Wolff Responds: American Workers Have Had Enough!

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  • Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
  • In this Wolff Responds, Prof. Wolff talks about the awakening of the American working class and their fight for justice. Working class conditions have gotten worse over the last few decades, with stagnant real wages, economic crashes, inflation and a crippling pandemic that has left many unprotected and feeling unsafe. As the working class works longer and harder than ever and only the rich get richer, what are our options? Prof. Wolff has some ideas.
    Wolff Responds is a ‪@democracyatwrk‬ production. We provide these videos free of ads. Please consider supporting our work. Visit our website democracyatwork.info/donate or join our growing Patreon community and support Global Capitalism Live Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff at / gcleu .
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Комментарии • 341

  • @brianneece4418
    @brianneece4418 2 года назад +101

    Every job ive had since i graduated high school but two have been filled with cheated hours, unsafe conditions to work in, bosses trying the tough guy intimidating shit, bosses that were ignorant and less qualified than i, bosses doing drugs at work and putting people in danger (construction job), those same bosses throwing up from hangover all over the job site, and then one of them groped an african American woman at the hotel bar and then nearly starting a brawl with the group of people she was there with (also mostly african american). My experience with the workforce has been largely negative, and led to my having to explain why i quit so many. Like this if you've had similar experiences.

    • @maxsweetman6341
      @maxsweetman6341 2 года назад +4

      Seems to me your bosses and leaders are tarred with the same brush

    • @brianneece4418
      @brianneece4418 2 года назад +3

      @@maxsweetman6341 definitely. The whole system is rotten really. Everything is dysfunctional doesnt seem like people take pride in their work and just drone on till payday. Too problematic all around.

    • @tenminutetokyo2643
      @tenminutetokyo2643 2 года назад +6

      Most US companies are crap. Incompetent managers are scared of smart, intelligent workers. Which is why they try to keep Americans down.

    • @jeremyrangel8138
      @jeremyrangel8138 2 года назад

      @@tenminutetokyo2643 How come the "smart, intelligent workers" haven't formed better companies and put all of the "crap" US companies out of business?

    • @jameskulevich8907
      @jameskulevich8907 Год назад +1

      You should see how bad it is in socialist countries. You wouldn’t complain if you had.

  • @itzenormous
    @itzenormous 2 года назад +31

    It's time that American Workers show the same level of discontent with the current cabal of war hawks that are about the plunge the world into a war of great magnitude.
    The Working Class needs to do SOMETHING to stop these sociopaths.
    We need a march, a continued demonstration in the centers of power, that eclipses the size and effectiveness of the ones held in 2003!!

  • @AceofDlamonds
    @AceofDlamonds 2 года назад +22

    Job guarantee desperately needed. How many times do new and the longtime unemployed need to get on their knees and beg for a job from corporate employers whose top executives are all filthy rich?? There's an entire industry dedicated to helping workers "sell themselves" to employers. Not everyone gets a fair chance at even an interview from picky companies. It can be your appearance, your voice, clothing, or your natural traits, that get you the job... It's absolutely insane.

    • @augustusb3501
      @augustusb3501 2 года назад +7

      Totally insane. You are absolutely correct

    • @mE-zx7pt
      @mE-zx7pt 2 года назад +4

      Also, age. Once you're over 50, no one wants to hire you.

  • @LONEWOLF..314-S-T-L
    @LONEWOLF..314-S-T-L 2 года назад +17

    GREAT TALKING POINTS PROFESSOR WOLFF AS USUAL 💪🏾🌄👍🏾❤️

  • @dennisyoung4631
    @dennisyoung4631 2 года назад +70

    Worker co-ops may be the only realistic means of returning manufacturing to this country.

    • @nicolasm400
      @nicolasm400 2 года назад +12

      Jobs by and for us, not for idle opulent parasites anymore.

    • @nil981
      @nil981 2 года назад +4

      Worker co-ops are nice and all but if they exist within a capitalist framework what will fundamentally change anyway? We need to rapidly move on beyond capitalism.

    • @jeremyrangel8138
      @jeremyrangel8138 2 года назад

      @@nicolasm400 Okay, so what's stopping you? Why haven't you started a successful co-op yet?

    • @jeremyrangel8138
      @jeremyrangel8138 2 года назад +1

      @@nil981 Why can't they exist within a "capitalist framework" (whatever that means?)? If co-ops can produce products/services at prices that people find agreeable, then they will proliferate... Have you started a co-op?

    • @nicolasm400
      @nicolasm400 2 года назад +1

      @@jeremyrangel8138 Why do you assume that everything that is good will proliferate, and everything that is proliferating is good? Are you that blind to the nature of centralized power?

  • @nikoladathinker6319
    @nikoladathinker6319 2 года назад +2

    I have been seeking Economists for the past 2 years who skipped thru all the BS ... Mr.Wolff you are now my #1 candidate... thank you for not being afraid to talk about the CORE of the Issues...

  • @MrHvieira
    @MrHvieira 2 года назад +11

    Amazing content, particularly the part on how capitalism addresses workers fighting back. This is really important. Thank you.

