Richard Wolff Says Capitalism Drives Inequality With ‘Explosive’ Consequences For Society

[Lakhota]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

 

[John Shaw]

One must be careful ... make sure the corporate masters behave (well, we won't see that from this administration, unfortunately) while at the same time ensuring that people are incentivized to work. Honestly, right now, with the way that companies are predictably buying back stock and raining tax cut dollars upon their top executives, what is the average employee's incentive to work hard? S/he knows s/he's not getting shit, except maybe a cost of living adjustment and a slight pay raise that won't likely make much of a difference in his/her life. When the 1% is allowed to run wild, the work actually suffers, so you can't just have unregulated capitalism like some people seem to want.

 

[Dragonlady]

Unfettered capitalism is just as destructive as communism. Wealth is transferred to the top, prices rise, wages stagnate, and poverty increases. Sound familiar?

Regulations, including minimum wages, are required to reduce capitalism’s worst excesses - pollution, product safety, employee exploitation and abuse.

Capitalism is also subject to periods of expansion and contraction. That is why a strong social safety net is required for a successful economy and to protect the weakest and most vulnerable.

The regulations that Trump is killing resulted in the longest period of sustained growth and job creation in US history. Job growth is already slowing.

Destroying the Affordable Care Act is the dumbest thing he’s doing and the consequences are already being felt. See West Virginia teachers’ strike.

Trump’s tax cuts will accelerate the transfer of wealth to the top, and place a much larger tax burden on the middle class.

The most successful countries have a healthy mix of private ownership of businesses, strong regulations and worker rights, and a strong social safety net. A strong central government is needed for regulation, education, intellectual property protection, worker protections, as well as foreign relations and national defence.

Capitalism needs stability, infrastructure, a well educated work force and a thriving middle class to succeed.

Current US policies are cutting the regulations necessary to prevent the worst abuses, and failure to properly regulate minimum wages and basic workers rights has created a situation whereby capitalism’s worst excesses are being amplified not restrained.

Growth and profits are the only things that matter. Being a good corporate citizen and member of the community is for losers.

 

[Lakhota]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully. Although Wolff is an expert on Marxism, I don't believe he's advocating we go there.

 

[Lakhota]

Unfettered capitalism is just as destructive as communism. Wealth is transferred to the top, prices rise, wages stagnate, and poverty increases. Sound familiar?

Regulations, including minimum wages, are required to reduce capitalism’s worst excesses - pollution, product safety, employee exploitation and abuse.

Capitalism is also subject to periods of expansion and contraction. That is why a strong social safety net is required for a successful economy and to protect the weakest and most vulnerable.

The regulations that Trump is killing resulted in the longest period of sustained growth and job creation in US history. Job growth is already slowing.

Destroying the Affordable Care Act is the dumbest thing he’s doing and the consequences are already being felt. See West Virginia teachers’ strike.

Trump’s tax cuts will accelerate the transfer of wealth to the top, and place a much larger tax burden on the middle class.

The most successful countries have a healthy mix of private ownership of businesses, strong regulations and worker rights, and a strong social safety net. A strong central government is needed for regulation, education, intellectual property protection, worker protections, as well as foreign relations and national defence.

Capitalism needs stability, infrastructure, a well educated work force and a thriving middle class to succeed.

Current US policies are cutting the regulations necessary to prevent the worst abuses, and failure to properly regulate minimum wages and basic workers rights has created a situation whereby capitalism’s worst excesses are being amplified not restrained.

Growth and profits are the only things that matter. Being a good corporate citizen and member of the community is for losers.

Amen! That was beautiful. Thank you!

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Unfettered capitalism is just as destructive as communism. Wealth is transferred to the top, prices rise, wages stagnate, and poverty increases. Sound familiar?

Regulations, including minimum wages, are required to reduce capitalism’s worst excesses - pollution, product safety, employee exploitation and abuse.

Capitalism is also subject to periods of expansion and contraction. That is why a strong social safety net is required for a successful economy and to protect the weakest and most vulnerable.

The regulations that Trump is killing resulted in the longest period of sustained growth and job creation in US history. Job growth is already slowing.

Destroying the Affordable Care Act is the dumbest thing he’s doing and the consequences are already being felt. See West Virginia teachers’ strike.

Trump’s tax cuts will accelerate the transfer of wealth to the top, and place a much larger tax burden on the middle class.

The most successful countries have a healthy mix of private ownership of businesses, strong regulations and worker rights, and a strong social safety net. A strong central government is needed for regulation, education, intellectual property protection, worker protections, as well as foreign relations and national defence.

Capitalism needs stability, infrastructure, a well educated work force and a thriving middle class to succeed.

Current US policies are cutting the regulations necessary to prevent the worst abuses, and failure to properly regulate minimum wages and basic workers rights has created a situation whereby capitalism’s worst excesses are being amplified not restrained.

Growth and profits are the only things that matter. Being a good corporate citizen and member of the community is for losers.

The regulations that Trump is killing resulted in the longest period of sustained growth and job creation in US history.

The ones he's killing were the ones that caused the recovery to be so damn weak.

 

[Lakhota]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

He's a billionaire who also owns Victoria's Secret. I doubt Marxism made him that rich.

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

He's a billionaire who also owns Victoria's Secret. I doubt Marxism made him that rich.

Richard Wolff is a Marxist professor, he doesn't own Victoria's Secret. LOL!

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

He's a billionaire who also owns Victoria's Secret. I doubt Marxism made him that rich.

Richard Wolff Net Worth

LOL!

 

[Dragonlady]

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

If he’s an expert on Marxism, then he knows it doesn’t work. That’s why.

