Prof. Wolff joins KPFK's Rising Up with Sonali Kolhatkar to talk about the growing attraction to the ideas of socialism among the American public.
The year 2018 marked the 200th birthday of Karl Marx, a Western philosopher who changed global perspectives on the economy and the value of labor and goods. Sensing an increasing attraction to the ideas of socialism among the American public, Donald Trump’s Council of Economic Advisors released a bizarre document entitled “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism.”
The report attempted to make an empirical case for why socialism does not work. In doing so, the authors inadvertently make the case for a single payer system that conservatives have derided as “socialist.” Vox’s Sarah Cliff pointed out that a chart intended to show longer wait times for seniors seeking healthcare in various countries includes the US having the shortest wait times. But of course seniors in the US enjoy the benefits of Medicare – a single payer system just for those over the age of 65.
Many point out that the report is intended to counteract the growing popularity of a Medicare-for-all system among the public and politicians, especially Democrats, as well as the popularity of socialism as an economic system.
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