Podcast Summary: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Episode: The Economy from 2017 to 2018
Date: January 4, 2018

Overview

In this special episode of Economic Update, Richard D. Wolff takes a retrospective look at the economic events and social trends of 2017, connecting them to what might unfold in 2018. Rather than focusing on a single issue, Wolff identifies several major developments—such as the end of net neutrality, the MeToo movement, the Bitcoin phenomenon, persistent inequality, and the rise of populist politics. He interprets these through a critical, systemic lens, calling for democratization of the workplace and society at large.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The End of Net Neutrality (00:40 – 06:20)

• FCC Decision & Background:
  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by former Verizon lawyer Ajit Pai, rolled back net neutrality protections, enabling internet service providers (like Verizon) to prioritize or block content according to business interests.
• Core Conflict:
  The fight over net neutrality is framed as a battle between large corporations—those controlling access (e.g., Verizon) and those providing content (e.g., Google, Netflix). Both are self-interested and seek government intervention in ways that primarily benefit their profits, not the public.
• Public Consequences:
  Quote [04:45]:
  “Neither of the two groups that are fighting, those who want to keep the rules and those who want to change them, are interested in us. They are all profit making capitalist companies and big ones to boot. They are looking out for their bottom line.” — Richard D. Wolff
• Alternative Solution:
  Wolff suggests treating the internet as a public utility (as Finland does), serving public interests rather than private profit.

2. The Transformational Impact of the MeToo Movement (06:50 – 16:50)

• Workplace Power Dynamics:
  In 2017, a surge in reports about sexual harassment—led by figures like Susan Fowler (Uber), Rose McGowan (Hollywood), and Tarana Burke (MeToo movement)—exposed not just personal abuses but deep structural inequalities at work.
• Underlying Issue:
  The hierarchical and undemocratic structure of most workplaces, where a small group (“the board of directors or top executives”) wields disproportionate power, fosters environments ripe for various kinds of abuse.
• Systemic Solution:
  Wolff advocates restructuring workplaces as worker cooperatives, where power is shared democratically.
• Memorable Analogy [13:40]:
  “If you go back and you read about kings and emperors and czars, people who had power in a whole society, rather like the power that a board of directors has at a workplace… all the ways that those kinds of people, kings and emperors, abused, including in sexual ways, their authority. We got rid of kings… What about the government inside the workplace? Why isn’t it accountable?”

3. Bitcoin and the Dangers of Speculation (16:55 – 23:40)

• Origins and Promise:
  Bitcoin, as a decentralized currency, taps a long-standing fascination with alternative monies. Wolff recounts early U.S. history—multiple local currencies—before national unification.
• Speculative Frenzy:
  The late-2017 surge in Bitcoin’s price is compared to historical manias, most notably “Tulip Mania” in 18th century Holland. People are not buying Bitcoin as money, but as an investment to profit from future price increases.
• Warning [22:30]:
  “Everyone thinking of playing with bitcoins has to understand this is just another crazy speculation… it ends badly. … Like every other speculation of its kind, it ends badly.”
• Bigger Picture:
  Such speculative bubbles are a recurring, dangerous feature of markets, questioning their fitness as a means for resource distribution.

4. Rising Inequality and Systemic Instability (24:30 – 29:55)

• Widening Gap:
  Continuing a multi-decade trend, wealth keeps concentrating at the top, across nearly every major economy, thanks to the dynamics of global capitalism.
• Destructive Cycle:
  As the wealthy few accumulate more, the purchasing power of the many shrinks, creating self-defeating imbalances.
• Global Context:
  European economies are only beginning to emerge from a “lost decade” (2007–2017), in which millions suffered joblessness, lost homes, and lasting personal devastation.
• Quote [27:50]:
  “Capitalism is a fundamentally unstable system and we’ve just come through a 10-year collapse. Even if there is a recovery, what are we doing keeping a system that works like this?”

