afford capital.

[@0z0pk]

Less than middle class

[@JosedeJezeus]

@@limitisillusion7 so universal basic income should be a good thing for capitalism.

[@limitisillusion7]

@@JosedeJezeus I'm not really sure I would consider it capitalism at that point, but it's not really capitalism now either, because corporate interests have captured the government.

[@marycollins8215]

Glad to have Dr. Wolff in this conversation! Thank you.

[@madeleinegonzalez4609]

His comments about savages

[@frank124c]

Prof. Wolff is endlessly fascinating. He's not just reading from a script, he is using his own words to express his knowledge and true feelings. He should run for president.

[@007kingifrit]

are you overeducated? he didn't really make a thesis or a compelling argument.....or any affirmative claims at all. he just summarized the news , vaguely

[@anirudhhattangadi3534]

Are you defending those billionaires neoliberal elitists?​@@007kingifrit

[@angie6649]

I agree with you, we need a wise President that can fix our Country's problems and economy. The corporations that choose our Presidents won't let that happen though. It's against their corrupted interests

[@alexbalayants8490]

@@007kingifritDr Wolff has been at the forefront of the struggle as an educator helping dispel the propaganda that has been shoved down our throats since we were born. He has plenty of economic expertise and knowledge to impart.

[@007kingifrit]

@@alexbalayants8490 appeal to authority fallacy: i analyzed his speaking style, you talked only of his credentials. i'm clearly smarter than you

[@danielskillman4030]

The electoral process is meaningless when all the candidates are captured by corporate interests. Voting will not get us out of this.

[@carlretter4263]

If voting made any difference it would be illegal. America needs a 3rd party peace party

[@horsemeattball]

Not just voting. We need a new constitution. Start from the bottom up. Make political campaign contributions against the law. All political candidates must be vetted before they can run for office. Tax ALL religious institutions like the corporations they are. And make all political offices, including judges, term limited.

[@jmitterii2]

@@horsemeattball And once they're out, they cannot work in any industry they regulated directly in departments elected or appointed either way for 20 years plus nor can they be paid in back pay after that for services awaiting that period to end (you know figure a loop hole before it's exploited) doing so 1,000% taxed meaning a fine that is 9x the owed in addition to the owed amount, and 10 years of community service (prison is to overrated and useless, make such people work it off and stop putting people behind bars it serve only to make people bitter and not restore their morale and decency).

[@peterkilbridge6523]

@@horsemeattball vetted...by whom?

[@marybusch6182]

​@@horsemeattballand lobbiests?

[@sidmarx7276]

Calling big capital incompetent is missing the point: Big money is exploiting disasters and encouraging them to continue.

[@glm4054]

What Professor Wolff is describing is exactly the disturbing denial I'm experiencing from average Americans in my daily life when I bring up these issues and they say oh I'm not political and I respond well it's happening anyway.💔🇺🇲

[@justjust8953]

"im not political" is code for "im a conservative and im aware of the social consequences of my views, so I avoid dissenting viewpoints"

[@MyNameIsRed111]

When people tell me “I’m not into politics..” I say “Well, politics are into you!” It just seems to go right over their head. It’s frustrating.

[@donaldjamesx2990]

Isn't it so true.....political apathy is strong in America. Just like corporate media wants it to be.

[@camaradamanuel5025]

@@donaldjamesx2990 It's not "apathy", is alienation. People work their asses off, from month to month trying to survive. If they have any free time at all, I personally don't think they'd be using it to read about politics, or the current policies that are being inplemented, and so on and so on, they'd rest or pass time with their families, who knows.

[@donaldjamesx2990]

@@camaradamanuel5025 Yea...I know. there still is apathy, but if more progressive politicians say what the public wants to hear....it would pull some out of that "state".You are right tho...it is more that people are unaware than apathetic Thanx to the media

[@StarSeedThom]

Brilliantly & brutally honest and yet compassionately serene & courageously clear in its depth of delivery and magnitude of wide ranging perspective . . .

[@jimbranaghan1228]

Huh?

[@dakota-rt8kd]

Indeed and that's exactly the path of a Light Warriors. Courage in battles and humbled servants in, Victory. There's a time for praying and a time for battles. Timing, Discipline, Self-control. Because, whomever, gets you out of your; Center Balanced, will owned you. Courage, Because, without it; we will never be able to do anything of any valuable nature for, Humanity 🎉😉💯💬 🧶🙏💚

[@garnerjoyce606]

And why I ride an ebike and e hasn't any signal

[@garnerjoyce606]

I'm almost 70 and think unkind thoughts towards business

[@kakooly]

Oh God ! Your kind 🙄🤣

[@rosedandaro1761]

Amazing conversation from Professor Wolf as always very clear and honest!

[@peacelovebrad]

I haven't found anyone in youtube or podcast media who can teach and explain economics as well as Wolff. So much of left media is just reaction videos to right-wingers, stretching a few seconds' worth of content into hours of worked-up, capslocked, self-satisfying entertainment to generate revenue from clicks and views, that it takes someone like Wolff to remind us what's worth our time and attention.

[@matboi5746]

George gammon. Great format, geared towards the intermediate level of knowledge. Visual support, clarity etc...👍

[@IshtarNike]

Unlearning economics is VERY good. Check them out.

[@peacelovebrad]

@@matboi5746 awesome, i'll look him up--thanks!

[@peacelovebrad]

@@IshtarNike will do, thank you!

[@hal970fx]

I've heard it referred to as the Chud-Dunking Industrial Complex.

[@hinxlinx]

00:20 Wresting metaphor 02:35 Going backward 04:24 Incompetence 05:54 Great Depression 08:45 Debts 10:15 Crisis 11:30 Shift of Power 15:41 Manufacturing 20:57 Hope

[@Smittumi]

You do the Lord's work.