  • @notconvinced
    @notconvinced 2 года назад +4

    I really like this! I spend so much time angry and worried about the future and I usually see comments from people who don't understand that the fight isn't between us workers. This struggle is between the working poor and the FILTHY rich. It's always been thus and they've always pitted us against each other to distract us from the Truth. Workers of the World UNITE! I appreciate the comments I've read on here and I especially appreciate Richard Wolfe's comments as well. I'm really glad that there's another option here and that we can have hope, even though any success will most certainly initially be paid for with bitter coin😑 . Good Luck and Courage to us all. Check out the SUNRISE MOVEMENT when ya get the chance😊

  • @VivaCubaRoja
    @VivaCubaRoja 2 года назад +2

    It’s about damn time that the working class stopped begging, hat in hand, for scraps from master’s table. The world is made by the international working class. When workers get organized and unionized, their strikes stop the world economy. Workers work for all, they feed all, and the time has come to stop asking for a fair wage and to take it all from the bosses. All power to all the people!✊🏼

  • @igorDobrowolski1
    @igorDobrowolski1 2 года назад +1

    Thank you

  • @Illstatefishing
    @Illstatefishing 2 года назад +1

    My last day of work was last Friday!!

  • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
    @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +10

    Because the Smart Ones are waking up and I did two and a half years ago.. which is why I live alternatively now and I'm debt-free because of it not to mention I work for myself thank God..

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      Debt free in a capitalist society?

    • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
      @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +4

      @@stuckinthemud4352 exactly my friend that's free I have no bills out of them the bills you pay now like your electric bill. Because I have live out of my van we have been doing for two and a half years now and I do have a small base but only for 500 month I left my 1350 one-bedroom apartments two-and-a-half years ago cuz I refuse to pay high rent anymore.. and I've been Rich ever since so to speak..

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      @@skapunkoialternativeliving6522 what does that have to do with richard wolf and Marxism?

    • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
      @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +3

      @@stuckinthemud4352 actually good people are complaining or wild-caught make it in a capitalistic system I'm poor quitting my job.. has a lot to do with it my friend I'm one of those people who used to work for other people years ago I'm in my van watching this Channel right now in the parking lot somewhere enjoying my life no rent to pay no Big Bill's no nothing my life is perfect I don't have to work hard for nobody and I work for myself.. my point is is all the ways of living you don't have to live the Catholics take away all the Socialist Way live your way and live on your terms.. the lesser lesser value you have the more you going to be working for someone else and reporter the more value you have you work for yourself and you get richer choice is yours..

    • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
      @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +1

      @jyoti Kumar thank you my friend which is the way to go you don't get rich by look for other people..

  • @1911olympic
    @1911olympic 2 года назад +1

    Another gem from professor Wolff.

  • @anhedonic-voting
    @anhedonic-voting 2 года назад +2

    Thank you 🌎 ✊️ 🌹 🗽

  • @Oneshot8242
    @Oneshot8242 2 года назад +9

    Thanks again, Professor Wolff!

  • @randybest9187
    @randybest9187 2 года назад +5

    I agree with with Richard. However it remains to be seen how Americans can respond. We have been too fat, dumb and happy for far too long. We are soft. The USA is following in the footsteps of the Roman Empire.

  • @scottluthy5828
    @scottluthy5828 2 года назад +4

    And both political parties have done next to nothing to fix this horrible wealth and income inequality. In fact, they love this existing economic system.

    • @boltstrike2787
      @boltstrike2787 2 года назад +1

      That's because they benefit from it. Employers are paying politicians to look the other way through campaign donations and lobbying so they can protect their profits. The employers make more money by keeping policies that favor them, the politicians make more money from the employers, and the rest of us lose.

  • @BBBarua
    @BBBarua 2 года назад +4

    In my opinion, there are three ways to correct the capitalist to keep its system going.
    1) Just wait until Government forces them to change their way of doing things.
    2) Wait for the Customer and Employees to take their own actions.
    3) Be proactive in changing things the way the Capitalists want.
    I am sure the third option is very appealing to the capitalist. :)

  • @37Dionysos
    @37Dionysos 2 года назад +9

    Your point of true power is the daily workplace. That's where you pull your weight 1/2 day and the rest goes to somebody else's profit and advantages. What you do is crucial to the machine no matter how "small." But however you organize for improvement, be wary of people who rush in to "help" when you get a union going: before you know it they'll be taming down your demands and approach while cashing in on dues. Have seen that while the UAW is a strong hard-hitting ally with proven results, the SEIU is like putting your feet in heavy clay.

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      Just curious but how do you stop financial inequality without force when some people buy stocks and others buy prostitutes?
      How do you stop inequality when some invest in farms and others buy overpriced racecars?
      Forget workers for a second are you ok with inequality of wealth as long as its created without exploiting workers?
      If i make a robot that coooks and delivers pizza anf then i use my profits to make more robots and i just keep making more profit are you ok with that? As long as i dont exploit workers?

    • @37Dionysos
      @37Dionysos 2 года назад +1

      @@stuckinthemud4352 How stop economic inequality without force? Abolish profit. The word designates value derived by taking more than you put into an exchange. It's the lie, trick or steal that begins all other inequality. Suppose you could work half-days to pull your weight and then be free to do what you please, incl. taking what you want from stores for "free"? (All who work/produce would have same access.) Would you then go crazy amassing piles of so-called wealth, or find a new reason to live, work and create? "Things" inherently do not satisfy. Humanity needs a new (actually, old) reason to exist.

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      @@37Dionysos you realise you sound like you're off your meds right?

    • @37Dionysos
      @37Dionysos 2 года назад +1

      @@stuckinthemud4352 Insults are worthless. Maybe you should ask why you live for somebody else's reasons (profit) and support a system of fake scarcity so that a few pigs take everything? Think this is good for you?

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      @@37Dionysos you cant possibly even make sense to yourself

  • @diplomat249
    @diplomat249 2 года назад +2

    I knew that tossing folks from their careers & cutting off people's UI lifelines prematurely was not going to end well for the Gov and its corporate masters.

