New World Notes - Capitalism Hits the Fan (Part 1)

This week on New World Notes: radio program #213, April 3, from 12:00 to 12:30 p.m., host Kenneth Dowst excerpts a talk by Richard Wolff.

With clarity, force, and wit, economist Richard Wolff explains the 30-year-long process that got the US economy into its present crisis. He shows why there are no quick fixes--while suggesting (in Part 2) some practical actions that will improve the situation. Actions that nobody in Washington is proposing.

More fundamentally, we need to re-think our commitment to corporate capitalism, he argues.

Part 1 of his talk focuses on the factors most affecting workers: growing workforce, growing productivity, declining available jobs, stagnant pay, and--perhaps an inevitable consequence--growing consumer debt.

Part 2 focuses more on the CEOs and financiers--who managed to make a bad situation much worse. Part 2 includes also Wolff's practical suggestions for near-and long-term changes.

Wolff gave this guest-lecture at Brown University on December 2, 2009. It has been condensed it for radio broadcast. A video of the entire presentation including introduction (1:45:00) can be found on YouTube.