[@byDsign]

@@Smittumi .... you beat me to that very comment. ♥♥♥

[@barriewright2857]

Thank you very much 👍.

[@heinrichvon]

@@Smittumi Even if you're an atheist.

[@ozarkexplorations7221]

Every thing he says is spot on except I don't see any hope to the future.

[@charlesronk2989]

Intrest rates alone tell you how sick the economy is. A healthy economy will have 8-12% interest rates. We have made borrowing cheap and interest rates low to keep up consumption while corporations under pay workers. This has a vast majority of the country living in debt. With little to no savings. The problem is there is no where to go from here. Interest rates are rock bottom. Wages are rock bottom for what is necessary to live. The system can not continue as it has for 45 years. Consumption drives everything in a Capitalist economy. That is why we have trade deals. To increase consumption of American goods. We also need domestic consumption. Which requires business to pay higher wages and expect lower profits. This is against every companies interest in profit maximization. It is why Laissez Faire Capitalism is designed to self destruct. The closest times in our history we have gotten to Laissez Faire Capitalism we see disaster. The Italian Hall Disaster, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, the Minors Wars, and the Ford Massacre. If it wasn't for Labor fighting against Capital the country would not exist today. Unfortunately the History Channels, The Men Who Built America does not address this. Capitalism does require Capital, but just as important in that mix is Labor and Consumers. It is a 3 legged stool any one without the other is worthless. This is what individual businesses looking to Maximize profits fail to understand.

[@filmjazz]

The Men Who Built America is a superb series and the one that first truly opened my eyes to the problem of unregulated, or barely regulated capitalism. I haven’t watched it in a few years, but I believe it did address the issue of labor. The first labor laws and labor protections emerged as a direct result of the excesses and abuses of the Guilded Age. It would be worth watching that series again (note to self).

[@anthonytwohill9726]

All economies are made up of land, labor, and capital. All three are equally important. Without any one of those things, you have nothing.

[@jerryburns8971]

Exactly,. the 2 worst addictions in U.S. is,. EZ credit & convenience!🤔🙄🤬

[@johnpcomposer]

In a healthy economy, we would not be charged usury at all, but people would be able to borrow paying a one-time fee. This would combat the private debt crisis.

[@MrR3KK]

Wow, coming from a country which systematically have 8% to 10% real interest rates (after inflation is discounted) as the base interest rate of the economy (the minimum interest that is charged in the national market), I cannot understand how you could possibly think higher interest rates would improve your country. Here in Brazil a standard credit card (name it, Dinners Club, whatever you have in US) will charge at least 430% of interest PER YEAR! Raise your national base interest rates to 12% and then your country debt (which, if US, would be on the house of a few trillions) will simply explode the public and private budgets

[@JCcollazos1]

Best interview on KZbin.

[@bccoregon]

Best ever interview. Remarkable insights. Standing ovation 👍

[@TexanWineAunt]

Lobbying is obviously legalized bribery. I am appalled that foreign entities may legally contribute to US political parties. On a superficial note, that ribbed velour sweater and wool cap look great on Richard Wolf. Have a great holiday!

[@garnerjoyce606]

Lolol,I caught the reference

[@witHonor1]

I've been explaining this to people since 2005 and I'm not even an economist. Since we didn't actually fix anything in 2009, it's just been snowballing. Our economy is literally a crypto currency held up only by people's belief that it's okay. Their obliviousness and ignorance is the final floorboard holding up the house. If the financial industry was allowed to collapse in 2008, that would have been a cakewalk compared to what's coming, and even that would have been global catastrophe. Even Professor Wolff's language is getting close to matching the severity I've been describing for a long time. If anything, that should scare you.

[@ince55ant]

our governments collectively told the corporations that they are a protected class of people. they are our lords. people mostly dont realize it yet, but when they do they will be angry and will become violent as they get less and less each year.

[@Jay...777]

Fast processed food has drug like effects. Overlay a map of high lead exposure + the centers of the opioid crises + the highest glyphosate areas, then place over a map of Trump supporting areas and you have a near perfect match.

[@witHonor1]

@@Jay...777 or a map of people who eat and land.

[@zac491]

Money is what people agree money is, that has always been true... Equating the fiat with a blockchain based currency is dishonest or you don't know what your talking about... The financial system should have been allowed to collapse in 2009, no bailouts, I agree. Blockchain tech was invented to combat centralized monetary policy/influence/corruption... What's coming would be much worse without having the ability to store your value, your dollar which is inflating to extreme highs as we speak due to government and corporates who control it, if traded into say a stable coin or Bitcoin or Ethereum or the dozen other better places you can store your value and even earn compounding interest like the banks do...you could greatly reduce the negative impact of a system that's on the verge of collapsing. Good luck.

[@witHonor1]

@@zac491 Every crypto nerd keeps talking about the technology. How much are any of the coins worth if a government isn't back a world currency somewhere. You going to trade bitcoin for food and pelts when the time comes? No, it's not tangible and it's value is derived from the dollar.

[@mariavila8857]

That wrestling analogy is spot on perfect and the media are the ringside announcers was the only thing missing.

[@kyliepechler]

Spot on! 🎯

[@alexluthiger731]

The media are already bought and controlled by the stinking rich and eaten up by their own cowardice and thoughtlessness - with the few obligatory exceptions. Or they hate the light of the truth like the stinking rich.

[@hagancs]

It is so crazy that even a voice of reason is stress inducing when it would in most situations be a comfort.

[@timmy---]

getting rich does not require intelligence - It requires one to dedicate his life to accumulating wealth, Thats why so many billionaires are idiots qnd assholes.

[@farhanchowdhury1534]

Wolff is super under appreciated, brilliant guy in my view

[@andybaldman]

He was on Lex Fridman recently. It’s funny to see how all the slaves hate him. Because he speaks the truth. But people don’t want to admit he’s right. So the defense mechanisms kick in HARD.

