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Latest Releases

Dialectic At Work: Why Does Dialectics Matter for Climate Politics?

In this episode, the dialectic discusses the rising temperatures, melting glaciers, droughts, and famines as we have never seen in history; this week the Dialectic at Work explores the position of Capitalism, our dominant economic system, in the Web of Life. Prof. Shahram Azhar discusses the issue with leading environmental... Read more

Economic Update: Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) with Eric Blanc

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff discusses the modern political history in the United Kingdom as Conservatives protect UK corporations and the rich by employing "Distractions": First Brexit, and now Ukraine. We then turn to the latest worker uprising this time in Washington state, as workers... Read more

Capitalism Hits Home: A Crime of Domination: Denial of Need & Dis-Connection from Other Human Beings

In this episode, Dr. Fraad juxtaposes our capitalist system with sexual assault. Capitalist exploitation, like rape, requires a lack of connection and empathy for the workers one exploits. Capitalism encourages domination and disconnection from workers' human needs and wants. The rapist does the same. Rapists refuse to see their victim... Read more

Economic Update: Financializing Public Universities for Wall Street's Benefit

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff addresses the numerous requests for financial planning or investment advice that he receives from many of you. We touch on the truth about investing in the stock and/or bond markets. In addition, Professor Wolff offers a basic understanding of the... Read more

Dialectic At Work: Crisis of Democracy: Revisiting Hegel, Rethinking Political Practice

In this episode, the dialectic goes on to explore how Hegel's idea of historical transformation and change in the world of consciousness and thinking can be used to understand the political and economic situation around the world. Drawing upon a host of examples from the past, and the present, from... Read more

Economic Update: Understanding Communism Part Two

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff offers a special episode to continue the previous discussion on communism. We will discuss how socialism's history evolved into separating socialism from communism and creating multiple, different meanings of what is considered communism today. Read more

Capitalism Hits Home: Birth Strike in the USA

American women are on a birth strike. The U.S. leads the developed world in reducing the global birth rate. Only well-funded government programs for families and children will change this phenomenon. U.S. women cannot be the national safety net. This week's episode explains why U.S. women are on a birth... Read more

Economic Update: Understanding Communism Pt. 1

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff offers a special episode discussing the unscary origins of the ideas of communism and socialism before the Cold War demonized them. We will discuss how socialism's history evolved into separating socialism from communism and creating multiple, different meanings of what... Read more

Dialectic At Work: Crisis of Democracy: Marxism as a Critique of TINA

We live at a time when multiple crises surround us. Moreover, we are told that there is no alternative (TINA) so we must all accept the 'lesser of the two evils logic'. This week the dialectic goes to work to critically examine this claim. In particular, we dive into the... Read more

Economic Update: Yanis Varoufakis on the Changing World Economy

On this week’s episode of Economic Update, Professor Richard Wolff draws attention to the 10,000 hotel workers who recently conducted a strike impacting major hotels across 19 US cities. We highlight the contested merger of the two largest grocery chains in America. Albertsons and Kroger threaten to become the third... Read more

News & Newsworthy

This section is dedicated to D@W appearances, op-eds and articles by our contributors. D@W is not affiliated directly with these organizations, companies or entities.

PI Summer School Class 5 — Richard Wolff: Finance

The rise of finance solved a specific problem that accompanied the rise of global systems of commodity exchange. An enterprising manufacturer, knowing that demand existed for his product but lacking the resources to make it, could go to a bank and borrow money to scale up his workshop or factory.... Read more

Hit by Hurricanes and Crushed by Insurance Companies

On this episode of The Socialist Program, Prof. Wolff and Nicole Roussell discuss insurance companies dropping hurricane victims from their rolls and not paying out despite horrendous conditions from Hurricane Helene and with severe Milton on the way. Read more

Richard D. Wolff & Michael Hudson: How the US United China, Russia, and Iran: A Global Power Shift!

Richard Wolff, along with Michael Hudson, join Dialogue Works to discuss why the United States appears uninterested in ending conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, despite its capacity to influence these situations. They present a perspective that the U.S. employs proxy forces, such as Israel and Ukraine, to exert... Read more

Brink Of 'Nuclear' Conflict, Middle East Escalates To 'All Out War'

David Lin interviews Richard Wolff on the subject of global geopolitics, focusing on the escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and its neighbors. The discussion delves into the role of declining empires and the need for multilateral cooperation to avert global crises. The interviewee emphasizes the limitations... Read more

Trump Promises Global Trade War

On this episode of The Socialist Program, Prof. Richard Wolff and Brian discuss Trump's economic program, including his threats to impose massive tariffs on Deere's farming equipment if they move operations to Mexico as planned. Read more

Soaring U.S. Debt & Class Struggle

The Socialist Program welcomes Professor Richard Wolf to discuss the issues surrounding consumer debt as highlighted in a Wall Street Journal article. Professor Wolf critiques the article for ignoring the fundamental struggle of the working class to meet expenses without accumulating debt. The discussion delves into Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)... Read more

West's Colossal Mistake: US Decline, BRICS Rise, Tariffs Destroy Dollar | Prof. Richard Wolff

Prof. Richard Wolff joins the program to discuss his reaction to the massive geopolitical and economic shifts taking place worldwide as a result of the rise of BRICS, the decline of the US empire and the growing influence of Russia and China. Read more

Law and Disorder September 16, 2024

Richard Wolff joins Law and Disorder to discuss the parallels between the rise of fascism in early 20th-century Germany and the current political climate in the United States. He explains that the defeat of Germany in World War I triggered an economic collapse, hyperinflation, and desperation, creating fertile ground for... Read more

Richard Wolff on Kamala Harris as a Marxist, Tariffs and Price Gouging

Letters and Politics interviews Richard Wolff on the subject of economics and the current election. Wolff discusses the false accusations of Kamala Harris being labeled a Marxist by Donald Trump. He explains the concept of tariffs, highlighting the misconception that tariffs are paid by the country imposing them, and emphasizes... Read more

The Decline of the U.S. Empire: Where Is It Taking Us All?

The evidence suggests that empires often react to periods of their own decline by over-extending their coping mechanisms. Military actions, infrastructure problems, and social welfare demands may then combine or clash, accumulating costs and backlash effects that the declining empire cannot manage. Policies aimed to strengthen empire—and that once did—now... Read more

Essential Reading

Understanding Capitalism

Understanding Capitalism aims to answer the question: 'Why capitalism fails us'?. It explores the different definitions of what capitalism is and is not – showing why definitions matter. It dissolves the many myths that make it hard to understand the system. Readers acquire tools needed to engage basic economic and social issues of our time by showing precisely how they depend upon the capitalist system. Then the book shows how and where we can go beyond capitalism to specific alternative systems. Doing that, we argue, can and should be part of solving today’s great issues, of making the world better than we found it. Buy Here →

Understanding Marxism

If you want to understand capitalism in order to make society better, then understanding Marx’s analysis is fundamental in drawing your attention to capitalist production’s core conflict: class struggle. It is everywhere, and it influences everything and everyone in our society. Marx is the theoretician who first explained it systematically. He was a social critic for whom capitalism signified not the end of human history, but the latest phase that badly needed a transition to something better. Buy Here →

The Sickness is the System

The coronavirus pandemic, economic crash, political divisions, and social tensions have plunged the declining American capitalist system into chaos. In this collection of over 50 unique essays, Prof. Wolff argues that a mere return to normalcy is inadequate to tackle the accumulated problems of US capitalism. Buy Here →

Understanding Socialism

Understanding Socialism tackles the taboos and unveils the often hidden histories of socialism, but most importantly it offers a way forward: a socialism built on democracy in the workplace. A blend of history, analysis and opinion, Understanding Socialism is an honest and approachable text that knocks down false narratives, confronts failures, and offers a path to a new socialism based on workplace democracy. Buy Here →

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