  • @mikeshen9293
    @mikeshen9293 2 года назад +1

    If people quit their jobs, how do they live on?

  • @dmcdole7291
    @dmcdole7291 2 года назад

    Agreed. Maximum profits at the expense of the worker’s worth. No longer guaranteed vacation. You earn PTO. Which if you need time off within a year, for whatever reason. Like Dr appointments or your sick. Then you lose any chance at a true vacation after a year of service to your job. PTO is a way to force you to make a hard choice. Work more, or lose your PTO and forfeit a 40 hour vacation. Even when you have worked your ass off for a company. Like overtime and go above and beyond. No low wage job guarantees a full weeks vacation after a year‘s dedication of work. Know your worth and demand that you get a 40 hour vacation. We have been forced labor. I have been with a company for a year in May. I will not have 40 hours in PTO. So working the whole year for a weeks vacation is not possible unless I take some days of that 40hr without pay. Now they want to cap your PTO.

  • @jamesmorton7881
    @jamesmorton7881 2 года назад +8

    More profits and fewer jobs = more inequality.
    They do not even need your labor.
    But you need to eat.
    make waves
    demand change
    vote for change
    need a new economics for stability

  • @judyvaughn761
    @judyvaughn761 2 года назад +1

    It's the same as trying to find a better doctor there's no such thing they are all the same patting their pockets

  • @oitzingerpeter
    @oitzingerpeter 2 года назад +1

    The US Empire is collapsing into the sunset.

  • @puti2147
    @puti2147 2 года назад

    When & If Manufacturing does return to US would be the Right Time to Rework & Regulate the Antique Structures & Laws of Worker Rights & Corporate Cultures. More Equality based on Corporate Profits / Stock Values which have till today have been Manipulated to Benefit only the Top Tier Class in Corporations.

  • @alloomis1635
    @alloomis1635 2 года назад +2

    no use getting angry. the foundation of elite rule is the constitution. until you get democracy, the law will side with the elite. you'd think usa people would figure this out, they can't all be ignorant. but those that aren't keep quiet.

  • @CarloBiondi
    @CarloBiondi 2 года назад

    What are your thoughts on the trucker convoy in Canada? Many on the left have claimed it has been co-opted by the right. I disagree, because the people on the ground are real workers with real concerns.

  • @EdwinLuciano
    @EdwinLuciano 2 года назад

    They had enough time to think.

  • @grovedas
    @grovedas 2 года назад +1

    Thank you for another brilliant video. Professor, would you please listen to the song, "Straight to You," by Josh Groban (written by Nick Cave)? It reflects many of your teachings. You've mentioned Leonard Cohen's song, "Everybody Knows"-- and I believe you will also love, "Straight to You."

  • @TheWindGinProject
    @TheWindGinProject 2 года назад +1

    The microphone setup is extremely scratchy.

  • @btbingo
    @btbingo 2 года назад +1

    FB declined to allow me to outline what happened to me in the past. Truth telling is not a civil thing to indulge in.

  • @mrparrehesian1742
    @mrparrehesian1742 2 года назад +4

    I've spent time with several union organizations, they are also the problem and are on the politicians side not the members. They will bend to political memes as fast as you can bend down to pick up $10 on the ground. Never think someone else has your best interests at hand.

  • @Turanic1
    @Turanic1 2 года назад

    if this had a billion views...

  • @abbkell1195
    @abbkell1195 2 года назад

    Interestingly, people forget the country is at war already whether abroad with economic and ideological rivals or at home between the party puppets that are the source of the division. For so long many disagreed with the only two sided ideologies the other one some kind of symbolic. The above content should have been at least 15 years back; a bit way before shipping and outsourcing everything for profits.

  • @미향주-j4s
    @미향주-j4s 2 года назад

    They had been employed by others who are capital in the thinking of democracies on academic school

  • @justcomp1
    @justcomp1 2 года назад

    I pick door number 3. And the prize: Bozo and Musk get a one-way ticket to the moon.

  • @jeremyrangel8138
    @jeremyrangel8138 2 года назад +1

    I'm 27, didn't get my GED until I was 23, and was born of two completely broke parents. I make between $100,000-120,000 selling cars at a Kia dealership, and another $50,000 selling real estate. How come I am successful under the "evils" of capitalism? Could it be because I'm not a loser who just whines all the time?

    • @tolomas3721
      @tolomas3721 2 года назад

      So your experience is more valuable than millions others and facts? I dont think so, you just got lucky

  • @chuckleaf8027
    @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад +2

    Wolff says greedy employers cause inflation. Milton Freidman said inflation is the increase in the supply of money and credit..(.like a zillion other economists.) During the laissez faire era, prices were dropping across the board. What happened?

    • @oswarz
      @oswarz 2 года назад

      When was the laissez faire era? Really.

    • @chuckleaf8027
      @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад +1

      @@oswarz End of civil war up to early 1900s. It wasn't truly "hands off" if that's what you're saying, but far less gov. intrusion than nowadays..

