Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: Revolt Against Sexual Abuse
Date: December 7, 2017
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad

Overview

This episode of Economic Update takes a deep dive into the economic and systemic roots of the recent, global revolt against sexual abuse and harassment, featured most prominently in late 2017. Host Richard D. Wolff and guest Dr. Harriet Fraad, a mental health counselor and writer, examine how economic and social transformations have shaped gender roles and power dynamics, leading to both the perpetuation of abuse and the current pushback against it. The discussion grounds #MeToo within the broader context of workplace structure, gender ideology, and systemic change, exploring bold solutions far beyond “just say no.”

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Economic News and Updates (00:10–28:48)

The Tax Bill and Corporate Tax Cuts (00:10–07:20)

• Wolff criticizes the recent Senate tax bill, focusing on the drastic reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%.
• He explains this triggers a "race to the bottom" internationally, as other countries (e.g., Israel) immediately lower their own tax rates in response.
  • Quote: “The flaw in this argument...is to not understand that other countries can do exactly what the United States is doing.” (03:50, Wolff)
  • This spirals into diminished public resources as all countries collect less from the wealthy and corporations.

Graduate Students and Education (07:20–11:45)

• The same bill proposes taxing graduate student tuition waivers as income, making advanced education more difficult to afford.
  • Quote: “The same tax bill that lowers taxes on corporations...has found a way to balance the books by slapping graduate students in the face with a new tax.” (11:11, Wolff)
• Wolff highlights declining U.S. rankings in advanced educational attainment.

No Real Recovery for the Majority (11:45–16:30)

• Wolff challenges claims of economic recovery, noting homeownership rates have fallen despite population growth.
  • 8 million more households but 400,000 fewer homeowners between 2006–2016.
  • 9 million households lost to foreclosure or short sale.
  • Quote: “That's not a recovery, ladies and gentlemen. That's a disaster.” (15:52, Wolff)

Worker Cooperatives – The Example of Valve Corporation (17:35–22:23)

• Valve’s horizontal, non-hierarchical structure is held up as a model that fosters creativity and worker empowerment, challenging the stereotype that co-ops stifle innovation.

The Nobel Peace Prize and Economic Power (23:20–26:50)

• The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
• Wolff links nuclear policy to economic decline in the West: as economic strength wanes, U.S., Britain, and France cling to military power.
  • “A lesson of history is you enter a dangerous period when economic decline goes together with holding on to your military prowess.” (26:30, Wolff)

The Reality Behind Starbucks' Progressive Reputation (26:50–28:48)

• Starbucks is criticized for scheduling practices that prevent workers from qualifying for benefits, exposing the limits of “progressive” corporate narratives when corporate structure incentivizes profit above all else.

2. Main Theme: Revolt Against Sexual Abuse (28:48–55:42)

Why the Revolt Now? Economic Roots and Gender Roles (28:48–34:07)

• Dr. Harriet Fraad identifies economic shifts beginning in the 1970s (automation, globalization) as upending the male breadwinner model.
  • When men lost stable, well-paid jobs, women entered the workforce en masse, changing power dynamics at home and at work.
• The women's liberation movement empowered women ideologically, but no equivalent men’s movement arose to revisit male roles.
  • Quote (Fraad): “It was capitalist greed that motivated this huge change, but nonetheless it did.” (33:44)
  • Women, once economically dependent, now could support themselves, which destabilized traditional male dominance in both public and private domains.

Continuity and Change: Tolerance, Not Incidence, of Abuse (39:07–42:10)

• Sexual harassment and assault have always existed; what’s new is women’s refusal to accept it, empowered by economic independence and social movements.
  • Quote: “What's accelerated is women's courage to not tolerate this and to change the position from victim to accuser.” (39:34, Fraad)
• The household lord/serf dynamic is breaking down, with women demanding equality and partnership, not subordination.

