American Prestige Why Marx Now? w/ Andrew Hartman
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Apr 7, 2026 
Andrew Hartman, historian of Marxist thought and U.S. intellectual history, discusses why Marx still matters. He explores imperialism, Sweezy’s war vs welfare argument, financialization and the shift from wages to assets. They consider automation, AI, declining American hegemony, and capitalism’s ties to war in concise, provocative conversation.
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Capitalists Prefer War Spending Over Social Welfare
- Paul Sweezy argued capitalists willingly fund war but resist social welfare spending.
- Andrew Hartman cites Sweezy's 1942 claim that state spending flows to military projects, not daycare or Medicare, shaping Cold War spending patterns.
Financialization Undermines Labor's Centrality
- Financialization shifts power from wages to assets, weakening labor's role in capitalism.
- Hartman argues Marx's theory still matters because attempts to delink capital from labor generate recurring systemic crises and instability.
Marx Predicted Crises From Delinking Capital And Labor
- Marx's Capital explains capitalism crises when capitalists cut labor too far.
- Hartman notes Volume Three warns that delinking capital from labor provokes ongoing crises and possibly repeated wars.
