Greedy capitalism has led to decades of downward mobility as U.S. business interests exploit workers at home and abroad and…
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.
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.
“Everything I know about human psychology tells me that many things motivate human efforts to innovate: love, fear, ambition for respect, prestige, money, pride, etc. Only capitalism, seeking to justify its exploitation of workers, would reduce the complexity of motivation to one motivator, money.”
BIDI BIDI, Uganda ― As far as the eye can see, tents and huts…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Ala. — A breeze wafts the stench of raw sewage into Eric’s…
The university city of Tübingen, in southwest Germany, is testing free public transportation for…
“It was a great experience to beat Novak, he is a legend of the…
J-League side Vissel Kobe’s head of player development Atsuhiro Miura, however, has denied that…
President Donald Trump will likely meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in…
More than half of the winning Democratic candidates for House seats in Tuesday’s primary…
Evangelical women from the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. are publicly voicing their…
The major takeaway from President Donald Trump’s reckless decision to violate the terms of…