AskProfWolff: How To Renew the Appeal & Success of Socialist & Green Parties

Learn more about Prof Wolff's new book, The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself. Available now!

A patron of Economic Update asks: ""Hi Prof, I am from Canada and one the Green Party is having a leadership race for the next federal election. I am a member of Meryam Haddad's campaign to become the new leader of the Party. Team Meryam is a socialist grassroots organization and we are doing really well at gathering support so far. We adopted the watermelon symbol for ""green on the outside, red on the inside."" We want to implement policies like universal basic income based on inflation per province to compete with the economy, nationalized internet so that everyone may have access, fair rent pricing, progressive taxation etc... I want to know how we can gather more support and and mobilize people who would have supported the New Democratic Party (the NDP has ""fallen into a neoliberal austerity frame""), as well as more policies we may implement to effectively protect the working class and other marginalized groups against the capitalist superstructure and the unequal impacts of environmental degradation , decolonize the Indigenous, and dismantle industries we are so dependent on?"

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[Silpheedx]

Nailed it. Frikin nailed it. Lets hear a hard right try to debate this one.

[matthewmcree]

God, Prof. Wolff's unbelievable "articulateness" (is that a word?) astounds me every time. He makes his point so clear anyone can understand it, and he makes these ideas sound like total common-sense. We as the left must appreciate having him to speak on our behalf.

[peternyc]

It would be great if Prof. Wolff made a list of all the legal and economic obstacles to worker coops in America. Where do we need to concentrate the fight? By the same token, make a list of all the successes. What obstacles did they overcome?

[uptick]

TY excellent and informative per usual..

[jamesmorton]

EVEN THE OLD NEW DEAL WAS
SOMETHING THAT WORKED

keeping hands out of the cookie jar

[celesteconnor]

This is why I am a Morrisian Socialist. Morris foundedthe Arts & Crafts Movement by creating artists' co-operatives. The co-op idea was picked up by photographer Alfred Stieglitz in the U.S. as well as many object designers. Creative co-ops, an important form of socialist workplace, flowered in the U.S. in the 60s-70s and IMHO can serve as a model for future workplace organization.

[infinitafenix]

Democracy at work: 'Democracia en marcha' ;) great channel!

[mattw]

Government hierarchical bureaucracy is little different from the corresponding bureaucracy in a private company or other organisation. The fact that the government at the top is voted for every so many years doesn't imply the government bureaucracy is in any way democratic. The word democracy is used alot but it is something that we just don't have in reality, except in very limited ways.

[Dsonsee]

Very well said. It's about time we start making it a well- known proposal of socialists

[jjgdenisrobert]

Problem with the Greens is that most of them tend to be quite neoliberal in orientation. Sure they are trying to introduce ecological externalities into the economic calculus, but they rarely propose any significant structural change. That varies from party to party and from period to period, but I typically can’t make heads or tails of Green political positions overall.

[tickle]

What individual really want from his or her conscience is what has been elaborated by Prof. Wolffe in this video. Incredible lecture.🙏🙏👏👏🎉🎉

[ashtonderoy]

I supported a Socialist Candidate in the Green Party of Canada Election. I supported Meryam Haddad because she is a Socialist, a Lesbian and a Feminist. She also speaks French and I am declaring my French culture this year.

[lawsonj]

I agree that democratization of the enterprise should be the goal of left politics--but workers are so exhausted by their current working conditions, often entailing multiple jobs, that the idea of taking on a whole new role in the workplace will probably be very hard to sell. "How can I do even more?" Plus, the current system makes the "expertise" of managers seem unattainable to many; people at the bottom are browbeaten into believing that they belong where they are and that those with power know best. So the Prof is advocating a correct but very difficult path.

[billfrenger]

Thank you Professor Wolff. Another big problem in my view, is how the Company is funded in the first place. This will require a Government that is willing to be a part and establish plans for funding Democratic Employee owned enterprises. In order to accomplish this the Government will need to be changed to one that operates on Direct Democracy. If the current Representative system of Government is left in place it will ultimately be corrupted by $Capitalism$ again and we will be back to where we are today. This system must be changed. I also agree with former Senator Mike Gravel. He lays out a plan for this in his book "The Failure of Representative Government and The Solution". Stand up for Direct Democracy and let the people establish Democratic Worker Coops. The Constitution is the problem.

[TedApelt]

Once again, no mention of Ranked Choice Voting, even though it is the key to bringing about a true multi party political system where you need to form coalitions with other parties to get things done instead of everyone either being in your party or the dreaded, evil, other party.

[alexkats]

That's just what democracy at work means, it's not a strategy or a guideline for bigger appeal

[virtusoroca]

In order to disarm conservatism its better to ground workers coops on entrepeneurship and meritocracy. Coops as a reponse to failed promisses. To each according to their capacity (see: Marx, Critique of the Gotha Programme).

[scottluthy]

I so agree with democracy in the workplace. I would presume the profits would be shared in an equitable way.

[DavidSanchez-vxbv]

That is indeed a radical a revolutionary proposal that could enhance the life of the 99% of the population... if that become a reality in mosts political parties, we will see soon a real debate AND transformation in the Soceity (the top 1% will not like it!)

[frenchfree]

I wonder if in the USA we should use the terminology as "Social Democracy". and then move in a cooperative direction once people have tasted that. It seems that the word Socialism gives the opposition the opportunity to demonize the word and bring up visions of Totalitarianism and corrupt nations who have declared themselves Socialist.