[@andybaldman]

@@boyblue3270 I know, right? It's the most brilliant example of gaslighting in human history. Trick people into being slaves, and then get them to defend the system that enslaves them. As Wolff calls it, the employer/employee relationship is 'polite slavery'.

[@Max-Everest]

​@@andybaldman if by truth you mean Marxist lies that have been discredited.

[@amossimon3438]

So was Berrie Saunders. I thought.. But Berrie Saunders . didn't make it. The U.S.is controlled by a very small powerful ellite.. Who controls both Parties. This do happen in history. .This is why it's so important . when we go to war.. To lose the war.. That is the only way the little guys. Like me and you . can win.

[@logicNreason2008]

None of you have ever looked as good as Richie Rich Wolff with the hat on

[@mischevious]

@Rip Price Now that you mention it, his hat’s not crooked enough IMO, and it should be a bit further down on his brow, and that’s going to distract me now!

[@apartofthewhole6639]

@Rip Price it's his head that's crooked

[@mischevious]

@@apartofthewhole6639 Nope likely yours! Richard is one of the few people in this country with his head on straight.

[@hazelwray4184]

@Rip Price 'so have at it'?

[@TheVFXbyArt]

I have that hat!!!!!

[@deeremandoug]

prof wolff is the best and most truthful speaker on economics.

[@SMac86]

I really like hearing from Wolff, please keep having him on the show. 👍

[@LauraVee63]

Sy Mac: You can watch him on his KZbin Channels..called "Democracy Now" and "Prof Wolf Answers Your Questions." He's always got a video out every couple of days. He's fascinating. Peace.

[@LauraVee63]

Sy Mac: Professor Wolf's channel is called..."Economic Update." If you liked this video, you'll love his channel. He's one of the smartest people I've heard that can explain the dire situation this country is in.

[@SMac86]

@@LauraVee63 Thank you! Subbed and watching. I first came across him on a debate channel I follow, and I really appreciated his knowledge and direct style. I will definitely recommend his content to others.

[@bertanelson8062]

Yep, he's right-on. I watched it all unfold, having been born in 1950. Lived on the east coast from 1975 until 2009. Saw the rust belt grow & get rustier, watched manufacturing leave & the industry heads get richer as the people began "made in U$a" campaigns in an effort to support local factories. Retailers fell away & Walmart stepped in sweeping away local grocery stores (corner store disappeared by 70's replaced by 7-11). Point is local businesses were swept away by giant conglomerates & our money was swept out of the community.

[@johnwright9372]

10 years ago Walmart was buying 10% of Chinese exports.

[@Jay...777]

Nice to see Prof Wolff have a free ranging discussion on the topics of the day.

[@JohnT.4321]

Glad that he is being frank on what been going on.

[@itsoktolovechina]

Nice to see anna be unbiased for once as well, but shes looking for more tyt views

[@johnhenninger1980]

w/ shitlibs

[@gabrielsatter]

Lol. He totally went on an 8 minute rant that had nothing to do with what Nando, or whatever said.

[@MichaelMay-q8t]

Aliens please take me away

[@johnbemery7922]

"The system isn't broken, it's FIXED."

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

It's also broken though as it no longer works even for those at the top

[@lesstevens2370]

@@JulianPerez-zv6os and once a game is rigged and unwinnable people stop playing 🙄

[@user-gz4ve8mw9l]

@@lesstevens2370 That sums up the game of life not just capitalism. Why play a game that's the most rigged complete bullshit game in the first place? Aside the obvious that your essentially forced to until death.

[@nightoftheworld]

American capitalism isn’t capitalism it’s socialism for the 1% supported by the fed, privatize the profits, socialize the losses.. like a casino where large capital holders always win

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

@@nightoftheworld What you just described is capitalism, and the unfairness is it working as intended

[@dabrupro]

The pro wrestling analogy is spot on.

[@hernehill6282]

Certainly got the same personas. The crowd goes wild!

[@NkhethelengMaope]

Profound lessons indeed my Professor!!!❤

[@nickopeters]

You nailed it, Professor Wolff. My friends and I have been saying for years that the American politico-economic system is really structured exactly like "the WWE," picking the winner in advance, and scripting everything for show.

[@mtn1793]

The next question is who is doing the picking, of the winners and losers, and what are their reasons?

[@kyliepechler]

That professional wrestling analogy was brilliant. Politics is all scripted, each side say and do what their joint donors pay them to say and do.

[@jimandskittum]

@@kyliepechler Trump printed money like crazy and the Democrats blame Putin for inflation. How can the whole party pretend to not know the real cause?

[@janelliot5643]

@@mtn1793 so you didn't strain and stress through the Bernie kneecapping in 2016? The DNC did it - they did it a hundred different underhanded ways I don't even like to recall, like a death from a thousand cuts, to make it look as though he did not win the primary, and they succeeded.

[@mtn1793]

@@janelliot5643 It bothers me now worse than ever. We’ve landed between a rock and a hard spot and the boulder has started rolling.

[@LAlba9]

As a lifelong #DemocraticSocialist, (since 1969), I've never felt so self-defensively withdrawn. I tweeted on Dec 7th that I'm in a state of political #Rückzug...[German for retreated, surrendered, withdrawn from conflict, etc]...over the Trump phenomenon. I'm exhsusted, disappointed and quite disgusted with my fellow American Trumpistas. He is a swollen tick of a man, a fool and devoid of any redeeming characteristics. XO I identify with the lady. After decades of intense social and political engagement, I'm done for awhile. I'm withdrawing to my cave to comprise guitar sonatas.

[@makaracomeau160]

OMG! Truth is so needed & so well articulated. Thank you. This needs to be heard by evertyone.