The Limits of “Just Say No” Solutions (42:10–45:41)

• Wolff draws a parallel with failed “war on drugs” messaging, warning against simple moral injunctions as solutions.
  • Quote: “My fear is this will have no more effect on sexual assault and harassment than saying just say no has done anything for the drug problem in the United States.” (43:36, Wolff)
• Fraad calls for examining root causes and implementing structural changes, not just rhetoric.

Structural Economic and Social Solutions (45:41–54:24)

• Hierarchical workplace structures, with male order-givers and female subordinates, foster environments ripe for abuse.
  • Changes to workplace organization (e.g., democratic cooperatives) would dilute these power imbalances.
  • Quote: “Had that been a co-op where everyone was an equal…the employee was also the employer…this becomes much more difficult.” (47:22–47:25, Wolff)
• Fraad advocates changing early childhood education and care:
  • Increase pay and prestige for childcare workers (mostly women).
  • Normalize cross-gender roles in toys and upbringing; encourage emotional expression in boys.
  • Equip men to be nurturing, thereby reducing aggression and the need for dominance.
    • Example: Norway’s mandatory paternity leave and family leave for either parent, government-supported.
    • Quote: “The military has a horrendous level of sexual abuse… one out of four women is accosted and sexually abused in the military.” (50:28, Fraad)
• These address the deep roots of abuse—economic hierarchy and gender stereotypes.

Social Movements as Drivers of Change (54:24–55:32)

• Reliance on corporations or markets for solutions is misplaced given that their structures are part of the problem.

  • Systemic, structural shifts must be demanded through organized social movements.

  • Memorable Moment:

  • Wolff: “It’s the social movement, in this case, led by those that are revolting against old patterns of sexual harassment and abuse that we have to look to, to impose on the world through persuading people structural changes that can really alter this behavior.” (55:14)

  • Fraad: “Not just verbiage, not just. It was Nancy Reagan—‘just say no’ to drugs. Of course, they’re much worse than when she said it, because you have to change the structural problems in order to make a change.” (55:19)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the societal impact of economic decline:
  “You enter a dangerous period when economic decline goes together with holding on to your military prowess.” (26:30, Wolff)

• Describing the transformation in women’s role:
  “The majority of American women are now single and by choice...we needed partners in the home, partners in tenderness...” (36:07, Fraad)

• The limitations of piecemeal solutions:
  “Just say no. Exactly. And no matter how many years this has obviously been a failure in terms of solving the problem...My fear is this will have no more effect...” (42:35–43:36, Wolff)

• On co-ops as a solution to workplace harassment:
  “Had that been a co op where everyone was an equal or where the employee was also the employer...this becomes much more difficult.” (47:22–47:25, Wolff)

• A call for real structural change:
  “Of course, they’re much worse than when she said it because you have to change the structural problems in order to make a change.” (55:19, Fraad)

Timestamps for Critical Segments

• 00:10–07:20: Corporate Tax Cuts and the Race to the Bottom
• 07:20–11:45: Taxation of Graduate Students, U.S. Education Rankings
• 11:45–16:30: Homeownership and the Illusion of Economic Recovery
• 17:35–22:23: Valve Corporation – Worker Co-op Innovation
• 23:20–26:50: Nobel Peace Prize, Nuclear Weapons, and Economic Power Shifts
• 26:50–28:48: Starbucks Labor Practices – The Real Story
• 28:48–34:07: Fraad on Economic Roots of Changing Gender Roles
• 39:07–42:10: Shifting Tolerance of Sexual Abuse
• 42:10–45:41: “Just Say No” and the Limits of Moralizing
• 45:41–54:24: Workplace Hierarchies, Gendered Upbringing, and Concrete Reforms
• 54:24–55:32: Social Movements and Structural Demands

Conclusion

Wolff and Fraad compellingly link the #MeToo revolt and broader resistance to sexual abuse to deep structural changes in the economy, gender roles, and socialization. They argue that real progress depends on transforming workplace hierarchies, gender norms, and social organization—not just changing laws or attitudes. Only when movements focus on these roots, they contend, will the cycle of abuse break—and with it, the economic and social systems that have enabled it.