What is Capitalism? (w/ Richard Wolff)

What is Capitalism? We live in a capitalistic economy, we have a more or less democratic form of government, but what is a democracy.

As democratic socialism grows more popular it is necessary to look at exactly what we are talking about, to have a stronger understanding of it all.

Professor Richard Wolff joins Thom Hartmann for a deep dive into the often misunderstood definitions critical to our understanding of the world around us.

A look at economics in the broadest sense.

#ThomAndRichardWolff

SUPPORT THE PROGRAM

AUDIO PODCASTS

EMAIL NEWSLETTER

FOLLOW THOM

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Thom Hartmann Program is the leading progressive political talk radio show for political news and comments about Government politics, be it Liberal or Conservative, plus special guests and callers

#MoreFromThom

✔ Amazon links are affiliate links

[kvn]

Yeah. I could never understand why people who earn the near minimum wage, called themselves "Capitalists". It always seemed a stupid thing for a working person to call themselves, to me.

[scholarlyreader]

There no such thing as democracy it exist only in name. Intended to appease the masses. What we have is a plutocracy dictated by the corporate crimminal class.

[RichardCarlson-zmbl]

Capitalism = Those that exploit and those that are exploited. . . . Socialism= everyone shares in the profits and distribution.

[breeosd]

Thom Hartmann i love youuu! Thank you for fighting the good fight to disseminate truth and pertinent information. Please know we appreciate you. ❤

[theresacarmen]

I loved that clear explanation of capitalism. We carry around a lot of misinformation and it is nice to hear the facts.

[lynnwood]

View now the democracy in the capitalist economy of communist led China and the democracy in the capitalist led financial economy of America.

[erikeparsels]

A worker under capitalism calling himself a capitalist is like the subject of a monarchy calling himself a monarch.

[nthperson]

Viewers who have some time on your hands might find of interest the material I present in a year-long course titled "A Critical History of Economic Theory and Policy." The first 35 lectures out of a total of 43 are available on Youtube (search on the course title). In this course, I cover many of the issues raised by Professor Wolff in this interview. One observation Professor Wolff might have made is that a fundamental relationship between those who lease space in which to conduct business or live in an apartment are, at least in part, engaged in an updated version of being a sharecropper. Why is this so? A sharecropper works on land owned by someone else, paying to the owner a share of what is produced not for use of any capital goods (i.e., tools, machinery, etc.) but merely for access to nature. If one is leasing a building, payment for use of the building is certainly warranted; the building is a capital good produced by someone else. However, who produces the land we all require for our survival?

[gordonadams]

China is capitalist. At least as capitalist as the U.S. Both nations governments provide support to businesses as tax breaks, etc.

[GhostOnTheHalfShell]

I would make a distinct pion between a business owner or executive staff of a corporation and the LANDED GENTRY like aspect of the investor class. Their involvement in the industry is very remote, other than to impose the pressure for a return. Their function is parallel to finance.

[sammcalilly]

lmao that man is doing the audio interview through a landline

[julieannmyers]

Richard, Thom is limiting "capitalist" to RENTIERS only. Your affirmation of this view is definitely not based on Marx.
Capitalists include OWNERS of the means of production, including the labor of "employees"... or wage slaves. The capitalist CONTROLS the SURPLUS.
Thom IS a capitalist if his businesses produce a SURPLUS via which he draws an income in excess of his workers. When this is done without any input from his employees, he is a capitalist.
Why are you afraid of offending him? Why not ask him if his employees own shares & have a binding vote over all wages, means & methods of production, and conditions of work? My guess is, Thom does none of these things.
I like Thom & have read many of his books. I must admit that I am shocked at his total misconception of capitalism. How does one write books on the US economy without a firm understanding of what capitalism is?

[bianca-sgzq]

Excellent explanation of democracy going back to Periclean Athens. Not only was it a slave society, only landowners could vote. Loved the framework of analysis re: the employees and employers power dynamic.

[justbenice]

If projected profits are not gained its called a lost.I know if you have a business it should grow but why do your employees have to suffer.

[biosvideo]

I got a thought experiment for you:
If an employee buys a couple hundred shares from a publicly traded company as his retirement fund (or for whatever reason)... does that make him a capitalist?

[ramireznoy]

Wolff didn't teach me anything here... He seems confused or lost.
What he describes as "making more money at the end of the year than the amount you put at the begining" is NOT Capitalism. That's how any economy works to make sense, regardless the ideology, country or planet. Even aiming to take back the same resources value you spend at the begining is bad because population is in constant growth. So if you don't aim to increase production, many people will be out of food, clothes, houses jobs... Strictly speaking, the phrase applies to any worker since it is common to have more money year by year.
So, Wolff is kind of criticizing the creation of profit when that's the whole point about any economy type. What he doesn't mention is that capitalism is about who owns that profit. That's the real key. Capitalism is about accepting as morally correct the fact that the owner(s) of a business holds the profit for themselves . As opposed to Socialism for example, which is about sharing all that profit between all the workers(not evenly tho)

[bleuwater]

I have never heard any marxist differentiate between free enterprise and capitalism. I have come to think I know what Wolff will say about any particular subject before he says it, but every once in a while he surprises me. _Did you hear that all you socialists? Free enterprise is not evil!_ (neither is capitalism, but I wont push that one for now).

[SapoArdente]

I'm only here for Richard Wolff not for the "Russia Gate" crazy Thom Hartmann....

[nixpix]

hahaha two communists explains capitalism, this can't be good

[alabamamothman]

No he doesnt. He doesnt explain a damn thing.