Socialism is close, but it's not the final answer. It would be a good step though. In a sense, the best system in the end is both Socialist and Capitalist, because you'd be getting what you actually earn, and we'd all be one super-group. Might sound bold, but I have a theory that definitively solves why empires fall, how to stop it and reverse it despite the difficulties, how to definitively measure morality by gives and takes, and some ideas for methods of pier-investment and pier-review for various systems. Also, it's all connected to some fun stuff from history, as if an instruction manual has been miswritten and misused. Anyway, sorry for preaching. Maybe we'll put a video up soon. Still finalizing things. Anyone invested, feel free to inquire. ;-}
9 years later ... Greece after 4 years of Syriza turned conservative with fascist tendencies, Italy has gone fascist, and Spain has been alternating between the conservatives and socialists, while Catalonia decided to liven things up a bit by declaring independence.
The professor is not telling the entire truth. *Stalin did follows Lenin steps to literally transfer the ownerships and management and whatever of the state enterprise back to the working populations* , HOWEVER, he, and the *Soviet partisan found out, they come to realize* that, from the experience helping other left wing movement, militants and otherwise since the 1920s to come. That the other side, the Capital Business class side, that they will do all they can to took back everything, and at the rates of worker ran enterprise, the *Soviet would not be able to produces enough small arms, armored vehicles, artillery, bullets and foods to even last a short wars, against a much more industrializes army (whom can out produces and thus outlast them)* AT the were during the Spanish Civil Wars, and they, the Soviet governments had industrializes so much, improves the living conditions and material conditions of their people, updates their weaponry so much, but it's was not enough, because if you recall, the left wing united Front, the Republican faction LOST that wars against the right wing united Front of the Nationalist. So Stalin administration list out a plans to reorganizes the Soviet Industry under a state planning more direct state controls models TO PRODUCES enough equipment for the already incoming wars, regardless what dude in Mongolian want to go to wars or not, the Axis are coming, and none of complains gonna stops the united right wing army, the Axis army. HOWEVER, *it's was always the plans to return these industries from state ran BACK to the working population as Commune, Coops, whatever, working people own the mean of economic production!* , but guess what? Stalin pass aways because he was old, and over works. Then what? well the administration that came after Stalin decide "You know what? the Soviet Union industries gonna be primarily state owns, but small coops and communes are allows, with states instruction" and that last until the Soviet Union dissolves. It's was AFTER Lenin and Stalin passing, that the latter leader of the USSR decide, this was enough.
An important question is would majorities of workers know enough about specific important subjects to rule wisely? Environmental and health management come to mind. We're going extinct and need to manage with that in mind. Scientists get ignored and disaster follows, and multiple environmental collapses are on the way without cure as a result.
This otherwise beautiful lecture is marred by the phrase ‘poor stalin’. That should be edited out or qualified with mention of information about his atrocities on his own population. He killed millions?
The argument that socialism is a bad word in America today is garbage. The reason “there is no debate” is not because “it is too scary” it is because there is literally no remaining argument for socialisms viability. It died with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Cry more about it.
*No.* The Fire and Police Departments, oh, and public schools and libraries....and street lights, are when "the government does stuff." The abolition of all private property, even, in some theories, personal property, and the subjugation of all autonomous exercise of work and/or will to the supposed greater good of maximizing control of the economy (and the culture and the relationship of people to their community and to each other) by the state (nominally as directed by "the people") is SOCIALISM. *We all get to share in the same mediocrity, as "equals."* This prof's simple-Simon reduction is as disingenuous, and almost as condescending, as his delivery.
Incorrect. Your claim that socialism means getting rid of all private property, including personal items, and completely controlling people's lives is not true. Socialism focuses on the public ownership of things like factories and resources, but it doesn’t take away personal belongings. It basically aims to reduce inequality through economic planning and social welfare, not eliminate private property. Youre confusing socialism with communism, which does push for abolishing private property entirely.
"Capitalist Richard Wolff doesn't exist, it can't hurt you" Capitalist Richard Wolff: "Capitalism is when the company does stuff. The more company does stuff, the more Capitalist it gets, but if it does *real* stuff, its Corporatism."
It has been doing worse ever since too, more and more younger folk sour to capitalism as economy is in shambles. Today in US, UK, Poland, and many other countries you cannot buy a home and homelessness is on the rise, for anyone looking it's clear the system fails.
Socialism is really just a form of porn for people who have Freudian fantasies about gulags and mass-Un-Alivings of the innocent. It's really amazing that these kinds of sociopaths keep preaching utopia when the failed system has such an utterly astounding body count ... at this point in history it would make more sense to regard Socialism as a kind of cult for serial-Un-Alivers.
