Episode Overview

Title: Economic Update: System Change - Then and Now
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Date: May 11, 2015

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics at The New School, delivers a critical examination of economic events and policies as of Spring 2015. The episode centers around the theme of systemic change—drawing historical parallels to question the sustainability and trajectory of capitalism—and discusses the development of alternatives such as worker cooperatives. Along the way, Wolff addresses pressing issues of the moment: student activism on climate investment, secretive trade deals, corporate mergers, estate taxes, shortcomings of capitalist health care, and the legitimacy of private property.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Student Fossil Fuel Divestment at Swarthmore College (00:43–04:14)

• Issue: Swarthmore students protested the college’s investment in fossil fuels.
• Administration's Response: Claimed divestment could cost $10–15 million in returns.
  • Wolff called this "absurd and childish and dishonest" (03:00), noting no one can predict market outcomes; indeed, recent fossil fuel stock collapses would have benefited divestment.
• Insight: The administration deflects a moral and environmental question into a financial guessing game.

Quote:
“To say that you know what’s going to happen is somewhere between dishonest and stupid. No one knows what’s going to happen in six to twelve months. No one.” — Richard D. Wolff [03:17]

2. Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Secrecy & Corporate Power (04:15–07:10)

• WikiLeaks Leaks: Raised alarm about secret negotiations with potentially far-reaching effects.
• Concern: TPP as a vehicle for corporations to override protective national laws regarding labor, environment, and consumers.
• Host’s Stance: Secretive negotiations and the rush to pass TPP undermine democracy and public protections.

Quote:
“What kind of pro-business shenanigans are going on that have to be conducted in secret like this?” — Richard D. Wolff [05:05]

3. Heinz and Kraft Merger: Corporate Power & Unemployment (07:11–10:55)

• Overview: Heinz and Kraft merge, forming a $100-billion food behemoth.
• Driver of Merger: “Cost savings”—code for layoffs, reduction of duplicate staff, and greater consolidation of control.
• Concern: More economic decisions concentrated in fewer hands, exacerbating unemployment and lack of public influence.

Quote:
“Every fewer numbers of people to be in the positions of power, like fewer and fewer are in the positions of wealth, with the rest of us required to live with the results, even though we have no power whatsoever to shape who these people are, what they do, etc.” — Richard D. Wolff [09:41]

4. China’s Real Estate Boom—A Bubble in the Making? (10:56–13:33)

• Observation: Rapid construction, massive borrowing, fears of oversupply and a potential crash reminiscent of the 2007–08 U.S. housing crisis.
• Key Point: Western banks, unable to sustain risky real estate loans at home, have fueled the Chinese bubble, showing the systemic tendency of capitalism to chase speculation worldwide—then crash.

Quote:
“After blessing one area of the world with its speculative manias and collapses, [capitalism] moves on to fresh territory.” — Richard D. Wolff [12:26]

5. Federal Estate Tax Repeal — A Gift to the Ultra-Rich (13:34–18:16)

• Event: House committee votes to gut the federal estate tax, which only affects the wealthiest 0.2% of Americans.
• Wolff’s Analysis: The estate tax aims to “level the playing field” and prevent inherited privilege; its repeal deepens inequality and shifts the tax burden to the public.
• Data Point: 99.8% of Americans paid zero estate tax; repeal will cost $269 billion over a decade.

Quote:
“We will all have to make up the $269 billion that the richest of the rich…the top two-tenths of one percent are being freed, liberated by the Republicans. It is an astonishing act.” — Richard D. Wolff [17:23]

6. Corporate Accountability: Graco’s Minimal Fines for Endangering Children (18:17–22:56)

• Situation: Graco Children’s Products fined $10 million for failing to recall 4 million faulty car seats.
• Wolff's View: The penalty amounts to “$2.50 per seat”—an ineffective deterrent.
• Broader Lesson: Capitalism places profit above safety; fines are often trivial compared to profit margins.

Quote:
“That works out to two and a half dollars per seat for a child. That’s called a slap on the wrist. Well, let’s be more honest—a tap on the wrist.” — Richard D. Wolff [20:44]

7. American Healthcare: High Costs, Poor Outcomes (22:57–27:17)

• Listener Question: Why is U.S. medical coverage so expensive yet so poor?
• Comparison: U.S. spends $8,500 per person per year (2010 data), more than any other wealthy nation (UK spends $3,400).
• Outcomes: UK ranks 1st in care quality, U.S. ranks last among 11 countries.
• Primary Cause: U.S. relies on a private, profit-driven medical system; UK has socialized, universal coverage.

