Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: Worker Coops as our Economic Future
Date: May 25, 2017
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: John Curl

Episode Overview

This episode of Economic Update explores the promise and history of worker cooperatives as a systemic solution to growing economic inequality and corporate autocracy. Richard D. Wolff is joined by John Curl, author and veteran cooperative organizer, for an in-depth interview on the current state, historical roots, and future potential of worker coops in North America. Key economic news from the week includes analysis of the Trump administration's federal budget proposal, mass layoffs at Ford, the opioid crisis, international policy updates, and reflections on alternative economic models.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Trump Administration’s Proposed Federal Budget

• Segment: 05:30–15:45
• The budget is an "extreme right-wing Republican program" focused on:
  • Major increases in defense spending.
  • Sharp tax cuts favoring corporations and the wealthy.
  • Deep cuts to social programs: EPA (-31% in one year), Medicaid (contradicting campaign promises), student aid, and more.
  • Likely result: increased economic inequality, social instability, and further erosion of the so-called "American Dream."
• Notable quote:
  “This is a president who may have pretended for a while that he was something new... What this budget shows, as many other things have shown, is that’s not quite accurate.” — Richard D. Wolff (15:07)

2. Corporate Autocracy in Focus: Ford Motor Company Layoffs

• Segment: 15:45–22:25
• Ford’s CEO, Mark Fields, steps down after a decline in sales and stock price, having received $60M+ in compensation.
• Ford announces a 10% cut to its U.S. workforce, meaning 10,000 jobs lost.
• Wolff critiques the undemocratic nature of corporate governance: 15 unelected board members controlling the fate of tens of thousands without accountability.
• Notable quote:
  “A tiny number of people, 15 to be precise, had a meeting, made a decision to fire 10,000 American employees... There’s no democracy here at all. This is an autocracy.” — Richard D. Wolff (20:04)

3. Economic Roots of the Opioid Crisis

• Segment: 22:25–27:30
• Heroin-related U.S. overdose deaths rose by 286% from 2002 to 2013.
• While use has increased fastest among women and white populations, the crisis is rooted in economic decline, lack of opportunity, and inadequate healthcare.
• Connection drawn between the economic instability of late capitalism and rising substance abuse/deaths.
• Notable quote:
  “It could be coincidence that the economic decline of American capitalism... hurt so many people, particularly white working class people...” — Richard D. Wolff (26:03)

4. Democratic Alternatives Abroad: Policy Updates

• Segment: 27:30–31:00
• Switzerland votes to phase out nuclear energy by referendum, despite lobbying from the nuclear power industry.
• Canada passes a law banning airline overbooking after the United/Dr. Dao incident, contrasting with the lack of regulatory response in the U.S.
• U.S. administration reverses promises to reinstate Glass-Steagall banking reforms.
• Harley Davidson shifts production abroad due to declining U.S. sales, laying off American workers.
• Notable quote:
  “Canada isn’t relying on airline management. It passed a law... increases the service quality to people who buy tickets.” — Richard D. Wolff (29:40)

5. Worker Cooperatives: History, Viability, and Future

With John Curl, Author and Co-op Veteran

• Segment: 32:01–57:12

Are Worker Coops “Against Human Nature”?

• Curl: Cooperation is intrinsic to human society; competitive, individualist behaviors are socially exaggerated by the current system.
• “Human society could not exist without cooperation... The overwhelming majority of people are very cooperative.” — John Curl (32:50)
• Wolff: Capitalism’s overemphasis on competition is manufactured and not “natural,” analogous to naturalizing slavery in previous eras. (34:41)

Worker Coops: Current Trends and Growth

• Rapid growth in demand and formation of coops, driven both by need and by growing disillusion with corporate structures.
• Co-ops are not just economic but social structures, elevating communities collectively. (37:44)
• Many now see coops as a viable, “normal” economic option—not just a last resort.

Marginalization of the Worker Coop Model

• Some attempt to pigeonhole coops as only for the poor or “marginalized,” ignoring their broader systemic potential.
• Curl: “We’re not in a society where there’s a small group of poor people who can be raised up and then everything is fine… [Co-ops are] the only solution.” (45:28, 46:58)

Coops among Indigenous and Community Enterprises

• In Native American communities, collective/tribal enterprises are analogous to coops, rooted in community decision-making and resource-sharing. (40:55)

6. Public Policy and the Cooperative Future

• Segment: 48:20–57:12
• Noted that major party candidate Bernie Sanders gave only a “nod” to coops in his platform, while Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party in the UK is proposing robust support:
  • Right of first refusal for employees to turn businesses into coops.
  • Government lending to support worker buyouts (51:50).
• UN has called for governments to partner with coops as a sustainability goal.
• Curl: Society needs to be structured to support cooperatives; the role of government should be to foster the “soil” for cooperative growth, not top-down socialism.
• Both Wolff and Curl highlight the hypocrisy of claims that coop development “unfairly” seeks government help—given the vast, ongoing historic support for traditional capitalist enterprise.
• Notable quote:
  “There’s no such thing as an unregulated economy... How they use the terms of freedom to describe this economic system is just a way to get people distracted from seeing the realities.” — John Curl (56:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wolff on inequality:
  “This is a society heading into very dangerous conditions and times.” (15:44)
• Wolff on corporate power:
  “Getting rid of monarchy in politics is kind of half a step to recognizing we have monarchy in our corporate sector.” (21:08)
• Curl on human nature:
  “There are a small number of people who do not have a cooperative gene, but the overwhelming majority are very cooperative.” (32:50)
• Curl on future prospects:
  “In my opinion, in order to make the world work for our grandchildren... we need to structure a different kind of economics for people.” (45:28)
• On choice and democracy in work:
  “It really would only be possible to give the American people a choice... if you develop such a sector the way Mr. Corbyn in London is trying to do.” — Richard D. Wolff (54:03)
• Curl on government support for coops:
  “There’s no such thing as an unregulated economy… it’s just a matter of how that economy is going to be regulated.” (56:20)

Important Timestamps

• 02:46–05:18: Left Forum overview with Prof. Kristen Lawler
• 05:30–15:45: Analysis of the Trump budget and its social impacts
• 15:45–22:25: Ford layoffs & corporate governance critique
• 22:25–27:30: Opioid/Heroin crisis & economic causes
• 27:30–31:00: News items: Switzerland (nuclear phase-out), Canada (airline law), US (Glass-Steagall, Harley Davidson)
• 32:01–57:12: Deep dive: Worker cooperatives with John Curl

Summary: Takeaway

This episode lays out a convincing critique of current economic trends—rising inequality, unaccountable corporate power, and the social fallout of neoliberal policies—while positioning worker cooperatives as a practical and humane alternative. Special guest John Curl demonstrates, from both lived and historical perspectives, the validity and necessity of economic democracy. The episode closes with a call for policy frameworks, government support, and social imagination to allow the full flowering of cooperative economics as our collective future.