Economic Update: Capitalism - Slow-motion Implosion?

Podcast: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Host: Richard D. Wolff (with guest Dr. Harriet Fraad)
Date: January 3, 2019

Overview

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff critically examines recent global economic events, focusing on the lived realities of capitalism behind mainstream narratives. By analyzing developments from Canada, France, and Italy, Wolff highlights the system’s ongoing dysfunctions. In the second half, guest Dr. Harriet Fraad joins Wolff to unpack the social, psychological, and economic roots underpinning the US 2018 midterm elections, particularly the surge of women and young people in politics. The discussion reframes everyday economic and political struggles as symptoms of deeper systemic issues, while exploring how potential collective shifts might foster real change.

PART ONE: International Case Studies of Capitalist Contradictions

1. Canada - The "Race to the Bottom" in Corporate Taxation

[00:10 – 05:12]

• Wolff discusses Justin Trudeau’s new budget, which includes corporate tax cuts to keep Canada competitive with Trump’s US tax reductions.
• He stresses this policy is not unique, but emblematic of a global "race to the bottom," where nations lower corporate taxes to attract or retain multinationals—ultimately depriving themselves of revenue for public goods.
• Notable Quote:

  “The only beneficiary here are the corporations who are playing the countries like suckers.” (A/Wolff, 04:13)

• Wolff argues the real effect of these policies is not job creation, but corporations receiving ever-greater benefits at the public’s expense.

2. France – Corporate-Friendly Government, Popular Discontent

[05:13 – 08:56]

• Despite pro-business reforms under President Macron, his popularity among ordinary French people plunges.
• Largest corporations praise France’s business environment, but on-the-ground dissatisfaction explodes into the “Yellow Vests” (Gilets Jaunes) movement, sparked by fuel price hikes.
• Notable Quote:

  “So he's doing what's necessary for the corporations, but not for the mass of people. And boy, the French know how to tell you that.” (A/Wolff, 07:06)

• Wolff details how anger crosses political boundaries, fueling mass protests while Macron and media focus on isolated incidents of violence.

3. Italy – Populist Spending and Social Investment

[08:57 – 12:44]

• Italy’s coalition government breaks European orthodoxy with a bold budget:
  • Lower retirement age to 62 for 400,000 people to improve elder support and open jobs for youth.
  • Introduction of universal basic income (~$900/month) for the most disadvantaged, targeting 6 million Italians.
  • New infrastructure program to spur jobs and rebuild the nation.
• Despite “right-wing populist” labeling, Wolff notes these policies echo classic social democratic reforms.
• Notable Quote:

  “Called a right wing populism. It’s a lot less right wing than you might think.” (A/Wolff, 12:37)

4. The Politics of Scapegoating Immigrants

[12:45 – 13:54]

• Wolff critiques Hillary Clinton’s advice to centrist parties to mimic right-wing anti-immigrant policies, viewing it as both a political and moral failure.
• He points out how both parties use scapegoating to mask capitalism’s failings.
• Notable Quote:

  “Beating up on caravans and sending the army. That’s political theater meant to distract people from the real problem, which is a capitalist system that isn’t delivering the goods to the mass of people.” (A/Wolff, 14:40)

5. Post-2008 Inequality and Quantitative Easing

[13:55 – 15:53]

• Wolff revisits 10 years since the 2008 crisis, describing how monetary stimulus fueled asset inflation, making the rich richer while the majority stagnated.
• Notable Quote:

  “Here in The United States, 10% of our people own 80% of the stocks. So as the stock prices went up, the rich who own the stocks saw their wealth go up. Therein lies the growing inequality.” (A/Wolff, 15:21)

PART TWO: Social Change in US Politics – The 2018 Midterms

Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad (mental health counselor, podcast host)
[15:57 – 28:30]

1. The ‘Year of the Woman’—But Not for All Women

[16:34 – 18:29]

• Dramatic increase in progressive female victories in Congress—especially women of color and Democrats.
• Republican women did not see similar gains.
• Fraad sees this not as a superficial ‘Year of the Woman,’ but as a deeper social transformation in gender roles.

