richard d wolff
intro’d to Richard here:
Does Capitalism Work? w/ Steve Lambert
when you are confused you look for something that makes sense.. and questioning makes sense..
the question isn’t if capitalism works in my life, or does it allow me to make money, but whether capitalism works
taxes on wealthy people dropped from 94% to 39%
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july 2014 on Bill Maher:
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april 2015 – Taboo Broken: New Critical Writing About Capitalism
via
above link not working.. maybe here: https://upload.democraticunderground.com/1017293216
nothing has been as interesting to me as the last 6 yrs i left the uni
i’ve been saying the same thing for years – and not all that many were that interested… and now – many are wanting to hear me.. and my tune hasn’t changed..
we live in an economic system that is falling apart.. as this percolates through the minds of american people.. people are now interested – i a way i’ve never seen
step 1\ the economy is in trouble (20% of utility is just sitting) – wow – what we could do with this
imagine – taking people out of work and school – short
11 min – capitalism has abandoned us – by looking where the money is – like it always has.. we are becoming the hinterland; ie: first generation we’re asking huge levels of debt for college education..
15 min – on adjunctness – businesses paying uni’s overseas – where they will get cheaper future managers for their companies
18 min – on detroit as example
whoa
25 min – pay check as compensation for being a drone.. ie: happy hour et al
26 min – the deal was – we will work very hard – in exchange for the paycheck… will we accept a capitalism that doesn’t deliver that to us anymore..?
the system is telling us – that’s what it means to have the debts we have
31 min – last time we had a crisis like this.. we did a lot better…
1929 – system collapsed like 2008. worse than now. american people got mad/active.. joined labor unions….communists, socialists and unions.. put together one heck of a movement.. and went to roosevelt – said if you don’t do something.. we’ll cause a revolution. .. so roosevelt advised rich/corps to give money.. 1/2 bought the argument… 1/2 never did (koch bros) – the half that did was enough. roosevelt: – i’m going to take money from corps/rich and use it to take care of needs of mass of people.. stop talking about revolution and 1934 – he creates social security system… once 65 – if you’ve worked your whole life… govt will give you a check for rest of life.. and others.. ie: minimum wage, 1934-41 – roosevelt created/filled 15 million jobs.. ie: national parks.. how was it all paid for? taxing corps and rich.. a lot.
what happened? roosevelt was re elected 4 times in a row… the idea that a politician couldn’t do that and survive…. it’s the opposite..
1945 – roosevelt dies… now president can’t last longer than 2 terms.. reverse history of great depression – undo the new deal.. smashed communist party.. then crushed socialists.. then crushed labor unions.. so in 2008 – no organizations…
why are we not doing what we did before? not because we forgot.. but because we don’t have the organization..
42 min – slogans – greece/germany can do better than capitalism..
46 min – we have given our economic system a pass for 50 yrs.. unopposed.. that’s why we’re in the mess we’re in
49 min – the only chance you (we) have to save what’s valuable in this society is to face what’s threatening it… and that threat isn’t coming from the outside.. it’s coming from the inside..
1989 – soviet union collapsed – because it couldn’t survive it’s own internal contradictions.. that’s what’s happening to us
49 min – we keep worrying about the danger outside.. ie: terrorists.. the danger to us is not out there.. it’s here in the system we have not been able to understand/face/.. discuss…t
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find/follow Richard:
his site:
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book links to amazon
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Marxism 101: How Capitalism is Killing Itself // Empire_File022 – 2016
11 min – credit as solution.. to keep system going..
24 min – democratize the enterprise.. 21st cent socialism – 1% own 3/4 of shares.. # of shares = # of votes
26 min – if can’t have democracy at workplace.. can’t ever have it real in politics either.. because those at the top will buy the political system..
you think a group of workers would give a ton of money to a few while they had to borrow money for kids
27 min – marx and earning.. when i hire you for $20/hr.. i’ll have more stuff at end of day for each hr.. than if i didn’t employ you.. costs me to get output + labor.. so only way i hire you.. is ifi you produce more in hour than i give you.. so when you feel in a vague way when you walk home at end of day.. you were ripped off.. you’re right.. so not.. i earned it.. but you ripped people off
30 min – did nothing to earn the money.. simply collecting.. so.. if people like share holders who get services/goods they didn’t produce.. so must be people who produce that don’t get.. marx: this system sucks
31 min – on explaining barbarism: 1\ poverty.. 62 richest people in world.. most of whom are americans.. together have more wealth than bottom have of people on this planet.. obscene.. these are people.. who die way earlier.. (health/food) unspeakable what happens to lower half.. if we took some of that wealth and gave to poor.. they’d be better off.. and rich couldn’t even tell 2\ climate 3\ endless war against .. terrorism.. used to justify endless use of resources to combat an enemy
34 min – bernie (socialist) proved that support for something other than capitalism has consumed millions of americans.. the story of occupy.. that it was just a tiny percent.. proven otherwise…
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end of capitalism
“This is the beginning of the end of capitalism,” Wolff says. “Whether these experiments–which is what we have to call them at this point–will congeal into a massive social transformation, I don’t know. But I do know that massive social transformations have never happened without this stage. This stage may not do it, but change won’t happen without it,” he adds.
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I talk a lot about capitalism and socialism. But I don’t always explain it. What is capitalism? What is socialism?
Well, here, watch these six short videos. This is as simple as it gets. Basic arithmetic. https://t.co/FlN8KLAxRE
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/RhyeRhythm/status/10156839900432957441\ embodied labor (from people who made hammer, et al) + living labor (people making chair w hammer et al) = total value
2\ embodied labor is owned by the employer (the capitalist – who didn’t do the work).. if you have the stuff you can be the employer
3\ sell chair for 200.. 100 (to replace hammer et al to capitalist) – could give other 100 to worker.. but we don’t give the value added.. ever.. to the worker in capitalism
4\ capitalists divide 100 into two parts.. and gives half to worker.. leaves 50 as surplus/profits.. what capitalist has left over.. but he has to pay workers less than value added.. he has to steal from them.. the condition of your employment is that you produce more by your labor than you get paid
5\ not that your employer gives you a job.. but you give your employer the surplus.. hence.. a taste of that repression
6\ what is socialism.. given what i’ve described.. socialism now becomes this surplus.. but instead of going from workers to employers.. (marx): workers still work and get 50 in wages.. but other 50.. they collectively decide what to do with it.. that’s what socialism is about.. no more capitalism.. they become their own boss.. ie: worker coop
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Nissan too faked its pollution emissions test. Faking was not Germany’s nor America’s or Japan’s problem. It is capitalism’s problem. Profits rule; disease from pollution is just “collateral damage.”
#HowCapitalismWorks
Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/profwolff/status/1018175792923193344
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via graeber rt
Richard D. Wolff (@profwolff) tweeted at 11:37 AM on Tue, Aug 14, 2018:
Every pre-capitalist system (slavery, feudalism, etc.) was born, evolved and died. Capitalism too was born and evolved. So the next phase is dying. Is that next now?
(https://twitter.com/profwolff/status/1029421644576645121?s=03)
have they really died..? so too w capitalism.. no?
begs we take charge.. be what we crave..
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