Quote:
“We pay way more and we get way less in the way of health care. Anyone who wasn’t blind or biased beyond redemption would know there is something fundamentally wrong…” — Richard D. Wolff [25:53]

8. Who Owns the Economy? The Legitimacy of Private Property (Second Half: 27:18–35:55)

• Listener Question: Isn’t it fundamentally wrong that a few own so much property?
• Wolff’s Historical Take: Land—never created by humans—became private only through exclusion and force.
• Property’s Nature: Its core function is exclusion; most goods arise from collective effort, yet individual property rights dominate.
• Insight: The legitimacy of private property has never been fully justified; it’s a “profound moral, ethical, economic and political problem.”

Quote:
“Property is negative. Property is about exclusion. And property only exists…if you have ultimately the force to exclude.” — Richard D. Wolff [31:43]

9. Historical System Change: From Slavery to Feudalism to Capitalism (37:00–49:30)

• Historical Paths: Societies organized economies as tribes, then slaves/masters, then serfs/landlords, then workers/capitalists.
• Pattern: Each system eventually grew intolerable, leading to revolution and transformation.
• Modern Parallel: Widening inequality and power concentration are making capitalism unsustainable—mirroring crises that ended previous systems.

10. Where Does Change Come From? Coops as Prefigurative Alternatives (49:31–56:21)

• Analogy: Just as capitalism gestated within feudal towns, new alternatives are emerging now within capitalism itself.
• Central Hope: Worker cooperatives—enterprises owned and run democratically by workers—are growing worldwide, suggesting a practical, egalitarian replacement for the employer-employee relationship of capitalism.
• Examples: Manufacturing, services, tech, and beyond.
• Conclusion: As capitalism’s crises deepen (e.g., health care failures, inequality), cooperatives present a vision and practical model for systemic change.

Quote:
“That is where we need to look as the intolerability of capitalism makes itself more present in our world…as co-ops are beginning to show those who find this system intolerable an image, a vision, a possibility and an accumulated experience of how an economy and a society could be organized otherwise.” — Richard D. Wolff [55:55]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “No one knows what’s going to happen in six to twelve months. No one.” — [03:20]
• “After blessing one area of the world with its speculative manias and collapses, it moves on to fresh territory.” — [12:26]
• “That works out to two and a half dollars per seat for a child. That’s called a slap on the wrist.” — [20:44]
• “We pay way more and we get way less in the way of health care.” — [25:53]
• “Property is negative. Property is about exclusion…property only exists…if you have ultimately the force to exclude.” — [31:43]
• “Co-ops are beginning to show those who find this system intolerable an image, a vision, a possibility and an accumulated experience…” — [55:55]

Flow & Tone

Wolff’s explanations blend clarity, wit, and righteous indignation. He is direct (“shame on Swarthmore”), wry when debunking corporate excuses, and passionate about economic justice. His tone is educational, critical, at times sardonic, and always committed to empowering listeners with alternative perspectives.

Important Segments (Approximate Timestamps)

| Segment | Start Time | |-----------------------------------------------|------------| | Swarthmore Fossil Fuel Divestment | 00:43 | | TPP Secrecy | 04:15 | | Heinz-Kraft Merger | 07:11 | | China Real Estate Bubble | 10:56 | | Estate Tax Repeal | 13:34 | | Graco & Corporate Accountability | 18:17 | | U.S. Health Care vs. The Rest | 22:57 | | Private Property Legitimacy | 27:18 | | System Change through History | 37:00 | | Coops as Capitalist Alternatives | 49:31 |

Summary

“System Change—Then and Now” is a sweeping, incisive look at capitalism’s growing contradictions and the active search for alternatives. Wolff links immediate economic news to the deep historical dynamics of societal evolution, arguing we’re witnessing the cracks of the capitalist era—just as serfdom or slavery once ended—while new models, especially worker co-ops, take root. The episode is a call for listeners to question the perceived permanence of current systems, understand the moral failings and limitations of private property and profit-driven priorities, and engage with emerging economic democracy. The underlying message: systemic change is not only possible, it is already underway.