[@dannywindham3295]

The wrestling analogy is 100% correct

[@ralfwk163]

What wrestling does he mean? Not wwe i assume?

[@dannywindham3295]

@@ralfwk163 I thought it would be WWF the World Wrestling Federation

[@Bisquick]

@@ralfwk163 So basically if circumstantially unfamiliar, the staged veneer of spectacle in wrestling that is portrayed as "real" or like "true" is called "kayfabe" specifically.

[@jamesthomas5025]

Except there are 48/50 Democrats keen to pass a huge public spending bill and 50/50 republicans desperately opposing it. You have to be completely wilfully blind to think that they are in any way the same. This is just pandering ignorance.

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

@@jamesthomas5025 nah, dems allow this to happen with their cowardice. They are equally to blame

[@jamesmorton7881]

Hard to JAIL your government for serving the 1%. Bankers do not go to jail, You get that honor.

[@anthonydeluca989]

That's a perfect description of the new president who actually was a wrestling clown, WWF not just a game show host, several time bankrupted realestate slum lord. That's so weird.

[@cmtsage]

I feel that people don’t seek to change their actions until there’s no way out. Same thing with this system. Until individuals realize that each one of us have to change the way we live, one by one, our oppresive institutions will not change.

[@scubamanbrian1518]

The oppressive institutions are all run by far left activists at this point. Even private corporations bend their knee.

[@jonnymahony9402]

LOL of course

[@theizzoshow5180]

Well that’s just it, people are comfortable until they aren’t.

[@andybaldman]

People will choose to be increasingly more uncomfortable, if you just boil them slowly.

[@alexhess1163]

But then what's the point of a government? Of society? If we have to make all the changes and solve all the problems as individuals, why are we paying taxes? What makes you my neighbor or my countryman?

[@furtceli]

The comparison with wrestling is perfect.

[@kimothemo]

Damn it Vince

[@robinsss]

if the number of covid deaths is a failure it's a failure of the government not the capitalists the legislative battle in congress is not two puppets controlled by the same group of corporations it's two groups of working class conservatives that agree that there should be no strong safety net which working class conservatives would logically do based on culture the blue collar working in particular is not very charitable and as they move up into the white collar they maintain their lack of charity

[@Bisquick]

@@robinsss I don't get it, are you saying both parties are controlled by a culturally manifested/cultivated sort of "business ontology"? Because if so, even granting that (which I don't think we have any _material_ grounding for - the core distinction intrinsic to marxism making it particularly useful as an analytical lens here, but just for the argument here let's go with it for a second) where does that idea come from? Do you think it spontaneously generates in a vacuum ie does essence precede existence in some sort of Calvinist predestination conception of the world as having intrinsically "good" and "bad", selfish and unselfish people? Or is it perhaps intentionally cultivated precisely by that class of corporate power? Check out the Powell memo for instance, the extremely dense outline generated by supreme court justice Lewis Powell (Nixon appointee I believe) to...well, cultivate precisely this, as a reaction to the 60s counterculture and civil rights movements ("funnily" enough, Powell voted pro-choice in Roe, but pretty much only because of a personal experience, shocker, the only thing that will break through to "conservatives" lol...but I digress). Here, as that Marx guy put it: _“The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society, is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it. The ruling ideas are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships, the dominant material relationships grasped as ideas.”_ _"Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living."_ - some guy In other words, as Sartre succinctly put it in his call for existentialism (and what I was unsubtly referring to earlier), existence _precedes_ essence. If you think about it in terms of feedback loop _process_ ("process metaphysics", basically a break from a more Kantian conception of "things in themselves" insulated and isolated interacting independently through some sort of medium, emerging from Hegel and his concept of the dialectic), you got your base material organization of property relations, and then out of which all the superstructure of social relations, language, culture, law, all the shit that forms our social (and like consciously lived ontological reality) on top, guided by and limited to the bounds of that base. See: dialectical materialism. To make it less abstract, as Boss Tweed in his hubris noted quite explicitly, _"I don't care who does the electing, so long as I can do the nominating."_ Or hey, how about William Casey (CIA director under Reagan ie absolute demon) in _his_ hubris explicitly stating the goal/efficacy of Operation Mockingbird: _"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false."_ *_TLDR;_* To do politics effectively, you gotta answer the _only_ political question there is: cui bono? And of course, it's not by mere coincidence the answer to "who benefits" is the capitalist class (corporate power), this is the inevitable result of material interests and material power/influence and a mode of production in which there are two antagonistic zero-sum material interests of the capitalist/owning class and the working class (ie these classes are formed from _material_ relationships, they're not merely abstract ideas). Hopefully any of that made sense.

[@MarcoBonechi]

@@robinsss the point is the government does what capitalists (lobbyists) say. So government is capitalism.

[@robinsss]

@@MarcoBonechi it does what corps say because the voters won't stand up and take control of it

[@stephencorsaro954]

It's called Corporatism and I have a quote for all those that really don't understand what fascism really is. Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power..Benito Mussolini.

[@m.woodsrobinson9244]

So many people aren't ready to have that discussion, and when they are ready, by then it'll be too late.

[@kyliepechler]

@@m.woodsrobinson9244 Sadly its already too late. I keep wondering how those in still in denial (who ignorantly vote against their own interests) will cope, when they finally realize they have been hoodwinked.

[@allesdurchprobiert]

But but russia, china! Evil people! Freehdum and muckracy!1!! Bring on the bombs!

[@m.woodsrobinson9244]

@@allesdurchprobiert Sad but true!