    • @kevintewey1157
      @kevintewey1157 2 года назад +1

      🤪🤪🤣🤣🤣 FREEDMAN DEBUNKED BY WOLF, SEVERAL OTHERES

    • @benjaminhenderson7059
      @benjaminhenderson7059 2 года назад +3

      @@chuckleaf8027 and when was the labor movement exactly???? Just gonna ignore that part? Look how much socialism was allowed then vs it being eliminated in the early 1900's. Funny how it coincides with what you describe as a better economy, and when socialism was pushed out coincides with the decline you talk about. Interesting to see you ignore the one but embrace the other. A very western economics perspective, perhaps why they all agree on things that end up being incorrect so very often.
      Of course the western economic perspective massively enriching those who pay western economists so well has nothing to do with the popularity of that perspective you tout either.
      So given how profitable pushing libertarianism is, I wonder how much they are paying you? If not, doesn't that technically make you without value? Or are you more like chattel, a natural resource included when they buy the property?

    • @chuckleaf8027
      @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад

      @@kevintewey1157 If you say so.

  • @DualTasticToday
    @DualTasticToday 2 года назад +1

    I don't get the philosophy that you think anyone owes us a job. Help me understand this.

  • @BloobleBonker
    @BloobleBonker 2 года назад

    So why did these people vote for Trump, the ultimate conman.

  • @StaticCollapse
    @StaticCollapse 2 года назад +1

    They're gonna send fast food to China? 😂😂 good luck lmao

  • @lesliestenta3084
    @lesliestenta3084 2 года назад

    I’m so tired of people blaming the victim. They are lazy, they don’t want to work. So clueless and out of touch and condescending.

    • @tolomas3721
      @tolomas3721 2 года назад

      Who is lazy? The guy working 40+ hr a week being paid 30k/year or the guy doing 40hr/week an getting 20 million a year jusg fo being a CEO?

    • @lesliestenta3084
      @lesliestenta3084 2 года назад

      @@tolomas3721 actually that was my point, I think I worded it wrong. Exactly true

    • @tolomas3721
      @tolomas3721 2 года назад

      Sorry, my bad im as tired as you are apparently

  • @susanpetty4115
    @susanpetty4115 2 года назад

    "...as you know, costs money...." Hmmm.
    But do I know it, Richard? My 12-13 year old students put out youtube videos for NO MONEY . . . Could you share with us, please? Just how much money do YOU need to put out youtube videos?

  • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
    @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +2

    Speak for yourself I'm doing fine..

  • @Brian4Liberty
    @Brian4Liberty 2 года назад

    Once we have Socialism and massive bureaucracies assign you your work, you'll think back fondly on the days that quitting was an option. Sorry to inform you but, you'll most likely be a potato farmer living in a 2 bedroom apartment with 4 other potato farmers.

    • @tolomas3721
      @tolomas3721 2 года назад

      What do you think socialism is? Its not abouf being assigned a work, its about lowering inequalities between social classes

    • @Brian4Liberty
      @Brian4Liberty 2 года назад

      Compare theory vs. practical application in every real world attempt. A lot of things sound good on paper.

    • @tolomas3721
      @tolomas3721 2 года назад

      Yes but extremisms is what doesnt work and communism and capitalism are extremisms (altough we are more in soft capitalism) socialism is more center like marxism

  • @UtubeAW
    @UtubeAW 2 года назад +1

    Wolf talks a good game, but if you favor kneeling on necks to force an ineffectual medical procedure…

  • @stuckinthemud4352
    @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +2

    This guy makes me so angry. Taking advantage of misinformed young minds.

    • @benjaminhenderson7059
      @benjaminhenderson7059 2 года назад +7

      You really live up to your name.

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      @@benjaminhenderson7059 my wife's nickname is mud

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      @@benjaminhenderson7059 lol if u had any idea how many Marxists have made that comment you would have picked something more original lol.

    • @mikeridgeview9557
      @mikeridgeview9557 2 года назад +9

      Professor Wolf is enlightening and inspiring young minds, he's a light in the darkness. Go be angry somewhere else.

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      @@mikeridgeview9557 enlightening and inspiring lmfao. What does that have to do with economics?

  • @I_fuck_moms_of_CIA_trolls.
    @I_fuck_moms_of_CIA_trolls. 2 года назад

    Really? How come this video only has 6.5k views after a whole day? American workers who quit are far from having had "enough"!

  • @massivecumshot
    @massivecumshot 2 года назад +3

    I'm heavily invested in A.I. and robotics companies, all of whom have AGGRESSIVE plans for investment and revenue in the next 3-5 years as employers target ALL repetitive labor for automation. Everything from stock pickers to burger flippers to retail sales clerks to delivery drivers, ditch diggers, framing carpenters etc is being codified into algorithmic behaviors that can be programmed into machines. The coming of 3D printing of houses will eliminate much carpenter and foundation labor in home construction. If you use your muscles and not your brain to make your living, chances are someone is studying your job and coding its decision trees into a robot somewhere. Think about this as your kids are choosing their educational/career paths.

    • @schen7913
      @schen7913 2 года назад

      In a society with that much automation, we should have more economic security, not less. Unless we lack enough workers to maintain the AI software, or repair the robotics hardware.

  • @mattchew6426
    @mattchew6426 2 года назад +60

    American workers are tired of working their lives away for less and less. The greed at the top has caused there to be less prospect of upward mobility for everyone else. It's unsustainable...smh

    • @baronharkonnen1217
      @baronharkonnen1217 2 года назад +10

      It is unsustainable. The wealthy in America have tried, and are still trying, to take as much wealth from the populace as possible. It's the beginning of the end when a nation starts to devour itself for the sake of making a dollar.

    • @tenminutetokyo2643
      @tenminutetokyo2643 2 года назад +5

      And on top of that if you do work hard and build a industry by working 80 hours/week they will steal it from you and move it to some other country. Work hard and other lies.

