In a compelling discussion, Richard Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Economics and renowned Marxist economist, dives deep into the relevance of Marxism today. He addresses how the West's fear of Marxism reflects larger educational issues. Wolff elaborates on the evolving definitions of socialism, highlighting the concept of democratizing enterprises. The conversation also tackles the complexities surrounding Black Lives Matter and the notion of defunding the police, advocating for nuanced approaches to social change.
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Wolff's upbringing and Harvard Experience
Richard Wolff's parents, immigrants fleeing war-torn Europe, pressured him to succeed.
This drive led him to Harvard, where he became critical of the system's treatment of immigrants like his parents.
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Fear of Marxism in Academia
Wolff observed fear in his professors when discussing capitalism, realizing they lacked knowledge of Marxism due to its toxic political climate.
In 10 years at elite universities, only one professor assigned any Marx, highlighting the silencing of this critique.
insights INSIGHT
Defining Socialism: Three Versions
Socialism has diverse meanings, including government regulation of private enterprise (e.g., Scandinavia) and state-run economies (e.g., USSR, China).
These are distinct from Wolff's 'third phase' socialism: democratizing individual workplaces, not just macro-level changes.
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Richard David Wolff is an American Marxian economist, known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School in New York.
0:00 On humility functioning as a necessary condition for scholarship 4:04 How Richard came to being a Marxist Economist 14:14 On the West being afraid of Marxism (and why) 17:36 Does the taboo of Marxism highlight an institutional / educational problem? 23:58 Defintions of Marxism / Socialism / Communism 36:02 The "third phase" of Socialism; Richard Wolff's ante 40:10 The different experiments of Communism 42:22 Karl Marx's writings on worker coops 50:59 Is violence justified to bring about the revolution? What defines "self defense"? 53:20 What does Wolff think about the "Defunding The Police" movement? 57:32 Is the state antithetical to Marxism? 1:02:07 On Black Lives Matters 1:04:02 On anarcho-communism / Marxism's relationship to Anarchism 1:06:02 What would Richard advise #BLM to make it more puissant 1:08:02 Is the root problem of the USA racial or economic? 1:12:37 How do we measure who's more "free"? 1:16:43 Richard Wolff is not more "white" than he is an "employee" (polemics on Identity Politics) 1:18:45 Where does Wolff disagree with Marx? 1:22:36 When does the right go too far? When does the left go too far? 1:25:50 What specific policy would Wolff enact if elected? 1:29:50 Kamala Harris' father is a Marxist 1:30:45 Wolff on "quota" based systems, like Afirmative Action 1:35:51 Definitive answer on Affirmative Action 1:38:19 Hegel is disliked because of his association to Marx 1:40:14 Why doesn't Hegelian contradiction lead to ex falso quodlibet 1:42:08 Overview of the "labor theory of value" 1:45:26 A boss pays an employee with the hope of making money, but doesn't, then who's exploited?
Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal 