A patron of Economic Update asks: "[T]he Marxist in me feels that the word 'classism' is also some kind neoliberal aerosol to make social class merely a function of prejudice or a lack equal opportunity or something. I am wondering if you could shine a more analytical light on my intuition or refute it as the case may be."
This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.
Ask Prof Wolff is a @Democracy At Work production. We are committed to providing these videos to you free of ads. Please consider supporting us on Patreon.com/economicupdate. Become a part of the growing Patreon community and gain access to exclusive patron-only content, along with the ability to ask Prof. Wolff questions like this one! Your support also helps keep this content free to the public. Spreading Prof. Wolff's message is more important than ever. Help us continue to make this possible.
Submit your own question to be considered for a video response by Prof. Wolff on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/economicupdate/community.
Follow us ONLINE:
Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/economicupdate
Facebook:
- http://www.facebook.com/EconomicUpdate
- http://www.facebook.com/RichardDWolff
- http://www.facebook.com/DemocracyatWrk
Twitter:
Instagram:
Shop our CO-OP made MERCH: https://democracy-at-work-shop.myshopify.com/
Learn more about [email protected]'s NEW BOOK by award-winning print and broadcast journalist Robert "Bob" Hennelly.
Stuck Nation: Can the United States Change Course on Our History of Choosing Profits Over People?
www.democracyatwork.info/books
“Hennelly brilliantly analyzes our capitalist crises and how individuals cope with them, tragically but often heroically. He helps us draw inspiration and realistic hope from how courageous Americans are facing and fixing a stuck nation.”
- Richard D. Wolff
Showing 1 comment
I love your ideas because they make me think more deeply about the values we take for granted. Based on your examples of class I think one could easily distill them into one overarching theme, that is, class structures and -isms serve to codify, solidify and justify systemic means of power differential in culture and society. As is well-known, at least in modern, Western culture, exploitation of others through power differential can lead to subtle, outrageous, and even horrific abuses if not checked or otherwise controlled.
If we accept these conceptual classifications as universal truth or “the way it is”, there will be great difficulty in transforming to a just, egalitarian, and truly democratic world.
Your thought is a critical component in the dialogue that people are having today.
Thank you,
Robert L.