Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: Capitalism and Mental Health
Date: September 28, 2019
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad

Overview

This episode revolves around the often-overlooked connections between capitalism and mental health in the United States. Host Richard D. Wolff opens with current economic and socio-political events before welcoming Dr. Harriet Fraad, a mental health counselor, to explore how capitalist structures impact individual well-being, social trust, and community ties. Together, they probe the roots of alienation, loneliness, and violence, arguing that systemic economic inequality causes significant damage to the collective mental health of society.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Economic News and Systemic Contradictions (00:10–15:20)

• ICE Raid in Mississippi (00:10–06:30):

  • Description of a massive ICE raid at Koch Foods’ chicken processing plants in Morton, Mississippi.
  • Critique of the spectacle and cruelty of the raid, noting that:
    • Only the immigrant workers were targeted, not the employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers.
    • Children were traumatized and separated from their families.
  • Quote:
    “You could have arrested those people if indeed you felt you had to on a weekend or in their homes or in the evening. You could have made arrangements so it wouldn't terrify the children. All of the things a sane, decent human being would understand.” – Richard Wolff (02:10)
  • Emphasizes employers' exploitation of undocumented workers' vulnerability for profit.

• Gun Death Statistics and International Comparison (06:31–09:50):

  • Uses data from the Institute of Health Medicine and Evaluation to highlight the USA’s high gun death rate (4.43 per 100,000), contrasted with countries like Japan and China (0.04).
  • Afghanistan (3.96) and Iraq (3.54), despite being war zones, have lower rates than the U.S.
  • Central American countries like El Salvador (43.11) fare even worse, explaining refugee influx.
  • Quote:
    “That of course is why those people are coming to the United States. To escape a level of gun violence that ought to make us welcome them seeking safety. But of course, you know what we do instead.” – Richard Wolff (09:30)

• Wealth Tax Debate (09:51–15:20):

  • Breaks down proposals for a wealth tax by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders: 2% annually on net worth above $50 million, 3% above $1 billion (affecting just approx. 75,000 families, or 0.00002% of Americans).
  • Rebuts common conservative arguments that the tax is “confiscatory” or double-taxation.
  • Highlights the absence of property taxes on stocks and bonds and the relative leniency of the wealth tax compared to hedge fund fees.
  • Quote:
    “There is a kind of property that doesn't pay a property tax in the United States... It's property in the form of stocks and bonds. ...It's a highly unjust system.” – Richard Wolff (12:25)
  • Insight:
    The outrage over the wealth tax is seen as a manufactured defense for the ultra-wealthy.

2. Capitalism, Mental Health, and Social Connection (15:21–28:30)

Introduction to Dr. Harriet Fraad and Framing the Issue (15:21–17:02)

• Wolff introduces guest Dr. Harriet Fraad, focusing on the intersection of capitalism and mental health, and sets up two frames:
  • How workplace relations impact health.
  • How market transactions affect society.

What Is Mental Health? (17:03–18:43)

• Fraad defines mental health as rooted in connection—humans are “herd animals” who require multi-level relationships:
  • Intimate: Deep personal relationships (partner, best friend, relative).
  • Acquaintances: Shared-interest groups or activities.
  • Community: Sense of belonging to a city or country.
  • World: Feeling part of the global human fabric.
• Quote:
  “What mental health is among human beings is connection. We're herd animals. We're never supposed to be all alone.” – Harriet Fraad (17:03)

Disconnection and Mental Illness (18:43–20:02)

• When people are cut off from these levels of connection, mental problems arise—psychosis is when even language ceases to connect someone to others.
• Fraad notes that mass shooters (mainly young men) have typically lost both romantic and job connections, leading to rage and alienation.
• Quote:
  “The shooters are mainly millennials between 23 and 28... they've lost a connection. They've either lost a romantic relationship or they've lost a job, usually both... For a man, the two important connections are the woman and work employment.” – Harriet Fraad (19:05)

How Capitalism Degrades Connection and Trust (20:02–22:43)