    • @jeremyrangel8138
      @jeremyrangel8138 2 года назад

      @@baronharkonnen1217 Okay, so what's stopping people from creating a viable alternative? You are free to start a business with whatever values you choose. Why haven't you done that?

    • @brianjacob8728
      @brianjacob8728 2 года назад

      It's not supposed to be sustainable. You are now irrelevant and they want you dead. That's what covid is about, and that's what this war in the Ukraine is about. You're witnessing the beginning of WWIII, which has been in the works since the 1870s.

    • @jonas7510
      @jonas7510 2 года назад

      speaking as a non native english speaker here ... what does "smh" mean ? you muricans use way to many acronyms ...

  • @spiritpeacefulrevolution3523
    @spiritpeacefulrevolution3523 2 года назад +25

    Amazing analysis. Spot on with the worker cooperative economy

  • @GhostOnTheHalfShell
    @GhostOnTheHalfShell 2 года назад +17

    I feel unions should demand coop or meaningful employee ownership with stipulated full voting stock grants as distinct and separate from pay for each worker contributing to a company.

    • @kjames337
      @kjames337 2 года назад

      Good luck. Just getting an union going is an uphill battle

  • @TheMemesofDestruction
    @TheMemesofDestruction 2 года назад +19

    “We’re Mad as Hell and not gonna take it anymore!!!”

    • @tinalulumack378
      @tinalulumack378 2 года назад +3

      ✊🏽✊🏽unity solitary and unionize!!

    • @jwill5033
      @jwill5033 2 года назад +3

      And aint going do shit about it but be mad thats the American way. Get mad but still take the punishment and just bitch about it

    • @michaeljackson8390
      @michaeljackson8390 2 года назад

      @@jwill5033 🏖️I help expose our evil government (the Illuminati) i have 2,145,212+Total views💜[The about section will blow your mind]☄️! +

    • @massivecumshot
      @massivecumshot 2 года назад +2

      With the consolidation of mass media into 6 massive multinational corporations, most people don't even know WHO they are mad AT. They only know their lives are harder and less secure than previously, and are looking for someone to blame. This is why Fox News is so successful......they point the finger consistently and without veracity to government, while government has become irrelevant in the age of corporate consolidation. Politicians are merely the visible hired guns, hired by the elites to codify and distract.

  • @patriciafichter4790
    @patriciafichter4790 2 года назад +22

    I need to figure out how to be a union representative in my town🤔.

    • @michaeljackson8390
      @michaeljackson8390 2 года назад

      🏖️I help expose our evil government (the Illuminati) i have 2,145,212+Total views💜[The about section will blow your mind]☄️! +

  • @moniqueboyke5879
    @moniqueboyke5879 2 года назад +6

    Great video Richard Wolff

  • @tylerpurrden
    @tylerpurrden 2 года назад +15

    Solidarity ✊

  • @user-em6ie2be7x
    @user-em6ie2be7x 2 года назад +16

    We need to make Striketober a National Holiday, a day of true Union Soildarity.

    • @benjaminhenderson7059
      @benjaminhenderson7059 2 года назад +1

      That would kinda defeat the purpose. Maybe if the day of the month is randomly determined. Otherwise they will just factor it in like all other holidays.

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      Ok but what if i make an antistriketober group that works for free on striketober? Are you gonna stop me?

    • @stoxarecool763
      @stoxarecool763 2 года назад +2

      @@stuckinthemud4352 Analyzed through Cipolla's Laws of Stupidity, that would make you a stupid person, as you would be harming yourself by working without compensation, as well as harming the workers you'd be replacing.
      A much less stupid option might be just treating it like a normal work day. 🤣
      Anyway, I support a general workers' strike, as a single event, perhaps lasting more than one day, but not regular planned recurring strikes; if it needed to occur monthly, we'd have already lost the fight and would be better off trying something else. This has to be massive, unexpected, and unrelenting in order to have any effect. Which it still may not.
      My wages have gone down since 2019, both in terms of hourly pay and of course factoring in inflation. I have nothing to lose, and I know I'm not the only one struggling...

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад

      @@stoxarecool763 well that depends lol. Honestly i know im dealing with an smart person when they start the conversation by talking shit. Back in my day u got popped for that shit but its all good bro i got thick skin.
      Go ahead report me like a bitch.
      My point was that unions dont allways have to be Marxist. for example if my union will work for less than your union thats capitalism bro. When u start asking uncle sam to snuff me out thats when you become a true Marxist. Are you a wannabe or a real Marxist?

    • @boltstrike2787
      @boltstrike2787 2 года назад

      Enjoy getting a canned PR response of "We support the striking workers on this Striketober!" and no real action to solve the problem just like Juneteenth and Pride Month.

  • @lindascanlan6317
    @lindascanlan6317 2 года назад +4

    You are simply marvelous .....

  • @davidalexanderlourie4371
    @davidalexanderlourie4371 2 года назад +4

    Striking seem radical and militant while leaving a job seems passive.
    Striking allows management to negotiate to get the workers to return to work and keep the business operating.
    Just leaving gives management no room for negotiating.
    The fact that this situation has arisen shows the managers are not managers but dictators who do not listen and have no empathy for their workforce. How can such people be called managers, even farmers have to consider the material and psychological well being of their livestock to optimize production.
    When management for decades have treated their workforce as individuals as expendable and the individuals respond to being treated as worthless leave then industries face collapse.
    As this has become a systemic problem the whole system needs to radically change to save the current form of capitalism from itself.
    But is it worth saving. If we look at the state of the planet and how we reached this catastrophic situation we are in, it makes capitalism look like a death cult. Why would we want to perpetuate a death cult that openly destroys the life giving forces of nature while boosting profits through wars which destroy the cultural edifices, institutions, infrastructure, homes and communities of sovereign nations.
    Why do we support this death cult if we are not suicidal ourselves?

