Wolff Responds: Ukraine War Reshapes World Politics

In this Wolff Responds, Prof. Wolff explains why the US chose a sanctions war as a way of punishing Russia for invading Ukraine and reveals the consequences of that decision, both for the US and the rest of the world.

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“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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[mohammadkarimzai]

I don’t know when American authorities will serve their own citizens with honesty, dignity and integrity. They have voted for them but they received slapped on their face.

[TheJohnnyCalifornia]

It does seem bizarre that the United States promotes a free market ideology and then imposes sanctions and interference -- essentially the exact opposite of free markets -- to maintain its already very unfair and unfree advantage in the market. Naturally, this will simply leave the US out of the new markets that emerge in response. Even by their own rationale, this is just neo-mercantilism.

However, the best outcome would be that the US simply becomes another nation no more powerful or influential than any other in the world, and then all that military budget can go to improving the nation and the world rather than making it worse.

[treefrog]

Ultimately, what the Ukraine War represents is the indifference of plutocratic global leaders to the suffering of others. It also represents the naiveté and subservience of whole populations to unscrupulous leaders whose intentions are economic and self-serving, and who utter hyperbolic protestations of noble self-righteousness while they are dealing nothing but death and destruction. It truly is a form of lunacy. And the fact that so many people fail to acknowledge that lunacy is another form of cultural lunacy that is terrifying in its implications.

[treefrog]

Since WWII, the rest of the world has been reluctantly subservient to the dictates of American plutocrats. Is it any wonder that those national entities are enjoying a sense of liberation and schadenfreude? It is liberating for ANY human being to see a blow-hard bully get "called-out" for his presumption and arrogance. When a large portion of the world shares those emotions, the bully is due for some genuine soul-searching.

[beesplaining]

With the rediculous over use of US economic sanctions in recent years who would blame countries moving away from the use of US dollars.

[jstasiak]

The US has almost completely de-industrialized and financialized its economy such that most of its income is derived from manipulating money rather than producing real goods and services that other countries want to purchase. More specifically, the US has manipulated the global financial system such that it extracts monopoly, economic and land rents from the goods and services of other countries rather than produce these goods and services itself. Not being required to pay the overhead required to actually make things greatly enhances profit.

This type of income is called “economic rent” and is the opposite of a “free market.” Economic Rent is in essence a tax on the the goods and services of other countries and represents negative value added. Former French finance minister Valéry Gescard d’Estang called this the “exorbitant privilege” of the United States. When the US actually made things of value that it sold to other countries in the 1950’s-1970’s, this wasn’t too big a deal. However, with a de-industrialized, financialized US economy, this economic rent extraction is a major drag on the economies of other countries and is no longer tolerable. That is the original impetus for de-dollarization.

The manipulation of the global economy via the use of sanctions by the US to achieve political dominance is an egregious abuse of power and has greatly hastened de-dollarization.

[whatever-]

I can not spread these videos to anyone that I know because they would verbally attack me and not believe it anyway, sometimes I wish I was stupid as everyone else and could enjoy the ignorant bliss that they live in.

[jason]

Poltiicans' attitude talking and acting as if all the previous war waged by the US was supported by the people makes me sick to the stomach

[oGa.]

BRICS: He says the invasion has accelerated “a coming together of Russia, China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and now another list of 10 or 20 more economies eager to join … BRICS.” To the extent BRICS becomes successful (and that remains to be seen), it poses little economic threat to the U.S. or any other “western” country. Almost all the countries that are in BRICS or want to join BRICS are close allies of the U.S. and other western countries (Brazil and India are allies, and among the countries that want to join, Egypt, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia are all allies on some level or another). If the BRICS countries do well (and, being of Nigerian origin myself, I hope they do well economically), that doesn’t mean the U.S. suffers. BRICS is not some kind of enemy of the U.S.!

[hqlpzpv]

I listen to Prof Wolff everyday. He sees it for what it is and insightful.

[richardwong]

One needs to be pragmatic, especially in a changing environment. The US and the collective West are sticking to their old tactics, which will not work today because of rising powers emerging elsewhere. The often quoted so-called "Rules based international order" is essentially American rules and orders. Why should other sovereign nations obey and be subservient to them? African nations have learnt to disobey the West, which slaved and looted African resources. It has been said that Africa is under-developed. The truth is, Africa has been over exploited. The Global South are now forming a formal and informal alliance to counter the West, seeing China miraculously emerging from a poor country to the second largest economy in 40 years. They want to emulate China's success and break free from those colonial days.

[innoventions]

Sanctions is a war without guns... even worse for poor countries but Russia is a giant!

[franciscofrancesco]

Great analisis, Prof Wolff. Thank you.

[eveyfortin]

its a pleasure to hear someone with a degree instead of news media trained at mcdonald

[inotmark]

How did anyone not see this coming on day 1 of the special military operation?

[martinshabalala]

Sometimes, when digging a grave for someone else, you end up in it yourself

[Joy]

May God Bless Prof Richard Wolff For Bringing The Truth to us. We Love his Channel. We pray for him & his Channel. May God Bless him. The World Needs More & More Good, Genuine, Honest Human Beings Like him. May God Bless him. We all must support
him. Thank

[zulqadarrrashid]

Vivà le Prof Wolff
Stay blessed 🙏
Excellent presentation 👏
From Pakistan 🇵🇰🇵🇰

[petergreen]

Another beautiful lesson. Thank you very much Professor.

[marcusaetius]

Agreed.
Probably the biggest factor on this issue is that the western countries in general have lost a substantial portion of its manufacturing capacity to China and it is manufacturing that forms the base of any economy.
Russia has a relatively close relationship with China and has been dealing with other growing manufacturing economies such as India so there’s a very good chance that prior to the invasion of Ukraine they knew that sanctions would be of little value to the western nations.
This is not a short term issue, I suspect that we will see a relatively rapid decline in the global influence and economic clout of western nations.
Interesting times….