Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Dive into the geopolitical tensions shaping 2025, where discussions span the dangerous conflation of Israel's existence with violence against Palestinians. Explore Europe’s failure to seize Russian assets and how the Russia-China alliance undermines U.S. tariffs. Delve into shocking revelations from the Epstein scandal that threaten elite power and spark public outrage about inequality. Discover the shifting sentiments in communities against ICE and the broader implications of U.S. neo-colonialism on global stability.

Sabrina Salvati, a political commentator, activist, and filmmaker, dives into her new documentary, "Removed: Black Erasure in Boston." She reveals the harsh realities of gentrification and how systemic issues like redlining and urban renewal have led to the displacement of Black communities. Salvati discusses the racial wealth gap, highlighting stark disparities in Boston. She also shares insights on grassroots resistance efforts from the Franklin Park Defenders and their fight for justice in the face of ongoing gentrification.

Jared Yates-Sexton, an author and political analyst known for his insights on U.S. politics, joins to explore the impact of societal trauma on politics. He connects rising loneliness and anxiety to political choices and the support of harmful candidates. Yates-Sexton argues that awareness of capitalism's contradictions can inspire systemic change. He emphasizes the importance of intimate conversations for organizing and highlights how desperation drives activism, showcasing solidarity with immigrants as a sign of interconnectedness.

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff provides an analysis of "globalization" as a fancy slogan to hide a profit-driven, profit-boosting period (1970-2015) that saw US capitalists move factories abroad. It destroyed so many well-paid factory jobs (especially of white, male Christians) that it produced massive suffering among the affected communities. As their rage built and both Republican and Democratic politicians turned a blind eye to their suffering, right-wing politicians saw an opportunity. Find a candidate really different from the old Republican and Democratic establishments - a Trump - and have him express the rage, anger, and bitterness of those who had lost the American Dream. Trump blamed globalization, foreigners in general, immigrants in particular, liberals, and Democrats: all lumped into "globalists," a term that changed from celebration to total evil. Conveniently for the leaders of major US corporations - the people who had actually made the decisions to move production abroad and profited from that escaped from Trump's blame. Now he promises to lead them to more profits by switching back to economic nationalism. But like globalization, it will prove profitable for the same corporations now as it did before. America First will hide the suffering it imposes every bit as much as globalization did. Capitalism is the problem. The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

The discussion revolves around the intriguing proposition that Marx was right, highlighted by a recent talk at Yale. Key points include Marx's foundational role in socialism and the global spread of his ideas. The dangers of capitalism are explored, particularly how profit motives create inequality and necessitate constant growth. Wolff links capitalism's expansion to colonialism and emphasizes the importance of Marx's insights on worker displacement and societal unrest. The conversation wraps up with a reflection on the relevance of socialism today and Marx's lasting critiques.

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the internal struggle inside the U.S. Teamsters Union between O'Brien leadership and Hooker challenge group (pro- vs anti-Trump), Trump-McMahon attack on the nursing profession in the U.S., and Trump's own reduction of tariffs and thus of government revenue from tariffs. Then, Professor Wolff interviews Abby Martin about her new film, "Earth's Greatest Enemy," which explores the U.S. military's disastrous ecological impact on the planet. The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on the nationwide Starbucks strikes and on the results of Trump's tariffs: facts and fakery. The second part of the show features an interview with journalist and podcast host John Fugelsang about his new book: Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds. The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

On today's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers an introduction to the key economic concept of "the surplus." He explains economic structures as ways of organizing the production and social distribution of the surplus. Then he briefly applies this concept to the economies of slavery and feudalism before focusing on the role of the surplus in capitalism. Finally, we use the surplus to delineate the ways alternative post-capitalist systems, such as socialism or communism, distribute it. The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

The totality of today's Economic Update is devoted to exploring (1) the multiple ways that capitalism imposes class warfare on its people, and (2) how class warfare shapes the capitalist system's impact on employers and employees. Specific examples show (1) what kind of class struggle is involved in tariffs such as those imposed by Trump, (2) how inflation exemplifies class war, and (3) how unemployment reflects and includes class war. A question addressed throughout today's program is "Why establish and maintain an economic system that produces and reproduces class war across its history?" The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to The totality of today's Economic Update is devoted to exploring (1) the multiple ways that capitalism imposes class warfare on its people, and (2) how class warfare shapes the capitalist system's impact on employers and employees. Specific examples show (1) what kind of class struggle is involved in tariffs such as those imposed by Trump, (2) how inflation exemplifies class war, and (3) how unemployment reflects and includes class war. A question addressed throughout today's program is "Why establish and maintain an economic system that produces and reproduces class war across its history?" The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to

On this week's episode of Economic Update, Professor Wolff's updates include the 60+ people killed by the U.S. military in what it claimed were "narco boats," Socialist Catherine Connolly wins the Presidency in Ireland, Canada hit with nationwide postal workers strike alongside a strike of the entire public workforce (51,000) in Alberta, Canada, and finally a new poll showing that 67% of U.S. college students look favorably or neutrally on socialism. In the second half of today's show, Professor Wolff interviews Robert Ovetz and Kevin van Meter on effective new ways of organizing workers. The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info