Prof. Richard Wolff on Consumerism, Fetishism, and the Opiate of the Masses

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[AcmePotatoPackingPocatello]

Mr Wolff you illustrate one thing that is paramount, heretofore I'd never heard said.
...I got outta high school, wild ass as I was, but, I was very fortunate to get a union factory job. 1971. It saved my life as I came from poor family. Union job money saved my ass.
I really enjoyed the people I worked with. We worked hard as a team. We also partied hard as we had wages that gave a comfortable lifestyle. I bought a house just as many of my work buddies did. Bought land, started a farm, that I operated on the side for 25 years.

But----
By the 3rd year of Reagan, 1986, my union was broken by Reaganism.
I still worked in the MILL, yet year over over year; Wages, benefits got worse and by my retirement in 2017 I'd lost $12 hourly adjusted for inflation and my free healthcare when union became $ 1, 200 deductable per family member. Ya.

But the real issue that made me HATE my job, was how de-volved my fellow workers became. Friendships evaporated away, as workload with mandatory overtime increased. Abusive behavior began flourishing, divorce rampant, pain med. Abuse, alcoholism. Paranoia of losing your position to a fellow worker caused brownoser explosion. The worst traits became dominate....lie, cheat, steal, manipulate, gossip, became Epidemic!!
Friends became a hindrance to maintaining your job position, as bosses became more and more sociopathic. Especially as we got older, as UNION sensibilities evaporated away.

[carycunningham]

The middle class is no longer the majority in the country. Two-thirds of the country are living paycheck to paycheck. The average wage-earner can no longer afford a house, a car, or a college education. We're in the middle of a retail apocalypse. And we have the peak debt of everything. I wouldn't worry about an excess of consumerism at this point fellas. Corporate greed and corruption seems to have driven a stake through that. An increasing number of people are worried about a growing shortage of food. That seems to be where we are now.

[davidluckens]

"we believe we're gliding down the highway, when in fact we're slip sliding away"-thank you so much for this generous post.

[kaceykelly]

EXCELLENT!
This is the wisdom and honest discussion that we must start sharing on a regular basis. It really opens the eyes of all of us!

[MoisesGarcia-bcwh]

What a brilliant way to connect the things that matter the most with philosophy! Profe Wolff's words are a balm in these painful times!

[ExkupidsMom]

I always love listening to Dr. Wolff and his takes on the world. He brings a moral lens to key issues that I admire immensely.

[cliffordmaxwell]

Always a stimulating conversation, thank you.

[quantumgoddess]

I give thanks to God for Prof. Wolff, he has given voice to what I have been thinking and has clarified the way the economy works, with knowledge we can mobilize

[rodneyperry]

RJ nailed the fetishism of Apple. Brilliant!

[David-rogm]

Planned obsolescence directly ties into consumerism, also.

[rubyvolt]

the house of cards is crumbling down. More and more are finally feeling the effects of the death of empire. We live in the DEATH STAR.

[mauriziomoretti]

What happened to Democracy at Work?
2 months the channel is idling. What's going on?
I was worried something bad happened with Prof. Wolff, thnx heaven he's healthy and free. It's a selfish thought, but my Mondays were much better when I could spend my lunchtime watching Economic Update (and not just that)

[brandonb]

RJ/Prof. Wolff,
I learned the other day that the Abrahamic religions (as written) believe that “interest” on payments is a sin. If this is so, how blatantly hypocritical is our religious system to allow the interest to be charged. I went through CCD/Confirmation growing up and never learned this…
What is going on here? Why is there interest when it is a “tool” of the “devil”…ha!
Appreciate the knowledge you will provide in advanced! ✌🏼😊

[tabularasa]

Merci Beaucoup RJ Eskow & Professor Richard Wolff❤️❤️

[RobinHerzig]

Such important framing. Bosses need us to not get distracted. Consumerism soothes us (kinda like drinking). Profiteers need us to consume… and this, we're told, makes us happy… And so we buy and then we buy and then we buy more + then we keep buying 👏 Opiate of the masses, indeed

[leftykeys]

I LOVE their perspective about consumerism and capitalism. And these guys are no fans of the “free” market capitalism RFK idealizes. (Just my comparison. No mention of RFK here.) Richard Wolff is on fire in this video, at his best!

[johnn]

Does anyone out there know if Professor Wolff's Economic Update show is no longer? I have not seen a new episode in forever.

[andyjblosser]

Great convo! I'm looking forward to the conversation on the hypocrisy issue--please cover that!

[skmed]

What is likeable about Richard Wolff is that his commentary (at least when speaking, have yet to read any of his works) is non aesthetic, nor artful. He has that style of speech that is like a hammer, or a blunt object that is just bludgeoning/driving the point straight home. Like your grandpa. That ol' school..."get this through that thick skull of yours" type of scolding. He just speaks to the point, and does so forcefully. And that may sound disingenuous but it's not meant to be. In this age where we've all been finessed and distracted with artful speak and literary prose for YEARS, it's honestly refreshing. Always a joy to listen to.

[redbeard]

Dear Prof. Wolff,
I had risen above consumerism in my mid 30's. I realized most things that are sold are either useless dust collectors, or re-inventions of the same thing in a built to break era. Still, i am miserable because even though I've taken the advice of my elders that told me that loyalty to a company would pay off through raises and jumping jobs doesn't look good on an application. But, every time wages went up my loyalty and raises were never applied to the increase. So it was like i was always starting over but the costs of living kept climbing in step. So 5 years ago I decided to get a degree in machining and went to college on grants and maintained an A-B average, while working a 40 hr a week job as an overnight stocker at Wal-Mart (with 5 extra hours factored in for our lunch breaks), so i didn't have to repay the grant. Well im a machinist now and make a better wage than I ever did but now they're hiring people at Lowes and ice cream shops at the same wage I make, I still can't afford a house, my rent has doubled, the price of electricity and heating fuels keep going up though we buy more fuel and energy efficient systems. And i cant even enjoy nature because either someone owns the property, and there's the possibility of getting shot while trespassing, or it costs money to enjoy the safe public parks, beaches, or most activities in society