2. The "Uncelebrated Revolution" in American Households

[18:29 – 22:32]

• Fraad argues a “revolution” in US households post-1970:
  • Deindustrialization and wage stagnation forced millions of (especially white) women into the workforce.
  • Dual burden: women not only work outside but resist patriarchal structures at home.
  • Surges in divorce and non-marriage arrangements. Majority of women now single.
• Notable Quote:

  “Before the 1970s, women were basically in an economic position of feudal serfs. ...Now the majority of women is single.” (B/Fraad, 19:02, 21:58)

3. Why Women Moved Left

[22:32 – 24:10]

• Women’s new status makes public programs and rights (healthcare, childcare, eldercare, wages) urgent.
• GOP perceived as actively hostile to these needs and women’s autonomy.
• Reaction to events like the Kavanaugh hearings and #MeToo movement further radicalize women.
• Notable Quote:

  “They need something better... it’s a revolution, a class revolution in the household.” (B/Fraad, 23:38)

4. Young People’s Political Awakening

[24:19 – 26:20]

• Voter turnout among the young doubled from last midterm, driven by economic hopelessness:
  • Ballooning student debt
  • Poor job prospects
  • Disenfranchisement from the American Dream
• Young voters overwhelmingly favored Democrats and change.

5. Barriers to True Democracy in the US

[26:21 – 28:30]

• Despite the surge, US voter participation lagged behind other democracies (e.g. Belgium 88%, Sweden 85%, vs US 49%).
• Fraad highlights structural obstacles:
  • Lack of automatic registration
  • Compulsory voting absent
  • Fewer political choices
  • Black and poor people actively kept from voting
  • Elections not held on weekends as in Europe
• Notable Quote:

  “There are choices of a socialist, a communist, a fascist, a capitalist and so on. And so people feel they have a voice. ...that’s very, very different from the pay-to-play system in the United States.” (B/Fraad, 27:23)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “The only beneficiary here are the corporations who are playing the countries like suckers.”
  — Richard D. Wolff, [04:13]

• “So he’s doing what’s necessary for the corporations, but not for the mass of people. And boy, the French know how to tell you that.”
  — Richard D. Wolff, [07:06]

• “Called a right wing populism. It’s a lot less right wing than you might think.”
  — Richard D. Wolff, [12:37]

• “Beating up on caravans and sending the army. That’s political theater meant to distract people from the real problem, which is a capitalist system that isn’t delivering the goods to the mass of people.”
  — Richard D. Wolff, [14:40]

• “Here in The United States, 10% of our people own 80% of the stocks. So as the stock prices went up, the rich who own the stocks saw their wealth go up. Therein lies the growing inequality.”
  — Richard D. Wolff, [15:21]

• “Before the 1970s, women were basically in an economic position of feudal serfs. ...Now the majority of women is single.”
  — Dr. Harriet Fraad, [19:02, 21:58]

• “They need something better... it’s a revolution, a class revolution in the household.”
  — Dr. Harriet Fraad, [23:38]

• “There are choices of a socialist, a communist, a fascist, a capitalist and so on. And so people feel they have a voice. ...that’s very, very different from the pay-to-play system in the United States.”
  — Dr. Harriet Fraad, [27:23]

Key Insights

• Global capitalist policy responses consistently favor corporations, fueling international “races to the bottom” and widening inequality.
• Political and economic discontent (France’s “Yellow Vests,” Italy’s unorthodox budget) are direct products of policies that prioritize business over the majority’s welfare.
• In the US, a seismic social change—declining male wages, rising female workforce participation, and new household structures—is remaking the political map, especially among women and youth.
• Barriers to participation, limited choices, and institutional roadblocks hobble American democracy compared to other developed nations.
• Both hosts see hope in growing political engagement, but warn that real change depends on transcending the superficial electoral system and addressing root economic power imbalances.

For further discussion, including extended interviews, the hosts invite listeners to patreon.com/economicupdate for the Economic Update Extra.