[@CornFedZ06]

@@kyliepechler Kylie, we all vote against our interests 🤠

[@sidneyingrey1595]

From Britain.This video shows in simple terms, how capital acts in the USA, The situation in Britain follow a similar line, however, after the war, we had a true Socialist Government that created The National Health Service. This was in spite of a period of badly destroyed cities, instructor, shortages and rationing. The subsequent Conservative's nibbles away the NHS But!! have never dared to cancel the NHS. It is the most respected by all the country. With control, the media conservative has controlled. Blair was the final nail of the Labour Party as a genuine Socialist Party.He can be seen parading his service to dictators.

[@m.woodsrobinson9244]

You're absolutely right. The trouble is this: the Tories are doing to the NHS what the Conservatives in the US have been doing to Medicare. Undercut it, underfund it, then, when the quality of care suffers, blame it and say, "We need to privatize it! Give the people more choice!" More choices on how to have medical bill's bankrupt them, that is.

[@garytorresani8846]

How is the Tory Brexit working for you guys? Not very well. Yep, the Tories want to privatize your health care system, just like the Republicans want to privatize everything in the US. Fight against them. You don’t want anything like the American system, believe me. And Americans continue to vote these oligarchs in as witness the 2024 election. Oligarchs win, people lose. That’s the plan.

[@mattroxursoul]

Those manufacturing jobs were really important. In my area there were steel mills that employed small cities worth of people. But with cuts and automation those numbers were quartered if not more. Those people paid taxes and also put money into local economies. People could have other jobs which serviced those people. Think about a small town that has nothing like that. How can a professional really thrive there? Not enough money to have doctors/lawyers etc... So it is not only the loss of those jobs which was a major blow, but also the side effect of all of those other jobs that went into supplying those workers.

[@alexanderpummer5842]

that ship is gone, manufacturing in the US, the skilled people are missing, to educate such people the schools are missing

[@JosedeJezeus]

Immigrants from Mexico are VERY crafty! They know how to make things by hand. It’s sacred: to build with human hands.

[@tuckerfrd1]

Just 2 min. in and Wolff has me laughing out loud about his analogy of Ana's question, and how spot on he is - it's all rigged from the beginning.

[@zoktoberfest]

There is no singular voice that has more depth and breath than his. If he never came forth on social media, as he has, there would be no light at the end of the tunnel at all, other than the train. No one has such a well reasoned command of cause and effect. Few have the ability to summarize the past, understand the present, and extrapolate into the future so unpretentiously. His perspective is mesmerizing. If only the Left would get their heads out of their asses and listen and learn...their might be a modicum of hope, but only if...

[@reasonablespeculation3893]

Wolff is a Communist . Wrap your head around that.

[@twoshea749]

I think Americans need to wrap their head around how the elites have embedded us so deep in propaganda over the last century that we can’t communicate rationally about better ideas than crapitalism without being compared to Stalin. It’s very sad. Communism has nothing to do with authoritarianism- you can have authoritarian capitalism or state centered “communism” which is just authoritarianism by another name- real communism has never been allowed to be born but is actually the only way to have society wide democracy as it removes hierarchy from the means of production which constitutes the majority of public life and exchange. True communism has NEVER been allowed to get off the ground before being overthrown by imperialism and capitalism. The history of the USA has been to crush freedom everywhere it tries to show its face at home and abroad.

[@michaelwaninger3155]

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel now but I fear there won't be when the other train enters the tunnel.

[@BrentRyley]

I’m watching this 3 years after the fact. Boy did you nail it!

[@trashtalker9753]

Great and informative video. Love Mr. Wolf's analysis of economies and the connection between them.

[@thecatsbackyard4833]

2:00 K. Harris' own father called her corrupt. Ouch. That's bad.

[@Bisquick]

Indeed, though it might be worth noting it's because he's awesome and not a transparently inauthentic neoliberal jackass i.e. (to be more descriptive rather than normative lol) he's also a marxist professor, I think he did his doctorate on US imperialism in the Caribbean or something, likely because he experienced such first hand.

[@michigandersea3485]

No father should do that to his daughter. But the very fact that he did says something. It still sucks, though.

[@thecatsbackyard4833]

@@michigandersea3485 Yeah. I was actually just appalled at the fact. Harris still walks around with that narcissistic gaslighting elitist smile. No humility. It's almost terrifying.

[@commentingisawasteoftime7195]

@@michigandersea3485 Harris literally blocked the review of exculpatory evidence for an innocent man on death row. I would perform a late stage abortion if my daughter did that.

[@m.woodsrobinson9244]

@@commentingisawasteoftime7195 🤣🤣🤣😱

[@angie6649]

I agree with Professor Wolf, always. As of November 3, 2024, I wonder why those in charge to unleash a President on us, can't do a better job, and at least, find a very nice kind person, that do not wreck havoc, and make us sick with his incompetence, and lack of moral character. Most probably that was premeditated too. I feel, I will never go back to be the healthy person I was before Trump. I lost all my faith in the Justice System, and in the way our overall system works.

[@Chiton10]

I am about to retire , and I always worked two full times , thinking I was going to guarantee my future. I am so disappointed. I feel like rat spinning the wheel for somebody else .

[@theflexitech]

You can tell, even though our predecessors, built everything, the youth does not care of the opinions of the elders anymore, because the elders have not been swept away by the greed and power that current technology teases everyone with.

[@naveenrajaka]

It is always a delight to hear Prof. Wolff!

[@RealRougarou]

They aren't incompetent, they know exactly what they are doing.

[@STScott-qo4pw]

i know this is odd but I think both you and Dood! are correct...

[@polybian_bicycle]

@@MimeticMimic But labour is abundant? The developing world is full of people willing to work for very little. Resources maybe not so much, but that's why things are moving more and more to the digital world, where you don't really need resources in the same way as in the real world.

