Can I make my marriage a co-op and no longer capitalist by default?
If Democracy at work creates a workers co-op, can democracy enter the personal relationship of say; marriage, to form a marriage co-op.
I like this idea, as it has a similar elegance to "Democracy at work", being "Democracy at home". And by practicing democratic values in our home, we have been able to celebrate and empower for example, what is usually abused under capitalism, child care. This celebration also comes with us no longer 'feeling' like we are capitalists and our marriage co-op profit enables us to promote our point of difference publicly.
Prof. Wolff, what is your stance/thoughts on the matter of Co-op degeneration?
Of the limited writing on Worker Co-ops I've been able to find, much of it is a discussion on the matter of a Co-op degeneracy theory in which worker owned enterprises are said to often devolve into a kind of pseudo-capitalistic hierarchy as a result of external business pressures and internal conflicting or corrupting incentives. My question is simply: what do you think? What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think it's a legitimate concern? And if you do think it has legs to stand on, what are your thoughts on possibly resolving it?
What does automation mean for the worker and capitalism?
I've been reading a lot about automation lately and an estimated 1,000,000 jobs in Britain will be automated in the next 20 years among other harrowing statistics. So with that said, I was wondering what you think automation means for the workers. Is it something we should champion as it will slowly abolish exchange value? Will it lead to a post-work society and is that something that we should strive for? I know Marx comments a lot on how machinery is specifically used by the capitalist as a weapon against labour leading to increased alienation. Some theorists believe we can only achieve a post-capitalist society by moving THROUGH alienation rather than avoiding it, but I really want to hear your thoughts, especially as it relates to our current situation.
What's the Best Layman's Introduction to Democratic-Socialist Economics?
I've been reading "Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science" by Charles Wheelan, as an introduction to the basics of current economic thought. While it's a valuable read to understand standard thinking about economics (written specifically for the absolute layman) it seems to derive utterly from opinions about the functioning of society which I feel are limiting and overly conservative. Is there a similar book you might recommend that endeavors to 'teach' economic theory to the absolute layman, but which does so with a more democratic socialist bent (and, preferably, focused on the importance of maintaining a sustainable ecosystem as well?) Thanks!
Can worker coops be used to combat homelessness?
Could putting homeless people through a system of rehab getting them fit to work both mentally and physically, followed by putting them in a worker coop with other former homeless people be an effective way to combat homelessness and prevent these people from falling back into the trap of poverty? I feel like this could be a good way to keep people out of poverty because it would put them back on their feet and give them agency in how their work and lives develop, as well as giving them a community of people with similar backgrounds to support them. I also feel this could be addapted to work for immigrants as well with just some minor changes
Why did the Yugoslavian implementation of market socialism fail?
What were the causes of the collapse of the Yugoslavian economy and what can be done to prevent something similar from happening in a future market socialist economy? How much did the Yugoslavian system's political and economic authoritarianism contribute to this collapse?
Could you please debate Jordan Peterson
There is a very popular professor who got popular through a conspiracy that post-modernism and Marxism are fused together and are dominating academia today. His description of Marxism is completely wrong and someone needs to debate him and exposes this in front of a big crowd.
What would happen if the U.S. commited to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% ever decade?
Even if every country in the Paris Climate Agreement fulfills its pledge, we are no where near doing what we need to do to stop global warming at 2 degrees Celsius (the agreement goal). Can you talk about what it would look like if a capitalist economy such as the U.S. actually committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 50% every decade, and made the massive investments in production efficiency needed to actually meet the Paris agreement goal? What would this mean for jobs? I understand there will be lots of "stranded assets" as fossil fuel facilities are closed down early.
What is the relationship between Marxism and WSDE"s?
Professor Wolff: I would love to hear your theoretical explanation of how worker self-directed enterprises reflect your "Amherst School" non-deterministic interpretation of Marxism. Why did you decide to promote WSDE's? Thank you.
Would there be business cycles in a socialist society of worker co-ops?
And how would the process of inflation/deflation be different from a capitalist society?
As a small business - How can i start Workers' Self-Directed Enterprise?
Okay i have a small business with less than 10 employees. I provide services to my clients. Is there a manual or a rule book on how to run a Workers' Self-Directed Enterprise? Any sort of guidelines would be appreciated. Dr Wolff - Am a big fan and i don't want to run my company in traditional capitalistic manner. WSDE is extremely promising. I'm looking to your inputs.
what is the most important things individuals can do to further your agenda! I love it!
Would you talk about the differences between earned and unearned income?
The richer one is, the greater % of the income is likely unearned. Most of them live off unearned income, while 90% of the people live off earned income (what they make at their jobs). Most unearned income comes directly from the efforts of working people. To make it even more outrageous, unearned income is taxed at lower rates than most earned income!