Podcast Summary: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Episode: Capitalism Provokes Workers
Date: May 10, 2018
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad
Overview
In this episode of Economic Update, Richard D. Wolff explores the recent resurgence in worker strikes and collective action, examining how capitalism's failures provoke worker solidarity and activism. Wolff delivers a series of economic news updates highlighting further evidence of systemic inequality and declining public goods. In the second half, he engages with Dr. Harriet Fraad to examine how economic precarity, neoliberal policy, and a lack of public support are fundamentally undermining the American family, despite widespread political invocation of "family values." The episode critiques both capitalist priorities and the political rhetoric that masks responsibility for the social consequences of economic policy.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The Wave of Worker Strikes (00:10–05:34)
- Wolff frames the recent surge in strikes as a realization by American workers that political parties haven't served their interests, prompting action for their own well-being.
- UC Strike Example: 53,000 employees at the University of California went on strike (May 7–9) for better wages and conditions, organized by several major unions.
- Quote: “The only way the working class can assure its own well being and that of its children is if it acts on its own behalf.” (01:16)
- Wolff discusses the political-economic roots of these strikes: the unwillingness of the business elite to pay taxes and politicians’ failure to address workers’ needs.
- Notes the rising difficulty and importance of strikes: “Strikes are difficult. Strikes require workers to show solidarity and to become aware that only by their own actions can they make sure that the promises ... will not be broken by an economic system that already is broken.” (03:14)
2. Uber’s Business Model & Public Transportation (05:40–09:11)
- Clarifies previous comments: Uber’s model allows it to avoid regulations meant to protect the public from unvetted, underinsured drivers and unsafe vehicles.
- Admits Uber sometimes offers lower pricing due to lower costs and driver exploitation, giving some poorer people access to cheaper rides.
- Quote: “If there were the public transportation system that we need and want, it would be a much cheaper way of moving people… It's a sad comment on the second best that this country increasingly imposes on people.” (08:53)
3. Privatization of Public Services: Firefighting for the Rich (09:15–13:35)
- Shocking development: wealthy Americans can buy insurance providing private fire-fighting teams, bypassing public fire departments.
- Quote: “Here are the wealthy impoverishing public services for everybody else ... Instead, they have found a way to save more on taxes than it costs them to have a private fire department just for them.” (11:54)
- Wolff links this privatization to ancient criticisms of markets by Plato and Socrates, who opposed markets because they undermine social solidarity.
4. Corporate Influence in Education: The Koch Brothers & George Mason University (13:37–16:03)
- Koch Foundation donations to George Mason University secured influence over hiring, reflecting corporate capture of education.
- Emphasizes lack of comparable financial influence from unions or the political left.
- Quote: “To give them direct influence over hiring professors... makes a mockery of the claim that academic institutions are open, objective.” (15:28)
- Emphasizes lack of comparable financial influence from unions or the political left.
5. Groundbreaking Unionization Efforts in Fast Food (16:05–18:12)
- Burgerville workers in Portland, OR, vote to unionize (18–4, 3 abstentions), marking the first fast-food union victory since the Fight for $15 campaign began.
- Quote: “Because America is changing. And working people... have to begin to take their own destiny into their own hands.” (17:12)
6. The Loneliness Epidemic & Economic Insecurity (18:20–24:21)
- Over 50% of Americans polled feel deeply lonely, with ramifications for physical and mental health, a result of the 2008–09 crash and its aftermath.
- Links economic loneliness to the potential for scapegoating and exclusionary identity politics.
- Quote: “50% over of Americans find themselves lonely now... That too is a result of the crash of 2008 and all its consequences.” (22:15)
- Discusses Windrush scandal in the UK as an example of scapegoating immigrants for systemic economic failures.
7. Politicians and Narratives: Clinton Admits “Capitalist” Label Hurt Her (24:30–26:39)
- Hillary Clinton stated that calling herself a capitalist hurt her with Democratic primary voters.
- Wolff dismisses the notion that more regulation would improve capitalism, citing the long-standing failures of both parties.
- Quote: “Our inequality, promoted both by Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump… is worse than it has been in a century.” (26:06)
8. Holding Corporations Accountable: VW Emissions Scandal (27:32–29:30)
- Martin Winterkorn (VW’s former CEO) indicted for emissions test cheating; Wolff argues that blaming individuals doesn't address systemic, profit-driven misconduct.
- Quote: “Leaving the running of capitalism in the hands of capitalists is not the way to go.” (29:05)
FEATURE INTERVIEW: Capitalism and the Crisis of the Family
(29:31–55:32)
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad, mental health counselor
The Crisis Facing American Families
Economic Insecurity and Family Breakdown (30:17–34:23)
- Precarious job prospects make marriage and family formation unviable for many, especially those 18–35.
