Dialectic At Work: Crisis of Democracy: Marxism and Dialectical Thought Part 1

[Season 1 Episode 5] Dialectic At Work: Crisis of Democracy: Marxism and Dialectical Thought Part 1

On this week's episode of the Dialectic at Work, Professor Shahram Azhar and Professor Wolff discuss the crisis of democracy globally, the rise of far-right authoritarianism, the climate crisis, and finally how Marxism can address these issues.

This discussion took place at the recent No War but Class War Forum on May 31st at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus Sponsored by Historical Materialism and Institute for the Radical Imagination Conference.

Click for Part 2

About

The Dialectic at Work is a podcast hosted by Professor Shahram Azhar & Professor Richard Wolff. The show is dedicated to exploring Marxian theory. It utilizes the dialectical mode of reasoning, that is the method developed over the millennia by Plato and Aristotle, and continues to explore new dimensions of theory and praxis via a dialogue. The Marxist dialectic is a revolutionary dialectic that not only seeks to understand the world but rather to change it. In our discussions, the dialectic goes to work intending to solve the urgent life crises that we face as a global community.

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[patriciacvener]

My grandfather was a Jewish Socialist in the early 20th century. He taught me socialism and humanism. He was not well educated but he was very smart. I am still a socialist and until recently I had been disappointed in the recent generations' still too much accepting of the standard socio-economic arguments without questioning anything. Finally now the newest generations are beginning to question the inhumanity of a non-democratized employer - employee relationship that humanity has not yet experimented with.

[patriciacvener]

Professor Wolff, thank you for helping me, even at age 71, to learn more about Marxism; to engage more. Intellect does not have to ossify.

[StateOfPurgatory]

The greatest philosopher who changed my vision to the world when I was 18

[jenellejessop]

This is why I'm studying philosophy, economics and political science together.

[AB-bhrb]

Ive been telling people about Richard Wolff. Hoping they listen and start watching him. The way he describes everything is much more elegant than i can explain them.

[helengarrett]

Theory has its place but it is not available and understood by most people. Professor Wolff's genius is that he can explain philosophical ideas in common terms. I sometimes disagree with his conclusios but not always.

[StateOfPurgatory]

But I am so sad that the world going to go through a war for changes instead of diplomatic way

[Marxist]

Always great to see Prof. Wolff, I just wish the host would look at the camera, at us the viewers.

[nthperson]

For humans living with one another in a community or society, the most important theory is the theory of justice. Some individuals demand freedom of action, subject to almost no constraints. Others (most of us, I believe) accept that there must be a limit to our behavior, to our freedom. The philosopher Mortimer Adler wrote that liberty is freedom constrained by justice. Adler had his own theory of justice (persuasive to me, for one). He wrote that one can conclude a society is just IF all individuals have access to the goods of a decent human existence. Adler's list of such "goods" is long. By his measure, there are few societies existing society that he would describe as just.

[TheYellowTriviaBulb]

Excellent discussion on the interplay between democracy, crisis, and Marxist theory! It’s crucial to explore how dialectical thought can offer solutions to the pressing global challenges we face today. The rise of far-right authoritarianism and the climate crisis are indeed urgent issues that require thoughtful analysis and innovative approaches.

[canal_changeling]

"How the glass was ground affects what you see." The physical variability of telescope lenses is a great metaphor for the effect of theory on perception. No knowledge of the material world is theory-neutral or separable from the knower or his tools. This insight gets dismissed as "postmodern" by some people who never bother to answer the claim (let alone read what Marx—and Hegel—wrote that was analogous to it).

[patriciacvener]

As an artist, a ballerina, an astronomer, and a Jew, I understand how the dialectical process is essential for experimentation, growth, evolution, all with the desire to improve and repair the ongoing destruction of our planet and our humanity.