  • @samkim8451
    @samkim8451 2 года назад +2

    Rich gat richer and poor gating drank

  • @DerekSpeareDSD
    @DerekSpeareDSD 2 года назад +3

    #GeneralStrike

  • @factsmatter6625
    @factsmatter6625 2 года назад +3

    Thank you Prof Wolff for this excellent video and assessment of the dire state of the American working class.
    US should pull back on its aggressive foreign policy and focus on fixing its domestic economy and, particularly, the wealth inequality.

  • @MarkbyMarkAFosterPhD
    @MarkbyMarkAFosterPhD 2 года назад +1

    The American working class is, by and large, lumpenproletarian, not proletarian.

  • @globalblakafrakanempowerme4050
    @globalblakafrakanempowerme4050 2 года назад +1

    Mr Wolff, what's your thoughts on eliminating markets

  • @getaheadwithpetekelly
    @getaheadwithpetekelly 2 года назад +3

    The best way to deprive everyone of ownership is to make everyone feel Ike they own everything.

  • @kenaultman7499
    @kenaultman7499 2 года назад +1

    The 40 hour week was designed with the idea that one person would stay at home and handle everything else that needed done. When you force both people to do that, you're asking for burnout.
    They're not activists. They literally can't afford to live on these jobs. This is a capitalist system. The money being offered to compensate isn't enough. It is such a simple problem. THEY. AREN'T. PAYING. ENOUGH.
    Why am I going to work my entire life away for someone else when I won't even be paid enough to have a modest home at any point in my life? I say fuck it, I'd rather sit on a beach and let the bills pile up.
    Wages have been flat for almost half a century now. All the while, we have, let's be honest here, inflation around 25% because they fudge the numbers. All I'll say is this. I won't be the one to roll out the guillotines. But, I won't stop them either.

  • @piotr.leniec-lincow5209
    @piotr.leniec-lincow5209 2 года назад +1

    You have to be financially well off to just quit .

  • @andywomack3414
    @andywomack3414 2 года назад +3

    There is a simple reason why. It's the bipartisan policy called Supply Side Economics.

  • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
    @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад +4

    Prof. Wolff: Can you please research & advocate for full intellectual property (IP) abolition? This is the most important activist aim for working class people! A worker co-op economy (& most leftist projects) has very little chance without first abolishing IP. IP is the most severe & oppressive tool of the rich & powerful.
    Please see the work of Stephan Kinsella, Michele Boldrin, & David K. Levine. These are the best experts on intellectual property in the world. Everyone who cares about seriously improving things for humanity needs to know what IP abolition is about.

    • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
      @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад +1

      IP laws make no sense from either left or right politics. The ‘property’ in intellectual property is a false term used for propaganda purposes. Intellectual property is not property in any sense. It’s monopoly. IP actually stifles innovation & creativity. And IP seriously screws up our economy & stacks it for the rich & powerful more than any other tool (especially IP with digital tech and the internet). IP abolition is the most important aim to liberate artists, programmers, inventors, etc. and make them all better off financially.

    • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
      @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад +1

      All 4 types of IP must be fully abolished in any & all countries ASAP: patents, copyright, trademarks & trade secrets.

    • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
      @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад +2

      IP provides for censorship. IP is the main component of cultural control, propaganda, & advertising. Copyright does not just monopolize art- copyright also monopolizes all text, video, audio, photos, images, software & websites. And patents monopolize important aspects of media infrastructure. Therefore, IP is the main component which allows media conglomerates to “manufacture consent”.

    • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
      @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад

      The 2008 economics book ‘Against Intellectual Monopoly’ and the 2001 essay ‘Against Intellectual Property’ are both as important as Marx’s ‘Capital’! Each has nearly flawless argumentation. All leftists need to read both (free online). If you can’t read them now, then write down both titles so you can tell others so they can read them.

    • @user-wl2xl5hm7k
      @user-wl2xl5hm7k 2 года назад

      And Uniquenameosaurus has two excellent and entertaining videos from April 2021 about IP abolition. Patricia Taxxon has another excellent one from October 2017 about copyright abolition.

  • @ramonching7772
    @ramonching7772 2 года назад +5

    Make the government work for the people.
    But good luck. It's one dollar one vote in America.

    • @wgreiter
      @wgreiter 2 года назад +2

      I like your sentiment... but it's a bit more than a 1:1 ratio. At least 100 Billion is spent on campaign shenanigans averaged annually, dark money and above board. My ballpark guess.

  • @daniellarson3068
    @daniellarson3068 2 года назад +2

    Could this be a symptom of capitalism working? The economics guys teach us that it is all about land, labor and capital. Seems like labor is in "short" supply for whatever reason. Could this unionization and slowly rising wages be the natural reaction to the situation following the laws of supply and demand?
    Even professor Wolff's assertion that the "owners" will flee to China may be a part of the changing situation. It seems like a lot of companies are fleeing China, they've had a real estate crash, they have power outages and the people in charge have changed rules where the returns have more risk. "Owners" want low risk and are less likely to dump capital into China in recent times.
    Either way it's positive news for a change. Thanks for the video.

    • @wgreiter
      @wgreiter 2 года назад

      And cuckolds will welcome them back... they can stay in China.