[@ToddHurney]

They are immoral and unethical, not incompetent. They do not hold with democratic values, except those that favor their lust for power and money. Republicans who are and have been in the pockets of the uber rich for decades now, are not interested in governance or your economic problems. In fact, if you work for a living and are struggling to make ends meet and vote Republican then you are a fool and need to get your head examined. Republicans need you only for your vote so they can continue to fleece America.

[@RobinHerzig]

Always love Prof Wolff's takes. Professional wrestling is an excellent comparison to the establishment games going on right now. And that Hillary didn't notice the Rust Belt created by rapidly losing the “means of production” during the 90s when she could've seriously done something about it to stop the bleeding.

[@robinsss]

if the number of covid deaths is a failure it's a failure of the government not the capitalists the legislative battle in congress is not two puppets controlled by the same group of corporations it's two groups of working class conservatives that agree that there should be no strong safety net which working class conservatives would logically do based on culture the blue collar working in particular is not very charitable and as they move up into the white collar they maintain their lack of charity

[@legalconsultant861]

Rust belt rusted because it was sold out by capitalists running the commodities markets. Reagan was the one who encouraged farmers to constantly expand and did (bought bigger equipment and more reliance on chemical based agriculture production that is hugely expensive)....to then turn around and then blame them for expanding. Republicans....republicans. Talk about voting against self-interest.

[@robinsss]

@@legalconsultant861 ''''''Rust belt rusted because it was sold out by capitalists running the commodities markets'''''' what do you mean by that specifically?

[@frugalcomfort]

@@robinsss Corporations and investors moved manufacturing overseas to boost profits. Neo- liberals like Clinton facilitated it with trade agreements like NAFTA, with no regards for the loss of livelihoods of regular people. Only the wealth building of elites mattered.

[@johncahill3644]

@@frugalcomfort Except it started under Reagan and was a fait accompli by the time Clinton was President. I watched it happening throughout the 80’s, it’s just a little too convenient to blame Clinton when it was really Republican CEO's who sold off American manufacturing to make the big, short term bucks. It was that same time period when Republican CEO’s started freezing merit raises, and then even COA adjustments. A decade or so later they stripped the company’s of personnel only to hire them back as contractors. And ultimately they closed down whole divisions, shrinking everything and merging with competitors. None of this “NAFTA”...and if by “elites” you mean Republicans, then I agree with you. I knew a lot of them in multiple organizations, and not a Democrat in the midst.

[@newyorkfilharmonik110]

It's the freedom that causes the problem. The media never said who started the pandemic: The haves. Athletes, entertainers, and politicians were the first to have Covid 19. People on cruises. Of course, it would have gotten here eventually, it's everywhere. But, the pandemic mobilized through the actions of people who have money and does what they want when they want.

[@slewiscurious]

Totally agree with this. Both sides are bought and paid for. All of this song and dance is just to keep us fighting with each other.

[@eustaciogriego1912]

The man has some good points but sadly no solutions.

[@jeanettem.taylor9722]

None of the so called expert speakers have solutions!

[@jennysteves]

Marxism, maybe?

[@damionalbarr7961]

Once again Prof. Wolff correctly breaks it down.

[@HillbillyHippyOG]

Hope no one forgets Ana and TYT… don’t ever let them put their mask back on once they’ve shown their real face. ✌🏼

[@MrWphilips]

“Nothing will fundamentally change, or potentially become much worse!”

[@Thomas_H_Sears]

We MUST change the vocabulary. A SPENDING bill requires two questions, "How much will it cost?" and "How will we pay for it?" This discussion, because it is ungrounded, swirls in never ending irresolution. What we need to address are INVESTMENT bills. An investment bill requires two additional, and much more important questions, "What do we want?" and "Is it worth paying to get what we want?" This discussion, because it IS grounded, is relatively simple.

[@charliebrandt2263]

What do we want. For control of corporate capitalism, the break up of monopolies and for the rich TO PAY THEIR TAXES! They are all thieves, and in the pandemic MASS MURDERERS...You think I am Joking?

[@laabuela13]

I know and agree with most of this, but what we need is some answers as to what we can do and not more disastrous assumptions. Like what can those of us start to do to protect ourselves and communities.

[@ablindwatchmakerUT]

Wolfe is the man 👊 As usual, he nails it.

[@person-yu8cu]

It is worker solidarity that is needed, and it has to be built from the bottom-up. We can't just wait for capitalism to hit a new low, or the fascists will divide people against each other.

[@charliebrandt2263]

Too late. USA is falling into fascism RIGHT NOW! I predict civil war within 5 years....

[@person-yu8cu]

@@charliebrandt2263 at the same time, interest in labour action is at an all time high

[@kyliepechler]

@@charliebrandt2263 Fascism is indeed coming, however a civil war won't be allowed to happen. The powers that be (who control the actions of the police & military) will not allow fighting to happen anywhere near their own homes.

[@williammcfarlane6153]

Also when thinking about how many people have experienced unemployment we need to juxtapose that with the Brookings Institute findings from a report released in March 2020, show that 44% of the US Labor Market is classified as low-wage and if you include unemployed that means well over half of the US Labor Market is currently being subsidized by the government for the maximization of corporate profits... That is not sustainable!!

[@07Flash11MRC]

"That is not sustainable!!" : Good :-) Please wake me up once people are ready for a french style revolution and overcomming the cncer that is capitalism and private corporations.

[@mischevious]

Name one thing that all of us alive today only as a direct result of fossil fuels, do that is sustainable.

[@JohnT.4321]

@@07Flash11MRC 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯

[@07Flash11MRC]

@@mischevious "Name one thing that is sustainable": Why should we do the work for capitalists when we're all saying it's not sustainable? Go ask a capitalist instead. You can find many among the Elon Musk, excuse me, Iron Man fanbase.

[@mischevious]

@@07Flash11MRC “we’re all saying it’s unsustainable” Yeah who’s we? And are you referring to capitalism or to the all encompassing everything that I referred to? I assume the “iron man” reference is about Musk. Pop culture also lies in the realm of the profoundly unsustainable, I don’t know a thing about it.

