Richard D. Wolff

I'm going to get greedy and also ask if you could discuss Argentina, the new President Macri and his nearly immediate decision to acquiesce to the demands of their debtors after a long holdout by the previous administration. Thanks again!

Dear Dr. Wolff: I have heard you use the term 'race to the bottom' when referring to the relocation or offshoring of labour by corporations, typically originating in North America, western Europe and Japan, to much cheaper labour markets in the interest of maximizing profits. If I understand you correctly, the ability of these corporations to do so will drive countries to undercut one another with decreasing standards of labour, simultaneously eroding the purchasing power of the wage earners to support the very same corporations. A self-destructive cycle. I have also heard you speak of enclaves of the labour movement, such as in France, which are still highly organized and have maintained high labour standards, or here in Canada where unions, while steadily weakening, still wield some influence over politicians. With that said, my question is: is the 'race to the bottom' a result of a failure of labour to effectively organize beyond national borders on pace with growth of transnational corporations? Was there ever a possible equilibrium between business and labour after we'd 'hit the bottom', whereby the capitalist system might have survived, in your estimation? Thank you for your continued insights, Dr. Wolff. Please come to Alberta! I think there are a lot of people still looking for answers in the wake of the collapsed oil economy.

Dear Prof. Wolff, let me just thank you for many hours of your elaborate and interesting speeches. I am glad to find that USA is having wise people like you that struggle for all of us. A wise man always looks up and anticipates the future. The more focus and more precision he invests in this aspect, the wiser he becomes. Indeed, by each new speech you make, you prove it to be right. I've got a question, a short one: "What has happened to your YouTube channel?". Thank you. On the other note, Id like to hear, in one of your future debates/monologues, what do you think of capitalism's impact on public health? I know you have talked about it on many occasions, but, I'd like to hear about dark trends in USA concerning legal drug abuse, the growing addiction legal opiates, deaths caused by hunger for profit in the name of health "care". I will provide you with a link to an article that argues about it in some detail. I'd really like to hear your say about it: http://www.globalresearch.ca/genocide-by-prescription-drug-induced-death-in-america/5535449 All the best wishes professor, a good health and a long life filled with many more endeavor in destroying the taboo of socialism and communism in the USA and the world.

Professor Wolff: You have often cited the significant role that automation (robotization) and computerization play in the elimination of good-paying jobs in the United States. Capitalists enthusiastically employ technology that removes workers from production, because machines do not get paid wages, demand profit-eating health insurance, pensions, or benefits, or go on strike. Marx himself noted this phenomenon. I recently had dinner with a neighbor who works for a prominent U.S. manufacturer of industrial robots. He said that according to inside information to which he is privy that within the near future 50% of jobs in the U.S.will be performed by robots. One can imagine that technological advances might even increase this number. My question is what do we do? U.S jobs are disappearing fast, either because of automation or from off-shoring. Is a guaranteed income for all Americans the only answer? Thank you.

The peoples means of investing in their futures with a government secured savings account yeilding a sustainable rate (3-6%) was quietly taken away from the middle class. Now the only avenue of investment available to average folk is to get on the stock and bond market roller coaster with all the kickbacks, fees and insecurity that come with the ride. Regardless of the present Fed overnight rate, would it be possible for a bank or credit union to set a prime rate of say 5%, with savings accounts yielding 4%, and capital loans for small and mid sized businesses (preferably worker coops) set at 6%?

I wanted to point you to this article which states that reducing the workforce and not hiring the appropriate security personnel by Walmart leads to higher crime rates and having to spend tax dollars through police on security that they are not providing. Just another example of the insane system we have. http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-walmart-crime/

The Invisible Disabilities Association has successfully trademarked the term “Invisible Disabilities”. What are the implications of trademarking a personal identity?

Hey Richard, I apologize if this comes off as ranting, I had a question in mind and then another idea popped into my head I'll also include. I appreciated your sharing of Virginie Pérotin's research in an economic update a week and a half ago. A friend of mine conducted some similar research for his thesis. Do you know if there is any research on the success of co-ops where they are less prevalent? I am curious whether an economic case can be made for new business owners in USA to make their business a co-op, or more interestingly current non-co-op USA based businesses to restructure themselves as cooperatives. This brought me to my second idea which is about franchises. Franchises I find to be one of the most viscerally unsettling things about our current system of capitalism. I am deeply bothered by the homogeneity it implies and is often then a mediocre product being replicated at that. I then often think of Staples and how if you wanted to simply buy a pack of pencils, a business as large as staples can buy in larger bulk and sell them for cheaper than a mom and pop store. I would think that a co-operative would have less incentive to become a franchise especially a very large one, as the democratic decision making would become unnecessarily challenging with so many workers. What is to be done with the current franchises we have? I find it almost a bit ironic in the same update you shared Pérotin's research you also spoke about Macy's closing 141 stores which of course is in one light a bad thing. Thanks so much, Murray Levy

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-16/suing-a-debt-collector-now-they-can-buy-your-lawsuit

I was hoping you might delve into the notion of "spectacle" and how it affects a capitalist society. Perhaps Dr. Fraad might delve into something in the human psyche that is easily drawn to spectacle and manipulated by it.

Can you talk about Simon Johnson and Farmers Co-Ops.

I'm curious if you have any alternative solutions for the Federal Reserve. Recently I've found out that there is more debt in this world than there is money, because of the Federal Reserve. Do you think this should get government controlled? Should there be a specific amount of currency? Or currency that fluctuates with something, say population?

http://www.alternet.org/food/healthy-snack-invented-indian-reservation-now-faces-stiff-corporate-competition can you talk about this?

Hello Prof. Wolff, you have often referred to capitalism as exploitative to the workers, because the capitalists take the fruits of the workers labor through profit. What do you say to the neoclassical Marginal Revenue Productivity Theory of Wages, which states that wages are equal to a worker's marginal product? Labor is the source of value I suppose, but what about machinery? Doesn't it create value too? If it creates value, wouldn't the capitalist be able to profit off of their machine's value in the long term?

Looks like this website got a recent update. It looks great but I am wondering where I can find the old courses by Dr. Wolff, there was a couple on Marx and I beleive one on worker coops.