    • @boltstrike2787
      @boltstrike2787 2 года назад

      The natural conclusion of capitalism is for the big fish to eat each other until they own everything and everyone else has nothing, and we're pretty close to that. It just isn't sustainable anymore. As for why labor and wages are decreasing, it's because of technology. Computers have automated many of the essential functions of the economy, so human labor is seen as less valuable than it used to be. That leads employers to want to automate tasks with computers as much as possible so they can cut jobs and save money, and to lowball their employees because they can't compete with a machine. So that gives us the current state of the job market where we have a serious drought of quality, livable wage jobs. Capitalism just isn't compatible with a computer age economy, a computer age economy doesn't need much human labor so vast majorities of the population are going to be left unable to find a job to afford their expenses in a capitalist economy. A new economic system that's focused less on human labor and more on smart allocation of resources is the solution here.

  • @stevecoley8365
    @stevecoley8365 2 года назад +1

    X-Files
    Earthling human beings (love) are not fond of being human capital (cattle) for the hostile alien vampires (greed) and their ignorance (hate).

  • @BBBarua
    @BBBarua 2 года назад +1

    Not everyone can see which group of people are working more and spending more to stimulate the economy. Whoever owns the data to see the birdseye view is always ahead of planning and capturing high profit. The government needs to step in and level the playing field to avoid the monopoly. In software eating the world age, powerful companies hide their monopoly power easily and they can also shape and nudge things the way they want with their invisible hands. This will create an unstable economy, and consumers ended up paying more for less vlaue.

  • @tonyfernandes2342
    @tonyfernandes2342 2 года назад

    Excellent lesson, Dr. Richard Wolff! You are absolutely right! By the
    way, do you know what would happen if everybody were rich such as, for
    example, Bill Gates? - I'll tell you: everybody would starve to death!
    -Why? - Because there wouldn't be any poor people to work for them.
    Am I joking? - No, I'm not!
    "Changing the System!" is the answer!

  • @billfrenger8955
    @billfrenger8955 2 года назад

    Read Lewis Powell's 1971 memo to the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce.

  • @monsterous6152
    @monsterous6152 2 года назад

    In case you haven't heard, May Day Strike is currently being planned! Check it out!!

  • @Krooksbane
    @Krooksbane 2 года назад

    Too many workers in this country believe that they’ll join the one percent. Temporary embarrassed millionaire syndrome.

  • @globalblakafrakanempowerme4050
    @globalblakafrakanempowerme4050 2 года назад

    Mr richard d Wolff, I have an employer denying my right for a sabbatical or unpaid leave. What should I do. My family is in the Asante region and I want to visit them but they wont let me. What should I do.

  • @oldmansailor
    @oldmansailor 2 года назад

    hey I just did that! The VP of operations was a major narcissist. It felt so good not to be controlled on everything.

  • @Ianpact
    @Ianpact 2 года назад

    Thank you.

  • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
    @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +3

    I got a solution do what I did I cut down my living expenses I cut back downside live alternatively. which means I don't have to work hard anymore..

    • @buddyoo4942
      @buddyoo4942 2 года назад +1

      sounds like a great inventions!😆

  • @MrSanman28
    @MrSanman28 2 года назад +4

    4th option. People start working for themselves just like you are doing on this video. People are leaving jobs because they had the time to stay home and discover self employment options that helped them become successful capitalist.

    • @anab0lic
      @anab0lic 2 года назад +3

      the problem is not everyone can do this.... the world would not function correctly if everyone was working from home... there needs to be more incentive to leave the house and work in some of these places that cause so much misery.

    • @MrSanman28
      @MrSanman28 2 года назад +1

      @@anab0lic you contradict yourself.
      People should optimize the potential they have. In turn tough jobs will have to pay accordingly.

    • @anab0lic
      @anab0lic 2 года назад +3

      ​ I don't see the contradiction? I agree that people should optimize themselves... but that is very hard to do in a world where so many need to put so much energy and time into just staying financially afloat. It leaves little time to actually work on developing skillsets of value. Also, until we develop the technology for robots and AI to take over the shitty jobs of the world... they still need to be done for society to function. Shitty jobs should pay better... since they are such soul destroying endeavours, one should be compensated accordingly for such a sacrifice.

    • @southhillfarm2795
      @southhillfarm2795 2 года назад +1

      People that stay at home don’t make stuff that is saleable. People that can work from home are very dispensable.

    • @MrSanman28
      @MrSanman28 2 года назад

      @@anab0lic People ARE acvtively leaving for better opportunities and leaving the 9-5. They don't have to fill the shitty job and suggesting that they do is the contradiction.

  • @TC-eo5eb
    @TC-eo5eb 2 года назад +2

    I watch the Barret Jackson and Mecum classic car auctions all the time. Every month or so, thousands of every day average American's from all walks of life turning out to pay six figure and seven figure prices for collector cars. Countless average American's pay hundreds of dollars every weekend to attend professional sporting events and concerts. Countless Americans are spending money in Vegas at any moment. Countless average Americans across the country are in casinos at any given time. Countless average American's are on vacation at any moment. Countless Americans own private airplanes, yachts, sports cars and vacation homes/condo's. If you don't like being poor do something about like I did. Stop believing the same old socialism and worker cooperative rhetoric that Wolff has been peddling for decades. If you really believe profit is theft and exploitation, then you will live in misery your whole life watching Democracy at Work video's.

  • @chuckleaf8027
    @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад +4

    wages went up until 1970? roughly when Nixon took us off the gold standard for good?