[@rosemullen-r5w]

People quit jobs because of the vax mandates. We had to choose our life or our job! Hasn’t been easy!

[@GiulianoLorenzetti]

I am of Italian nationality but my being bilingual enables me to listesn to lots of the lectures Richard Wolff delivers. In my view what he says make a lot of sense - particularly when he deals with the failures of capitalistic societies to deliver liberty, equality, and democracy. .

[@MoparMan1320]

Excellent analysis of the current state of affairs...Bravo 👍

[@AcmePotatoPackingPocatello]

Capitalism didn't suck so bad in the 1960s and 70s. Over 30% of the workforce was UNION LABOR then. My healthcare was free and fully covered. Including dental and eyeglasses. All of my friends had good healthcare. I never knew anyone in high school that didn't. Civility at the workplace was commonplace in non union businesses to retain workers because 1 in 3 were UNION. THAT ALONE lifted everyone's wage, everyone's benefit pkg. The government was controlled by the WORKERS. THE SENATE. THE CONGRESS, firmly in control by Democrats from 1934 to 1980. Unions controlled monopolists, drug pricing, media licenses, insurance pricing, telephone charge, electric bills. Polluters were being fined. Shutdown. Trade tariffs protected the u.s.a. from cheap labor outside the country undermining our lifestyle. Thereby allowing other democracies to ride the coatail of American prosperity. Australia, Canada, Europe, all heavily UNION. WORKER owned governance. All SOCIAL DEMOCRACY dominated. When u.s.a. elected Reagan not only did we kill unionism here...we put a knife into our allies back. As CORPORATIONS gained the upper hand and offshored manufacturing ....cheap labor, no benefit, no pollution control, no regulation. ENDGAME 40 years post Reagan....u.s.a. is going 3rd world. January 6 was Reagans 💋

[@therealrobertbirchall]

Typical Yankee believes everything good came from the Useless State of Arseholes. You even trying to claim socialism, invented in Scotland in the 12th century, as yours.

[@superduperjew]

Excellent discussion.

[@garytorresani8846]

This wrestling analogy was also used by Jesse Ventura, a former villain character in the WWF and former governor of Minnesota. He said Trump loved the WWF and was playing the villain bully character that these people love. Except, it’s not a showtime entertainment fantasy, it’s for real.

[@marygard4608]

The US is going off the rails as I have never seen. I wondered when we would become unable to feed off the Earth and start to eat each other.

[@kensurrency2564]

Everything Richard says is 100% true. The employment statistic is stunning. Whoever is controlling the narrative cannot hide these things much longer.

[@dingusdingus2152]

To compare professional wrestling with politics is extreme calumny, a grievous insult to a noble form of entertainment. Wrestling is way more honest than politics: the wrestling fan gets exactly what they pay for. As opposed to the voters, who get gypped and cheated year after year

[@riocannistrano756]

He's talking about old school Kayfabe where Flair and Dusty would try to murder each other and then be at each others houses having a bbq the next day lol .

[@charlesronk2989]

Yes the people put these actors in place with no accountability. I would say that the people are getting exactly what they "paid" for.

[@user-rb7ns9yj5y]

Despite your xenophobic slurs, possibly even ignorantly, wrestling is nothing more than a bread and circuses 🎪 distraction. A type of Brutus display of a cock fight and which man can have the women. This is an ancient story of testosterone and misogyny. Unnecessary in a civilized society, but it is great for views, advertising, and selling violence. Normalized violence is on the rise. Expect more violence and school shootings. Etc.

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

@@user-rb7ns9yj5y It's not bread and circuses, it's the way the world is. The fact you call it testosterone and misogyny shows you are "performatively soft," which is really pathetic. Wrestling is awesome, as is mixed martial arts. You should work out, develop a regimen for fitness and weightlifting.

[@Mad_Intellect]

@@JulianPerez-zv6os I used to be into wrestling(as a kid) and I like MMA, but it's bread and circuses my guy...same thing throughout human history, just in a different(modern) era, distraction for the masses, same as pro sports. I agree with the physical fitness though, good for the body and mind. Just because "it is the way of the world," doesn't change what it is, slavery used to be(and still kind of is), the way of the world, remember that, doesn't make it right.

[@NapaValleyVegan]

I typically pass by anything that includes Ana Kasparian but Prof Wolff is always worth a listen!

[@vincentcleaver1925]

It's Ana so I can't bring myself to like it, but I really want to support this scholarly curmudgeon

[@NapaValleyVegan]

@@vincentcleaver1925 😂

[@kushkagirl]

Excellent

[@michaelhylton1979]

Excellent observation equating Washington DC Politics to Professional Wrestling, being a “Performative Extravaganza,” orchestrated by the same ownership management. I liken it to one Political Aristocracy most invested in making no substantive change to the status quo keeping themselves paid and in power.

[@spencerbixby7819]

Some capitalists don't seem to recognize the balancing force that unions are, and the health that they provide a capitalist system. Yet some young socialists would sooner throw the baby out with the bathwater, forget about a new labor movement, and suggest that we need to do away with capitalism entirely. This too is foolish; any victory in this regard would be a Pyrrhic victory. I'm a 3rd generation union man through and through. Unionizing the IT sector would do wonders for our society. Union prevalence benefits everyone. Back in 1950 through the 70s non-union shops had to compete with what unions were offering people; unions gave the U.S. a golden age, and it can happen again. The economy grew outside of the unions (service sector jobs and IT which is not traditionally union), that's the big reason we see a global decline in union membership since the 80s. Don't give up on the system! Work to make it better for you and your friends and family!

