

The Economics of a Dying Empire (w/ Richard Wolff) | The Chris Hedges Report
16 snips Apr 9, 2025
Richard Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics at UMass Amherst and a specialist in Marxist economics, joins Chris Hedges to dissect the decline of the U.S. empire. They explore Trump's economic policies, highlighting the erratic nature of tariffs and deregulation as signs of decay. Wolff discusses how historic economic suffering feeds into dismantling essential protections, while China and the BRICS bloc challenge U.S. dominance. The conversation touches on the socio-political fallout of these shifts, revealing a complex landscape of power and competition.
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Late-Stage Capitalism
- Late-stage capitalism consumes the structures supporting it, like the working class and state’s capacity to serve citizens.
- It also relocates jobs, mechanizes workplaces, and hollows out political parties, making them subservient to corporations.
Post-WWII Deal and Its Collapse
- The Trump administration's actions can be interpreted as a war on the working class, both domestically and internationally.
- The post-WWII deal involved the US supporting Europe to suppress socialist and communist movements, funded by debt.
Privatization Concerns
- Chris Hedges points out that the privatization of essential services, like the Postal Service in England, has been detrimental.
- He questions whether the destruction of government agencies undermines the foundations of capitalism.