Now 2023 and we see socialism is for dummies. I’ve listened to him debate capitalists , the one debate the capitalist shows him we already have his idea within the capitalist structure. It’s every person that starts their own business with no employees, we have farm co-ops now. We have the nuclear family pure socialism the way he describes. No laws preventing the size of any socialist company to have every person that belongs to it. It’s all available but it still hasn’t caught on 8 years later from this video. Why this man spends his life trying to convert capitalism that has lifted millions out of poverty. To bad we can’t go back in time and tell this guy it isn’t going to work his ideas are totally rejected when it comes to swapping out capitalism for socialism. He is an angry old socialist that will never understand socialism doesn’t scale , people are not all nice responsible citizens so treating a corporation of thousands of people like a 5 person families is like getting all your extended family to agree on Turkey or ribs for thanksgiving or gif forbid politics be spoken at tge dinner table. It doesn’t work end of story.
I'm all for the raising the living standard of the common man by the agency of socialism if that what it takes. The models we had to go by in the twentieth century and beyond were systems that were and are principally interested in ideology and absolute obedience to the state. They didn't care and still don't care who they step on to achieve complete power. If we have Socialism let's have a type that has to answer to an opposition party. Any political party that dominates government without organized opposition becomes corrupt.
3:18 Individuals for whatever reasons. Those reasons that distinguish between them matter a lot. because not everyone can be an operator of a business that has sustained operations because the system is rigged by over-taxation due to the debt-based monetary system where the debt grows without upper bounds because we are shifting the burden of the debt to generations further into the future to be the central banker's debt slaves. No one now can start a large business because the quantity of money involved is tremendous and no one can accumulate any sizable wealth on their own because of graduated income taxes. All this is part and parcel of the Manifesto of the Communists. Socialism and endless wars have the purpose of permanently indebting the nation-state to enslave the population to paying the ever-increasing compounded interest payments on that boundless debt. Inflation and increasing taxes are the results from endless wars and supporting that the least talented, least educated, and least smart have a growing number of children who may have even less than their unfortunate parents. It is a race to the pit of heck and dysgenics where the smartest people are having fewer of their talented offspring who could rise from the depths of the middle classes as was their dream. Marxism concentrates wealth by creating an elite political class, eliminating the middle class so that everyone else lives like a slave. Suppose that you want to build some innovative invention? You have to find a property, develop the property, service the property with utilities, buy the raw materials, hire and train employees, higher professionals to manage and track finances, all before the product rolls off the assembly line, and lining up retailers to sell your product to the consumer. The property has taxes, heating and cooling and electrical power expenses. If any toxic by-products are produced, a means of safe, inexpensive disposal must be arranged. The business shall collapse it it is not well maintained where the profits have to be re-invested to replace worn-out equipment, upgrade the tools and processes, etc. Suppose the owner wants to produce different widgets and open another factory and business for that? From where does the money come for that if everything is taxed away using graduated income taxes? What if all your potential employees cannot even tie their shoelaces by the age 25 years old because the talent pool is very shallow. What if your managers are short-term thinkers and fire your most talented employees due to being unable to understand and know what the advanced employee is doing to save on production costs by creating their own tools to manage the work product through innovation? I have met talented as well as idiotic managers who have no insight into what matters most--keeping expenses down for ongoing operations.
Bernie Sanders was lying the whole time or would tell you to vote for the Socialist Party . Or maybe he was lying half the time either way you're not using the right science .
In every lecture on any subject there’s an arsehole know it all in the audience. He heckles. He takes up the Q&A with his pontification and ego. Thanks Rick for shutting him up.
The guy interrupting was irritating. It is fine to disagree with a presenter, but to continually interrupt, as if this was a dialogue (as Wolff challenged), is simply rude. Listen to the argument, and then in Q&A, make your point. That is the forum, not during the talk.
Halfway through and ironically, I don't know what socialism is still and what it would look like if we replaced our capitalism with this. But I learned a lot! Oooh, watch part 2!!!
The government definitely doesn't allow child porn, rightfully, and it doesn't support trans people either, sadly. Fuck off with your transphobia, you give socialists a bad name.
It was good untill as a historian, not that good in factual argumentation.. a lot of arguments and facts, very little sources and data, not saying isnt true, but those are indeed needed and are the ones which gives value to his arguments and gather audience. As an european (portuguese) that still has the austerity season in memory and to a point self proclaimed socialist, after 8 years after the austerity season, it keeps the same , state still works as a tool for capitalists and burguoise, even though we've been ruled by a self called "socialist party" since 2013.. most of european countries have taken the "evolutionary socialism" path, which its power is still submissive to capital and financial powers.. Im not a Marx, or Engels, not event close to the professor, but seems to me to very visible that state power survives only by support of capitalists and vice versa.. also, capitalism works in cycles, its fine, its gets good, it crumbles, and here we go again, so theres always hope it ll someday really work.. i dont think revolutionary or evolutionary socialims will work until a social/mindset change takes place,people can see through capital lies and capital marketeers promised and state gets recoginized as capitalist leverage tool for class struggle, which wil be used to benefit the top, fewer ones.. capitalism has to go, but state does too...
Mr. Wolff, what you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