[@hafifi57]

Again, professor Wolf is brilliantly explaining how did we arrive to this mess we are in right now because of the neoconservative and their self serving democrats starting with The Clintons.

[@anthonytwohill9726]

The Clintons are actually Reagan Democrats. Most baby boomers love Reagan and all his policies. That's the main problem.

[@ThaTruFily]

Much love for R.W. and Jacobin, fighting the good fight!

[@garnerjoyce606]

Buy himself ( VW) an e bike and ride themselves

[@garnerjoyce606]

Or should that be directed to what oil/gas company?

[@junerm21]

I love studying economics. Always have. Since 1980.

[@tbtlive]

They put a strain on your purchasing power, so you have to do more work to achieve the same goals. Peoduction is at an all time high when people are in scarcity.

[@pineapplepenumbra]

Credit and debt are what they use to paper over the cracks in a long term unworkable Economy.

[@bobg.3206]

Who is they?

[@pineapplepenumbra]

@@bobg.3206 "Who is they?" A good question. As our Economy grew up piecemeal, the people responsible for various aspects of it are many and varied. The logical answer should be governments and banks, but as we know, both institutions are affected, and sometimes controlled, by other entities. "I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls the British money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply." Rothschild, 1815,

[@JulianPerez-zv6os]

@@pineapplepenumbra "antisemitism is the socialism of fools" - Karl Marx

[@pineapplepenumbra]

@@JulianPerez-zv6os That's a quote I haven't heard before. It's a good one.

[@winluben2909]

I am SO GLAD I LISTENED TO THIS.

[@StephanDallaPria]

The irony of Richard Wolff talking about captured interests with ANA KASPARIAN does not go unnoticed and unappreciated.

[@unwavery]

ELI5 please.

[@dante6563]

Huh? Stay off the drugs.

[@JohnCannizzaro-s2l]

Professor Wolf is a genius at explaining complicated ecconomic problems to layman and those with limited knowledge of the subject. I always enjoy listening to him and his logical disertations of very important ideas.

[@davidwhite5438]

Going into my 7th decade. I worked in manufacturing all my life. The whole thing is on its way out. The people I see today who industry would need to train to do manufacturing are inept and unwilling to learn. America is toast.

[@neilifill4819]

Richard Woolf: “It’s a spectacle…” Yup. It certainly is.

[@thetruthandnobs2]

Just Love prof Wolff. He is...THE BEST 🤓🎯📸📢🌍. Been subscribed to his KZbin channels for years. Brilliant 👏

[@michealklee8844]

And that’s why we formed unions ✊🏽solidarity forever ❤️union strong 💪🏽 support your local essential workers 🇺🇸Chicago UBC 🏙

[@wowomah6194]

Unions in 2021 mostly all suck.

[@craigsolomon4783]

Mr. Wolff speaks some painful truths that westerners need to recognize.

[@fredleong3986]

We have witnessed the rise and fall of Communism in our time . Historically it eas quick and brutal. Now we are witnessing the decline and possible death of Capitalism albeit over a more protracted time. What follows is a dark and unfathomable scenario .

[@taooflifekenpo]

i think in the working class , you just work and you do not notice the changes until it shows up on your check . the work loop won't let you notice it . go to work come home take a shower , eat , watch tv and get programmed for a couple hours , go to bed get up and do it again . on the weekend catch up on chores (if you even get a weekend).

[@margaretwince2748]

People stay for the healthcare benefits.

[@barbarajohnson1442]

What a GREAT teacher! Thank you for this clear visual presentation of our economic situation! I love the Pharoah analogy

[@allesdurchprobiert]

I'm impressed! That dude is a boomer, and yet has a working brain and isn't detached from reality. He has my highest respect!

[@dogeared100]

Hey, boomers rule!

[@meathead365]

Don't fall for division

[@karendove5882]

Many boomers do. Gen z voted more for trump than boomers this time.

[@mackenziedog1872]

"Where there's money there's muck- and where there's muck there's money". My Welsh Communist coal miners orphaned daughter who lost her lover to a field of rotting corpses. He described dieing this way. The letter got to my mother who went on to marry my ",Born to Rule" North English father whose doctor signed his draft dodge papers (tonsils removal). The radically violent man should have been sent but rich people don't go to jail or war. They are free to beat there wives and kids to traumatic brain injuries as they leave no visable scars. A brain scan can't see Diffuse Axonal Injury which is the unseen by a brain scan Injury so doctors can say "The brain scan shows you're fine." Nope, the brain scan can show a bleed that is about to cause death so needs brain surgery, but the Diffuse Axonal Injury needs a neurophsychologist, not an arrogant GP who thinks he/she has the knowledge of a specialist in this most complex of all human diseases... so now you've got your PhD in Traumatic Brain Injury you can get a job as a doctor, or will capitalism stop you?

[@marylouferguson6682]

It’s wonderful to listen to people that tell us the truth! The.truth has become the rarest jewel on earth. 👍❤️

[@michealklee8844]

Support your local essential workers 🙏solidarity forever ✊🏽union strong 💪🏽 Chicago UBC 🇺🇸

[@Cyberphunkisms]

Privilege = Power is the best gift to the neoliberals

[@raelsackey104]

And all this while Medicare4All, the best way to address this health crisis, is ignored!

[@newsoul8626]

its not even talked about by our so-called public servants, nada, zip, nothing...coulda been loud about it every day, there feels like no hope

[@harryagrotis326]

And the biggest problem of all is we are indebted to our competitor China. In other words we have all this debt and we're paying interest billions of dollars in interest from taxpayers money to interest and the principal is never coming down!!!!!

[@chrisdorsch9754]

They forgot that Capitalism is dependent on the customer. The debt trap was set, now everyone in knee deep in the dung. Price gounging and fixing made everything to expensive to maintain. Perchasing power is no longer an option for the customer.