 

[Lakhota]

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

He's a billionaire who also owns Victoria's Secret. I doubt Marxism made him that rich.

Richard Wolff Net Worth

LOL!

Only $5 million? Well, that ain't bad. I've seen other links where he's listed as the billionaire owner of Victoria's Secret. Maybe that is all bullshit, I don't know. Don't really care.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Fabism has been a total fucking success. The limitations and regulations it puts on capitalism has worked to advance every nation it has been used in.

 

[Lakhota]

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

He's a billionaire who also owns Victoria's Secret. I doubt Marxism made him that rich.

Richard Wolff is a Marxist professor, he doesn't own Victoria's Secret. LOL!

If that is true, then I really got into some fake news links. Actually, I think I may have misinterpreted the links - and that Wolff was actually referring to someone else. If so, I apologize. However, his personal wealth was never meant to be part of this thread.

 

[bripat9643]

Things are great for those at the top — but “not at all” for everybody else, the economist says.

Greedy capitalism has led to decades of downward mobility as U.S. business interests exploit workers at home and abroad and automate jobs out of existence in search of greater profits, according to economist Richard Wolff.

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on Monday, the economics professor, author and speaker said the U.S. has gone “way overboard” in celebrating capitalism and overlooking its flaws. He put this down to the power of the ideology created around it.

Trump’s massive assaults on women, the labor movement, immigrants, minorities, etc have produced very little mass street action by social movements. How [to] explain such passivity in the face of such provocation? A declining capitalism has so far succeeded in presenting itself as the opposite, a super-strong totality impossible to budge.​

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Inequality born of capitalism threatens the social fabric of the U.S., said Wolff, pointing to the folly of using the stock market as a marker of economic health. Examining additional factors, such as unemployment, wage stagnation, debt levels and the opioid crisis, shows that “for the top 5-10 percent things are going well; for the rest, not at all. And the resulting deepening split between rich and poor has explosive implications for the whole society,” he said.

Wolff, who advocates moving away from capitalism to a different and better system, called on people to organize and to challenge the idea that capitalism is the strongest economic model.

More: Richard Wolff Says Capitalism Drives Inequality With 'Explosive' Consequences For Society

The greedy capitalistic quest for more money and exploitation of workers will be its downfall - and ours. Capitalism is a few for the few - and the hell with the rest. Capitalism is inherently evil. What do you think?

The guy is a self-admitted Marxist, and the term "Marxist economist" is an oxymoron.

Marxists have been saying the same thing since Marx published Das Kapital.

You have to be incredibly gullible to put any stock in this swill.

 

[bripat9643]

Fabism has been a total fucking success. The limitations and regulations it puts on capitalism has worked to advance every nation it has been used in.

Bullshit. Where have they worked?

 

[Toddsterpatriot]

Marxism has always been a huge success..........

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

If he’s an expert on Marxism, then he knows it doesn’t work. That’s why.

He still loves it, that's why we can't take his recommendations seriously.

 

[Dragonlady]

Who is advocating Marxism? Not me.

Richard Wolff.

No, he isn't. You obviously need to read the entire OP very carefully.

An expert on Marxism isn't pushing Marxism? Why the hell not?

If he’s an expert on Marxism, then he knows it doesn’t work. That’s why.

He still loves it, that's why we can't take his recommendations seriously.

This is the problem with political discussion in the US. You dismiss everything the other side says just because the other side says it.

Conservatives have some good ideas. So do liberals. But there’s a knee jerk reaction from both sides. A balanced budget is a good idea. Smaller government is a good idea.

On the other side, mandated vacations for all workers is a good idea. It increases productivity, improves employee health and gives workers time with their families. Mandated maternity leaves and job security for pregnant women would go a long way to reducing abortions. Every other first world country has them. And nearly all have lower abortion rates than the US.

Until both sides start talking to one another and make compromises, you’re stuck in this toxic dance.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Things are great for those at the top — but “not at all” for everybody else, the economist says.

Greedy capitalism has led to decades of downward mobility as U.S. business interests exploit workers at home and abroad and automate jobs out of existence in search of greater profits, according to economist Richard Wolff.

In a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on Monday, the economics professor, author and speaker said the U.S. has gone “way overboard” in celebrating capitalism and overlooking its flaws. He put this down to the power of the ideology created around it.

Trump’s massive assaults on women, the labor movement, immigrants, minorities, etc have produced very little mass street action by social movements. How [to] explain such passivity in the face of such provocation? A declining capitalism has so far succeeded in presenting itself as the opposite, a super-strong totality impossible to budge.​

While conceding that capitalism has allowed for periods of upward mobility ― for example, in the U.S. between the ’50s and ’80s ― that time is over, said Wolff, an expert on Marxism. “In capitalism, workers’ well-being is fundamentally insecure, held hostage to capital’s needs and drives.”

Inequality born of capitalism threatens the social fabric of the U.S., said Wolff, pointing to the folly of using the stock market as a marker of economic health. Examining additional factors, such as unemployment, wage stagnation, debt levels and the opioid crisis, shows that “for the top 5-10 percent things are going well; for the rest, not at all. And the resulting deepening split between rich and poor has explosive implications for the whole society,” he said.

Wolff, who advocates moving away from capitalism to a different and better system, called on people to organize and to challenge the idea that capitalism is the strongest economic model.

More: Richard Wolff Says Capitalism Drives Inequality With 'Explosive' Consequences For Society

The greedy capitalistic quest for more money and exploitation of workers will be its downfall - and ours. Capitalism is a few for the few - and the hell with the rest. Capitalism is inherently evil. What do you think?

. Capitalism works, but it's how it is run or is delivered that changes the game for many either in a good way or bad.

Capitalism work, but it needs a real currency supporting it.