5. Prison Labor and Modern “Slavery” in California (29:55 – 33:00)

• Firefighter Labor Disparity:
  In fighting California’s devastating fires, 7–10% of the workforce are prisoners, paid a pittance ($2/day + $1/hr) compared to free workers ($10.50–$41/hr).
• 13th Amendment Loophole:
  The U.S. Constitution bans slavery “except as punishment for crime,” allowing exploitation of prison labor.
• Critique [32:25]:
  “Folks, that’s slave labor… that’s making use of people who are not free and paying them very little. It’s only possible because the 13th amendment of the United States Constitution… made an exception.”
• Systemic Harm:
  Such arrangements exploit and degrade prisoners, while also depressing wages and opportunities for free workers.

6. Consumerism and the Meaning of Work (35:00 – 44:40)

• Overemphasis on Materialism:
  The post-Christmas buying frenzy is analyzed as a symptom, not of human nature, but of an economic system that makes consumption the main reward for (often unrewarding) labor.
• Work as Disutility:
  Economics teaches that labor is a “disutility”—something unpleasant to be endured for the sake of consumption, leading people to overvalue consuming goods.
• Alternative Vision [43:10]:
  “Why did you or I or anyone accept that you can be made to work 40 hours a week at an unpleasant, unsatisfying job, but should say nothing about it because you got paid and could consume? … The quality of the work life ought to have been, ought always to have been ever every bit as important as the payment for it.”

7. The Gathering Revolt & Rise of Populism (45:00 – 57:05)

• Populist Movements Across the Globe:
  Anger over growing debt and inequality is fueling rebellions against established political parties and economic orthodoxy—seen in Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour in the UK, the defeat of Roy Moore in Alabama, the rejection of French Socialists and Conservatives in favor of newcomer Macron.
• Populism Explained:
  Wolff distinguishes between left- and right-wing populism: the right blames immigrants and the poor; the left seeks solidarity among marginalized groups and targets systemic economic inequity.
• End of the Old Order [54:20]:
  “The one thing that seems clear is that the old is dying, that the center cannot hold, that the establishment is wobbling. All of the key promises of the establishment of the last 20 years in economics have dissolved.”
• Urgency & Hope:
  Young people, squeezed and burdened by debt and insecurity, are recognizing the need for collective action and social movements. Quote [56:30]:
  “Social problems are never solved by individual people. Social problems are solved by social movements.”
• Final Reflection [57:00]:
  “It is a good time to be alive because there’s a reckoning underway and there are winds of change. And I personally… see the potential of those changes as enormously positive and well worth the effort to shape and to participate in.”

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Net Neutrality Sides:
  “Neither of the two groups that are fighting…are interested in us. They are all profit making capitalist companies and big ones to boot.” — Richard D. Wolff (04:45)
• On Workplace Power:
  “Tiny group of people with enormous power over the livelihoods, the jobs, the career futures, the opportunities of a large number. Does that sound democratic? No, it doesn’t, does it?” (10:45)
• On Bitcoin Mania:
  “Everyone thinking of playing with bitcoins has to understand this is just another crazy speculation… it ends badly.” (22:30)
• On Inequality:
  “As more and more of the wealth of the world is concentrated in a few people at the top… the less the purchasing power of the many.… The very inequality destroys itself and eventually it blows societies up.” (25:45)
• On Prison Labor:
  “Folks, that’s slave labor… making use of people who are not free and paying them very little. It’s only possible because the 13th amendment… made an exception.” (32:25)
• On Work & Consumption:
  “You are taught to think that labor is acceptable as a burden, as an unpleasantness, as a drag, because it is adequately compensated. If you’re properly paid, of course, then you come to value consumption.” (41:00)
• On Populist Revolt:
  “The old is dying, that the center cannot hold, that the establishment is wobbling.” (54:20)
• On Collective Action:
  “Social problems are never solved by individual people. Social problems are solved by social movements.” (56:30)

Conclusion

Richard D. Wolff uses the lens of economic democracy to challenge mainstream narratives about 2017's landmark events. He urges listeners to recognize the systemic roots of inequality, workplace abuse, speculative bubbles, and political disenchantment, advocating for fundamental changes—especially more democratic workplaces and social movements—to achieve real, lasting progress.