• Capitalism fosters inequality, which undermines trust and connections at all levels.
• Advertising and economic precarity mean millennials (the loneliest cohort) trust neither their prospects nor the world around them.
• Social relations, especially in work, are transactional and competitive ("adversarial situations").
• Quote:
  “The biggest increase in married couples types are married couples with no children. Most Americans aren't married between 18 and 35, the years of primary fertility... people are unmoored. They're disconnected.” – Harriet Fraad (21:31)

Gendered Differences in Disconnection (21:44–23:31)

• Women retain more emotional openness and connection due to socialization.
• Men are more isolated physically and emotionally out of fear of judgment or accusations (of homosexuality).
• The capitalist work environment requires every employee to generate more value than they’re paid, breeding further mistrust.

Alienation and Transactional Relationships (22:43–25:49)

• Alienation is not just within the workplace but pervades society.
• Inequality makes connection difficult across class lines—leading to guardedness, suspicion, and even humiliation of the less wealthy.
• The wealthy surround themselves with transactional relationships (exemplified by Jeffrey Epstein's social circle).
• Quote:
  “Everything you do has a price... he'd always paid everybody off, and he did it to the end.” – Harriet Fraad (25:13)

Inequality and the Blockage of Connection (25:49–27:01)

• Gated communities, elite clubs, and private schools physically and socially segregate the wealthy.
• Even within the wealthy, relationships are less about genuine connection and more about what others can provide transactionally.
• Quote:
  “There's a book called Primates of Park Avenue… the 1% who doesn't even talk to you unless you have money and connections, because everything is a transaction.” – Harriet Fraad (27:05)

Social Outcomes: Loneliness and Violence (27:01–28:29)

• The social structure produced by capitalism contributes to epidemic loneliness:
  “22% of millennials say they don't even have an acquaintance, no less a friend. Sad.” – Harriet Fraad (28:15)
• The combination of emotional alienation and easy access to guns creates fertile ground for mass violence.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the ICE raids:
  “The claim that the employer didn't know that these were undocumented immigrants is as believable as is the person who's trying to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.” – Richard Wolff (04:40)
• On property taxes and stocks:
  “If you earn money, you pay an income tax. Suppose you use that money to buy a home. Guess what? There's a property tax on your home in the town where you live.” – Richard Wolff (11:00)
• On disconnection:
  “You can't plan on anything. In the old days, you fell in love, you got married, you settled down in one place, you had children. Now...people are unmoored. They're disconnected.” – Harriet Fraad (21:31)
• On workplace alienation:
  “So you're always being robbed. He's always getting more. He's always trying to get more for him or herself than they give to you. Which doesn't breed trust and kindness amongst people.” – Harriet Fraad (22:15)

Important Timestamps

• 00:10–06:30: ICE raid at Koch Foods, the spectacle and targeting of workers, not employers.
• 06:31–09:50: Gun death statistics; global comparison and implications.
• 09:51–15:20: Wealth tax debate; property taxation and rich-poor disparities.
• 15:21–17:02: Introduction of Dr. Harriet Fraad; framing the capitalist dimensions of mental health.
• 17:03–18:43: Defining mental health as “connection”.
• 18:43–20:02: Disconnection, mass shootings, and loss of primary relationships.
• 20:02–22:43: Capitalism’s role in alienating people, creating distrust and weakening social bonds.
• 22:44–25:49: Workplace alienation, humiliation, transactional relationships.
• 25:49–28:29: Social segregation of the wealthy, transactional elite culture, and epidemic loneliness.

Tone and Language

The episode maintains a critical, analytical tone with moments of moral urgency, especially from Wolff. Dr. Fraad’s language is compassionate but clinical, drawing on psychological frameworks but relating them concretely to economic structures and everyday experience. Both speakers are direct and unflinching in addressing systemic failures, referring to data, personal observation, and cultural critique.

Conclusion

Richard D. Wolff and Dr. Harriet Fraad make a compelling argument that capitalism, beyond its economic impacts, takes a profound toll on collective mental health by fostering alienation, mistrust, and social fragmentation. The discussion calls for a deeper evaluation of economic systems—not merely in terms of physical health and material prosperity, but by their effect on the crucial bonds of human connection upon which a healthy society depends.