- Quote: “The majority of people… 18–35 years old, are not married now. They're not married because they don't have the security and stability with which to plan.” (30:34)
- Children and single mothers are the poorest Americans; 42% of children are born to unmarried parents.
- Increasing divorce and separation rates, as well as high numbers of unmarried cohabitation, reflect this instability.
Dual Pressure: Market and State Withdrawal (35:08–36:08)
- The private sector provides insecure, low-benefit jobs.
- The U.S. government offers far less support for families—including parental leave, child care, and nutrition—than peer nations.
- Quote (Wolff): “We're hitting the family two shots, one through the job in the private sector and the second one from the government services which are not there…” (35:25)
The Political Use of “Family Values” (36:09–42:23)
- Critique of the right-wing invocation of “family values” while enacting policies that erode the economic and structural supports families need.
- Quote (Fraad): “They want to find a ruse... They say family values… the family is a cover for right wing accumulation of even more by cutting the already inadequate existing programs that support families and children.” (36:31)
- The right blames family decline on “immorality” rather than economic root causes.
- Series of moralistic stories expose hypocrisy among some evangelical leaders.
Loneliness, Opioid Crisis, and Social Disintegration (49:50–50:48)
- The opioid epidemic reflects social despair: 64,000 annual deaths, mainly from overdose, and a growing foster-care population from parent deaths.
- Quote: “It's because people are desperate and they look for personal solutions. And those personal solutions are for sale and they kill themselves.” (50:04)
- Cites British creation of a “Minister of Loneliness” to show how social disconnection is costly to public health.
International Comparisons: Social Supports (44:19–46:07)
- U.S. stands nearly alone among OECD nations in failing to mandate paid parental leave, universal preschool, accessible child care, and robust welfare.
- Quote (Fraad): “We're the only ones that do not provide any free maternity leave or paternity leave... So the companies are not held back in their profiteering...” (44:41)
- France, the Netherlands, and others ensure childcare, after-school programs, and medical care for all.
Emerging Alternative Family Structures (51:34–54:08)
- New communal living arrangements, e.g., co-housing and collective apartments, help combat loneliness and economic strain.
- Examples from Sweden, California, and the UK (e.g., collective dining, shared child care).
- Stable, traditional marriage increasingly reserved for the wealthy, who can outsource domestic labor, further stratifying family stability by class.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Worker Power:
“Striking is a way that workers show their solidarity... and fight for what they need. And so it is honorable for us to recognize and appreciate that...”
Richard Wolff, 02:01 -
On Privatized Firefighting:
“The wealthy impoverish public services for everybody else… then noticing that the quality of the service is not what they want, ... they have found a way to save more on taxes than it costs them to have a private fire department just for them.”
Richard Wolff, 11:54 -
On Family Breakdown:
“The family is still the most basic emotional unit for support, particularly among children. And children are the most in trouble in the United States.”
Harriet Fraad, 30:37 -
On Political Cynicism:
“You're doing the damage and then become the critic of the damage you just did. How does this work?”
Richard Wolff, 37:40 -
On Social Solutions:
“When people aren't lonely and miserable, ... in England they have a cabinet minister on loneliness because ... they saved millions and millions of dollars by helping people be less lonely.”
Harriet Fraad, 53:30
Important Timestamps
- 00:10: Introduction, themes, and strikes
- 01:16: Historical perspective on worker action
- 09:15: Privatization of fire services for the wealthy
- 13:37: Koch brothers and university influence
- 16:05: Burgerville union win
- 18:20: Loneliness epidemic polling
- 22:15: Economic decline and scapegoating
- 24:30: Clinton's "capitalism" remarks
- 27:32: VW emissions scandal
- 29:31: Interview with Dr. Harriet Fraad begins
- 30:34: Economic roots of family decline
- 35:25: Double pressure on families: work and government withdrawal
- 36:31: “Family values” as political cover
- 44:41: U.S. bottom ranking in family supports
- 49:50: Opioid crisis and despair
- 53:30: Global experiments in communal living
Tone and Style
- Wolff maintains his signature blend of economic analysis and accessible storytelling—critical, passionate, and didactic, laced with both empathy and biting critique.
- Dr. Fraad adds psychological and personal insight, often relating individual struggles to larger structures, and highlighting both the personal pain and systemic nature of the problem.
Summary
This episode unpacks how the changing landscape of American capitalism drives both renewed worker activism and profound social deterioration, exemplified by the dissolution of the family, rising inequality, and the retreat of public goods. While the right invokes "family values," Wolff and Fraad lay bare the underlying economic drivers undermining families. They contrast the U.S. model with countries providing robust supports, suggesting that only systemic change, not moralizing rhetoric, can reconstitute social well-being.