[MarioVink]

This is great❤ greetings from the Netherlands

[ASawarah]

If anyone might have some basic suggestions on how to converse with a mainstream audiance about socialism in a way that doesn't trigger their engrained automatic reaction to attack any criticism of capitalism, pls let me know. Thank you all.

[jaysphilosophy]

8k views that's it? This should have a million views, but i guess it's too dangerous.... How can dialectic have so few views.

[albertarthurparsnips]

The intense focus on reminding us of our ‘partiality’, or involvement with *what* we see, reminds me of Cezanne’s life - work.
Carried on almost as far is could go ( with oils & canvas ) by his heirs, the Analytical Cubists. Braque & Gris in particular.
I’d love to see Marxists spend some more time on Heisenberg & Bohr, .as well as Mandelbroit’s fractal sets…

[vladdumitrica]

Democracy is when those who make decisions on your behalf have the duty to ask for your consent first. Today's republics are actually modern oligarchies where the interest groups of the rich are arbitrated by the people, that is, you can choose from which table of the rich you will receive crumbs.
The "fatigue" of democracy occurs when there is a big difference between the interests of the elected and the voters, thus people lose confidence in the way society functions. As a result, poor and desperate citizens will vote with whoever promises them a lifeline, i.e. populists or demagogues.
The democratic aspect is a collateral effect in societies where the economy has a strong competitive aspect, that is, the interests of those who hold the economic power in society are divergent. Thus those whealty, and implicitly with political power in society, supervise each other so that none of them have undeserved advantages due to politics. For this reason, countries where mineral resources have an important weight in GDP are not democratic (Russia, Venezuela, etc.), because a small group of people can exploit these resources in their own interest. In poor countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, etc.) the main exploited resource may even be the state budget, as they have convergent interests in benefiting, in their own interest, from this resource. It is easy to see if it is an oligarchy because in a true democracy laws would not be passed that would not be in the interest of the many.
The first modern oligarchy appeared in England at the end of the 17th century. After the bourgeois revolution led by Cromwell succeeded, the interest groups of the rich were unable to agree on how to divide their political power in order not to reach the dictatorship of one. The solution was to appoint a king to be the arbiter. In republics, the people are the arbiter, but let's not confuse the possibility of choosing which group will govern you with democracy, that is, with the possibility of citizens deciding which laws to pass and which not to.
The solution is modern direct democracy in which every citizen can vote, whenever he wants, over the head of the parliamentarian who represents him. He can even dismiss him if the majority of his voters consider that he does not correctly represent their interests.
It's like when you have to build a house and you choose the site manager and the architect, but they don't have the duty to consult with you. The house will certainly not look the way you want it, but the way they want it, and it is more certain that you will be left with the money given and without the house. It is strange that outside of the political sphere, nowhere, in any economic or sports activity, will you find someone elected to a leadership position and who has failure after failure and is fired only after 4 years. We, the voters, must be consulted about the decisions and if they have negative effects we can dismiss them at any time, let's not wait for the soroco to be fulfilled, because we pay, not them. In any company, the management team comes up with a plan approved by the shareholders. Any change in this plan must be re-approved by the shareholders and it is normal because the shareholders pay.

[timmoore]

I think it was two years ago that I left off trying to get through Das Capital I. Still, I like that Dr. Wolff had once explained socialism as a family. You don't, at least I hope not, expect your children to pay for their dinner.
I listen to him because he uses normal language to explain things, This show did a good job of explaining what theory is, but I hope you explain dialectic a little better in the future.
Also, why was Dr. Wolff's water bottle blurred out?

[alexpodolsky]

Wikipedia - Ricardo Semler - Ricardo Semler (born 1959) is the chief executive officer and majority owner of Semco Partners, a Brazilian company best known for its radical form of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering.

[jamesstuart]

How do we square the circle of marxist industrialisation & agricultural environmentalism thru social inclusion / democracy rathrr than capitalist tacit consent? Environmentalism can't succeed until international debt is cancelled & there is land reform overthows our historical masters 😢