Advanced & Applied Marxian Economics (Session 3) - Richard D Wolff 

Yes, I am against *direct* democracy. Which is what people mean when they say things like "democratically controlled organizations of workers." Nice attempt to scare people by daring them to question the virtues of that vague but unquestionable word "democracy." Direct democracy--what you're actually referring to--sucks. That's why we have a Constitutional Republic. DDs also suck in workplaces. Co-ops, or business structures that are run as direct democracies, are far less productive than businesses that have a clearly defined hierarchy. If we made every workplace a DD, our national output would be cut in half and then we'd actually be living in the dystopia hyperbolic Marxists always claim we are living in. Running a business is not similar to electing political leaders (even political campaigns and the administrations of elected officials aren't democracies). It's far more similar to war, due to the existential threat posed by competitors. You simply cannot mill about waiting for everyone's input if you want to survive. A more socially cohesive group, where members are willing to sacrifice individual autonomy for the good of the whole, will easily outmaneuver you if you do.

@@tomcotter4299 Just like a country is doomed if it doesn't have a king? There just isn't time to make democratic decisions. Have you never heard of the Mondragon Corp.?

@@jacoblehrer4198 There's a middle ground between the false dichotomy you're presenting.

@@tomcotter4299 this is a good argument and i don't know what the marxian response would be. can a worker co-op theoretically be more effective than a hierarchy, i would like to think so but who knows. as wolff has said before, some consumers may well choose to support the co-op because they see it as the moral thing to do and what benefits the workers more, if they had the choice in whatever industry.

@@tomcotter4299 also i suppose there can be a structure in place of a co-op that replicates the hierarchy function by electing their managers and rotating around decision making. the profits of a corporate structure go mostly into the pockets of the elite so in a co-op you can imagine at least the workers will be receiving their fair share and u would imagine that will boost their productivity much more

Marxism-Leninism with Wolffist Thought

Check out Michael Parenti's lecture (and book) The Assassination of Julius Caesar, its a Marxist analysis of ancient Rome

at the very least.

+KarlBonner1982 We all need to more consciously differentiate between historical Communism (USSR etc) and the philosophy and economics of Communism. Otherwise we throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you admire Marx's thinking, and support workplace democracy (worker co-ops), then I'd say you're a Socialist. Congratulations! (Btw, so am I)

in a book by this professor called Capitalism Hits The Fan, he called "communism" state capitalism. i.e the gov't regulating the still capitalist economy. the workforce i.e proletariat. still loosing. why? because there still ignorant and in an inferior position. The class structure still makes them little more than glorified slaves who produce surplus value for others.

Marxist regimes are basically those that are directly democratic with no classes dividing people. So like the Paris commune or the soviets before they let the bolsheviks take over.

Did Jesus fail, in your opinion?