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      Theres a video by red white and blurred channel called productivity and wages. Watch it. Your wrong

    • @chuckleaf8027
      @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад +1

      @@stuckinthemud4352 Wrong about what?

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      @@chuckleaf8027 did u watch the 4 min video?

    • @stuckinthemud4352
      @stuckinthemud4352 2 года назад +1

      All im saying is wages haven't gone down compared to inflation.

    • @chuckleaf8027
      @chuckleaf8027 2 года назад +2

      @@stuckinthemud4352 I mean, what's not to believe? Nixon's promises were immediately broken, the biggest being the dollar would retain it's value. Todays dollar is only worth 17 cents compared to 1971???

  • @Tom-Travels
    @Tom-Travels 2 года назад +3

    Worker co-ops will turn into a Lord of the Flies organization. The alpha's will take over and the beta's will be slaves, or, cast out as they prove themselves to be weak. Among the Alphas, one man will emerge; and get the Lion's share of resources for himself. No, Prof, resistance to human nature is futile.

    • @massivecumshot
      @massivecumshot 2 года назад

      Alphas NEVER join cooperative organizations willingly, unless they are desperate failures. They either become lone wolf consultants, tradesmen or entrepreneurs if they have access to capital.

    • @buddyoo4942
      @buddyoo4942 2 года назад +2

      Lion alphas certainly don't behave that way...what you have describe is the McGregor’s X Theory of human nature however there were time in ancient past where McGregor’s Y Theory was prevalent. There are ways and method to achieve this. We need to rediscover such knowledge.

    • @heinomaland6744
      @heinomaland6744 2 года назад

      From the philosophy I've studied so far, yours is the most superficial.
      Marx's conclusion is that man is the sum total of all social relations.
      Without society there would be no man in the social sense, and without social sense there would be no human nature.
      Unions are just a formality, the Nazis had unions, the Soviets had unions, the Paris Commune had unions, the Spanish Civil War the Aragon Anarchists had unions, Europe had unions, The Americas had unions but the question is what did the unions do for the workers and how.
      Your argument leans heavily toward the anarchists, which is obvious given Americans' natural distrust of government.
      Yet history has proved that centralization was an extremely important tool in the Great Industrial Age and of all the worker revolutions of the second decade of the twentieth century, only Lenin's party achieved centralization.
      You American workers believe that government is not credible, but in the industrial age, centralization was one of the most important tools and the problem is that the efforts of the American workers in the twentieth century to establish credible worker government are nowhere to be found in modern times.
      It can only be said that the American elites are very cosmopolitan, but the American workers have no sense of internationalism. As a result, tragedies are repeated around the world, with the devil pretending to be an angel and the American workers acting as the lambs of the capitalists.

  • @D4G13
    @D4G13 2 года назад +1

    Isn’t inflation a result of the more liberal “socialistic” policies? Money printing, stimulus packages, buying of stocks, interest rates, unemployment payments coming from free money, intense lockdowns destroying supply chains.

  • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
    @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +3

    Like I said a million times before if you want to make real money you better off working for your self that's the only way to do it.. I know everybody cannot do that which is why you're going to have poor people and people were homeless because they have no value.. the last value you have the less you going to make it..

    • @benjaminhenderson7059
      @benjaminhenderson7059 2 года назад +3

      The fact that you think some lives have lesser value just shows how little we should care about your opinion.

    • @jeremypeterson705
      @jeremypeterson705 2 года назад +1

      I think we should criminize anyone who makes "real money".

    • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
      @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +1

      @@jeremypeterson705 you can't do that

    • @jeremypeterson705
      @jeremypeterson705 2 года назад +1

      @ska punk OI! alternative living
      Why not? It has happened before and can happen again. In fact, I would be willing to wager that public executions will eventually become a thing for these people. History rhymes.

    • @skapunkoialternativeliving6522
      @skapunkoialternativeliving6522 2 года назад +1

      @@jeremypeterson705 you really think it could happen

  • @Qmpz85
    @Qmpz85 2 года назад

    Marx is a gay guy!

  • @MikenNinginThai
    @MikenNinginThai 2 года назад +2

    Lmao they get what they deserve

    • @hectorcm2063
      @hectorcm2063 2 года назад +5

      Found a bootlicker. As a good man once wrote: "If you want nothing before you are dead shake hands with your boss and look Wise"

    • @kevintewey1157
      @kevintewey1157 2 года назад +2

      And YOU will loose to the workers 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤬🤬💄💄💄💄💄🐷🐽🐽
      Were taking your wealth

    • @hectorcm2063
      @hectorcm2063 2 года назад +4

      @@kevintewey1157 expropiate the expropiators!

  • @jackflack9004
    @jackflack9004 2 года назад +3

    If you have had enough, then start your own business.

    • @hectorcm2063
      @hectorcm2063 2 года назад +13

      "if you are homeless just buy a house"

    • @sandybarnes887
      @sandybarnes887 2 года назад +14

      Pull yourself up by the bootstraps even tho you are bootless

    • @jackflack9004
      @jackflack9004 2 года назад +2

      @@hectorcm2063 if you're homeless, you probably have a drug or alcohol problem. Work on that first.

    • @hectorcm2063
      @hectorcm2063 2 года назад +6

      @@jackflack9004 let's solve a systemic problem with individual action. I'm sure this time will work out, unlike the previous 40 years.

    • @hectorcm2063
      @hectorcm2063 2 года назад +6

      @@jackflack9004 I don't mean that individual action can't help in individual cases, but that's not going to cut it when we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people