Are Universities Full of Marxists? - Economic Update with Richard Wolff

Richard Wolff and David F. Ruccio, both experienced Marxist professors, discuss the recent political claims that Marxism is everywhere in academia.

"Most economics departments around the country where students don't learn economic history. They don't learn the history of economic thought. They certainly don't learn Marxian economics or many of the other alternatives. They learn just one way of doing and thinking about economics. And it’s a shame, and it means that we end up with, in terms of economics, a kind of illiterate population." - David F. Ruccio

This is a clip from S13 E07 of Economic Update: Unionization, Marxism and Education

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Check out the NEW 2021 Hardcover edition of “Understanding Marxism,” with a new, lengthy introduction by Richard Wolff!

“Marxism always was the critical shadow of capitalism. Their interactions changed them both. Now Marxism is once again stepping into the light as capitalism shakes from its own excesses and confronts decline.”

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[troy]

The politicians espousing this viewpoint couldn't define any interpretation of socialism nor Marxism if their life depended on it.

[The.Ghost.of.Tom.Joad.]

Amazing. I know I am the only person I know who had to read Marx's *Das Capital* in undergrad during the '80s. But it wasn't for econ, but for an honors western civ class, paired with Adam Smith. And our professor was NOT Marxist, but more a mawkish liberal. I'm eternally grateful for this, since it taught me a valuable way to examine capitalism from outside the system. Most Americans are stuck in the system but have no idea how to crawl out from that system to view it.

As a PS, I am not a Marxist. Nor am I a free-market fundamentalist. I'm more of an anti-monopoly, third-way socialist advocating a robust private sector balanced by a solid, responsive public sector that enforces smart regulations against the oligarchs, and creates a safety net that prefers Main Street over Wall Street.

[ernstthalmann]

"TWOOO MARXIST PROFESSORS? THERE ARE TWOOO MARXIST PROFESSORS?"- Dennis Reynolds

[elainegoad]

Proff Wolf always happy to find your videos ! Thank you !

[emiebex]

Thanks for keeping us informed Professor Wolff.

[clemalford]

An Indian historian told me shortly before he died that he was not Marxist but Marxian in his thinking!!

[MrDXRamirez]

Food for Thought: For what the professor explains about a straight forward neoclassical economics department throughout the university system the professor aptly calls the “new corporate universities” should raise concern that the trend sets the stage for a guy like Ron DeSantis to reform secondary education to exclude black history. None of this means the literature in economics and in black history cannot be attained as long as these are made available on line but it does mean that the corporate sector merges with universities to create a compliant workforce cultivated by the universities and with Ron DeSantis reforming education, cultivated and molded in high school a workforce for the 21st Century and beyond. A specialized, well trained and paid employee as a more privileged worker than workers in all secondary jobs ensures the survival of the capitalist system.

[dogchaser]

I imagine reactionary politicians are referring to those outside of the economics department: i.e., those who can't do all that much "damage" to capitalism with those ideas. Humanities and social science professors in particular. When I studied English around 15 years ago, we still used explicitly Marxist theory to deconstruct literature (among other schools). Again, though: Marxist where it can't hurt too much. My Marxist reading of Frankenstein doesn't have capitalists quaking in their boots.

[Cy]

I wonder what or who was behind the students that push for just neoclassical economics? One can bet money was involved.

[bluewater]

The stats I have seen show that about 3% of American college professors self identify as Marxist or radical left. That number changes drastically when you look at particular departments, like the social sciences where as much as 20% are self identified marxists.

But that is an extreme position. Many more identify with some brand socialism or just plain vanilla liberal. When you divide them between political parties, democrats outnumber republicans 12 to 1. In some universities that disparity can be as much as 30 to one.

Regardless of the fact that American universities do not have a majority marxist faculty, leftist politics rules in American academia.

[jamesruscheinski]

substantive nature choice for God's free will sovereignty

[jgalt]

That one would waste time on Marxist economics was determined early on, and
why it was abandoned shortly after it was introduced.

The "ideology" on the other hand has always been present and exists under the
proper identifier; collectivism. This can be further broken down into subsets,
with or without modifiers, such as socialism...which began with the anarchists,
then Marxist socialists, national socialists, etc., and then communism, which
seems to be a form of totalitarian Marxism.

What we can know for certain regarding these variations is that, none of them
can seem to decide on the essential elements that define them in contrast
to the other variants, and all of them rely on criticisms of "capitalism"...which
they can't seem to define either.

What this results in, is the "no true socialist" position...whose modern expression
rests on the recognition that whatever the present system is it does not seem to
be working for the benefit of the "majority"...which is composed of many
minority factions and this enables the advancement of "any and all" alternatives
to it, even though what the present system is, has still yet to be properly identified.

This is just another variation competing with all the rest.