Marxism 101: How Capitalism is Killing Itself with Dr. Richard Wolff | MEDIA ROOTS – Reporting From Outside Party Lines
Marxism 101: How Capitalism is Killing Itself with Dr. Richard Wolff
In a country that
declared the end of socialism, a major poll released in January 2016
revealed something unexpected. 43% of people under 30 in the US view
socialism favorably compared to only 32% who view capitalism favorably.
This shows that despite a concerted effort to smother the ideas of a man
who died 133 years ago, the analysis put forward by Karl Marx remains
extremely relevant today.
Marx is
considered the most influential philosopher to ever live. With his
co-thinker Friedrich Engels, he developed a way of understanding the
world that has not only greatly contributed to the understanding of
philosophy and economics but also history, anthropology, political
science, biology and many other fields.
As a young man in
the mid-19th century Marx embedded himself in the workers’ movement in
his home country of Germany and in France from where he was exiled to
London for his political activity. In addition to dedicating himself to
the scientific study of capitalism and social change, Marx was also an
organizer and he convened the very first international organization of
socialists with the goal of overthrowing capitalism, known as the
Communist League whose slogan was “Working men of all countries, unite.”
His work Capital
is regarded as the premier dissection of the economic system we live
under. His discovery of dialectical materialism redefined the world of
philosophy and his rallying call the Communist Manifesto is considered the most influential political document in the world.
As the US Empire
thrashes to survive the current global capitalist crisis, and with
rejection of capitalism clearly growing among young people, I wanted to
find out what it was about Marx’s work that has had such a profound
impact, from peasants in Asia to miners in Africa, to workers in the US
alike, so I talked to someone who has been teaching students and the
public about Marxism for years, Dr. Richard Wolff, Professor of
Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
