May 6, 2022
Interviewer: RAFAEL KHACHATURIAN. As our economy, political system, and society in general weather a number of immediate crises, from pandemics to inflation, economist RICHARD WOLFF argues that the real cause of our inability to grapple with them is being ignored. In his discussion with political theorist Rafael Khachaturian, Wolff contends that the power of capitalism as a governing ideology, and capitalists as a class, make it difficult to mobilize resources for anything other than profit maximization – especially as increasing levels of debt among all manner of borrowers hampers action. As the dynamic center of global capitalism moves east, Wolff argues that America, like many European countries, would benefit from revived socialist politics, either inside or outside the Democratic Party, to help reorganize our economic life around the needs of people, not the revenues of corporations.