Ask Prof Wolff: Politics, Dual Power & Worker Co-ops

A patron of Economic Update asks: "Hello Professor Wolff, is your strong advocacy for Worker Cooperatives related to the theory of Dual Power or do you believe Worker Cooperatives to be the method through which all workers will be liberated?" This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.

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“A magnificent source of hope and insight.” Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist, academic, philosopher, politician, author of Talking to my daughter about the economy.
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[randybest]

Germany has the best cooperative system today between Government, Companies and Workers.

[TheJayman]

I wholeheartedly agree with Prof. Wolff. He's thinking dialectically, rather than in a straight line. The path of least resistance through history can take many turns since comparatively small changes can recontextualize things we think we fully understand, thus changing history's trajectory in ways that in turn change its trajectory farther down the line.

A market of WSDE collectively controlling a state is totally different from a market of capitalist enterprises controlling a state. Cooperation and planning will be mutually beneficial for WSDEs because it is mutually beneficial for the people, thus they will be incentivized to move in that direction. It might not be a great comparison but just compare the level of cooperation between "democratic" states (EU for example) with the level of cooperation between autocratic states and transfer that onto enterprises.

[suckerbeagle]

We gonna have to fight. With a revolutionary socialist party.

[MariDutton]

6:15 I might want to be looking at all the land the super rich is scarfing up. That alone is a sign of a future hell for Co-ops.

[kd-mimi]

Another excellent video Professor Wolff

[theacmemovement]

I would consider watching my first pod cast at Americannabis Seed Bank.
"Morning John.
Maybe check out my face book page.
Then join the A.C.M.E Movement by supporting by investment in our movement at patreon . then helping through intellectual discussion, or beyond. So we can move forward and decided together how things are gonna operate around here.
Thanks Farmer John.

[pixelmartyr]

The "employee owned" company hasn't worked out so well. Employees who own stock in their own company try to pump it up by victimizing the customers. I'm not so sure this co-op is a great idea.

[TheDarkIllumination]

He's leaving out the fact that Lenin destroyed the soviets and factory counsels and installed his own autocracy.

[DavidCodyPeppers.]

I enjoy Your Work, Sir.
God Loves You and so do I.
Peace!
\o/

[holleey]

governments (that is, their current manifestation under capitalism) are machines that maintain the status quo.
they are not something you turn to for change.
new rules and regulations are not change, but merely an attempt at covering up the perpetuation of an exploitative and unsustainable system.

when you want change - real, lasting and systemic change - you turn to the majority. that is, the population - beginning with those closest to you, and then scaling up from there. as ultimately, the power is always with the majority.

[rileyemel]

My main issue with markets is that they serve an obscene concentration of wealth. Remove that obscene wealth concentration and then the strictly regulated markets could be made to serve the interests of people by providing opportunities for people to start small enterprises/co-ops to create new products and innovative in ways that could not be centrally planned for or foreseen. Pls do not mistake this as advocating for free markets, I still believe they will at times fail and must be regulated and corrected by govt institutions. I want to correct who the market exists to serve. Perhaps I’m naive, lmk what your critiques are

[andrewthurman]

This is where (I am guessing throughout history) the idealistic visionary poets and dreamers have had their final happy days. Then... as everything crumbles 99%+ will be scrambling to just find adequate food the power vacuum will be filled...

[Ballen]

To show how absurd Wolff's ideas really are consider the following: Wolff gets sick and goes to the hospital for treatment, but instead of letting the doctors make the decisions about treatment, we put it to a vote off all the employees of the hospital because that is " democracy in Action". We don't care that the employees know nothing about medicine, we just want a "worker's co-op" decision process regardless of the fact that the employees know nothing about treatments... The reputation for incompetence spreads and the hospital closes for no patients. Now substitute company for hospital and you have the identical completely ridiculous situation which is doomed to fail. Wolff is just a liar dishing out half truths and hiding his true intentions which are revolution and installation of a totalitarian government. There is a reason that Communists have failed 100% of the time in history, never mind the murder of 100 million people by Communists/MArxists.

[iamstartower]

I wonder if this guy had really ever worked in his whole life in a corporarion. He speaks as if all of them were completely atrocious... sounds absurd to me.

[earthlytouch]

People are unable to work together for a common goal. Pretty soon one or the other will start slacking off and the other will be carrying all the weight.