Ask Prof Wolff: Socialism's Biggest Failures

A Patron of Economic Update asks: "Could you provide an analysis on the failures of the more prominent socialist societies in recent history and the contributing factors to these failures, real or perceived?"

This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.

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“Hennelly brilliantly analyzes our capitalist crises and how individuals cope with them, tragically but often heroically. He helps us draw inspiration and realistic hope from how courageous Americans are facing and fixing a stuck nation.” - Richard D. Wolff
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[TheDarkIllumination]

“All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.”

[NUMEN]

Dear Professor Wolff,
I am a 17 year old high school senior from Louisiana but I’ve never had a fleshed out lesson in politics or economics in my entire public school experience. Do you think our schools should focus more on these topics and if so how do you think we can better educate children and teens about the complex structure of our economic and political systems?
Thank you🌹

[suzegiljer]

Socialisam has been tried in the countries that suffered tremendous distructions in the world war, in constant opposition of the capitalist system in the form of distabilation, sunctions.trade obstacle etc.Having lived in one of those countries the progress and standard of living had jumped in leaps and bounds but from the low base in spate of the obstacles.

[MrDXRamirez]

I am not in agreement in calling the first, second and third socialists states a failure when they are surrounded by hostility from capitalist states.
Seems the hostile states pressure the new socialists states to throw all their human and material resources to defense of the new socialist republic that the workplace is not democratized. Seen this way even Stalin's War Communism is rational.
If this were not the case the US would not have the largest military in the world and a Military Industrial Complex, coming out of the experience of the Russian Revolution and two political parties that agree on strengthening the MIC; cooperating democrats and republicans who make no commitment to a better world unless it means a world without socialism. Which to me is its prime mission. This will come to light when this MIC turns against the American people, particularly Black, Brown and Yellow People who because of and out of desperation from abject poverty become radicalized as a last stand against extinction and slow genocide from poverty.

[sojournern]

I'm glad to hear you talk about some downsides of socialist states so far. It's important to address these things because we hear it all the time from capitalists.

[georgefarrington]

Keep up the good work, hopefully more people will learn from your videos. The world is out of tilt and a rebalance is long overdue.

[kennethrobin]

Despite the economy structure is still the right time to start up an investment

[MarkHopewell]

Can't imagine Johnson and Trump ever offering up a critique of their shortcomings.

Integrity, Timothy!

[jvarela]

If you mean Socialist in terms of the Soviet system it was largely lack of inovation. Everything from cars, to space shuttles were knock offs of capitalist products. One area where the Soviet industry was very inovative was the aerospace industry. I read not long ago half of the passenger jets still flying in the world is the Ilyushin IL62 & Tupolev TU-154 series planes. Check out the Ushaka Show on Youtube it is run by Sergei Sputikoff a former Soviet citizen who offers insight in to everything Soviet, the good the bad and the ugly.

[xiaopengzong]

Professor, can you talk about the democratic workplaces in China? How prevalent are they?

[bobcornwell]

Bravo!
This is what I've been thinking for years.

The real problem in almost all human relationships is proper balance of power.

This is as much true among institutions as it is among individual people.

The more one-sided this gets, the more unstable the relationship gets.

The attitude I now have toward US capitalism is similar to the one that I have heard Soviet citizens had toward Soviet socialism.

It is a sort of "I don't agree at all with any of it. But I don't have much choice."

[roblanchi]

Rit on the money!
excellent point Dr. Wolff.
In a word Giving workers political power. Thank you.
The current Chinese position is very promising. To clip wings of Capitalists and redistribute the wealth.

[David-zcwq]

I think most people confuse capitalism/socialism with authoritarian/libertarian. The military is authoritarian/socialism, and you worship them. I was born on a military base..they are a country and gov to them selves.

[ashtonderoy]

This is the bias of my Democrat/Democratic Socialist self. I think if you keep fairness & Democracy in mind. Either Capitalism or Socialism can be a forced to be reckoned with. I am a Socialist because the Democracy, History and circumstances call for me to be one! If I was in a stagnant and lazy society... I might be a Capitalist. However instead we are in an age of workers that are way too productive & wages that way too low! This is undemocratic & this is a kleptocracy!

[ashavahishta]

Professor, regarding what you said that the socialist countries did not achieve, I think the current world economy is built under the framework of the capitalist economic system.

If a socialist country wants to compete with developed capitalism in such an environment National competition, it cannot start from the social structure you mentioned, but must first enter the capitalist stage, and then carry out socialist reforms.

Just like Marx said, communism is an advanced stage of socialism, and Socialism can only be achieved when capitalism develops to a certain stage.

The prerequisite for such a reform is that the government must have sufficient power to suppress the power of capital. Once such power is lost, just like the United States today, it will not be able to carry out effective reforms at all.

[aglimmerofhope]

Were those economies socialist, or merely state-sponsored capitalism? 🤔

I suggest socialism cannot be until the State becomes synonymous with it's People, i.e. a true democracy.

#AMoreDirectDemocracy ASAP 🖐🖐🖐

Power to the People ✌🙂

[heyhey]

Where flashier speakers like Chris Hedges go into fanatical rants, Prof. Wolf’s objectivity is sobering and refreshing. Sharp mind!

[toddfarkman]

We need to stop using 1950s socialism vs capitalism BS. It's not all one or the other. We need to have the best solutions to each individual problem. Is medicine better done by government? Yeah? Then let's do that. Is making cars and produce better done by private enterprise? Well let's do that. Let's not make blanket solutions like we're all sitting around a campus class room reading Marx and Adam Smith. Every problem is unique, there's isn't a single solution to everything.

[StuMas]

Socialism, communism and capitalism all share a common flaw: People.

[georgefurman]

I want to apologize to the honest Marxists for my audacity to say wrong sometimes. I just learned something awesome about the versatility and unimagined creativity of the people to defeat capitalism . China truly is a historic lesson of immense importance.
Some say that things work in mysterious ways in another context and China is an extraordinary context indeed.