Economic Update Extra: The Immigration Issue and Capitalism (Cont'd)

Podcast: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Episode Air Date: October 17, 2018
Episode Focus: The economic roots of immigration, responsibility of wealthy nations, and the role of capitalism in creating and perpetuating migration.

Episode Overview

In this exclusive "Economic Update Extra," Richard D. Wolff expands upon his analysis of immigration by exploring its deep ties to global capitalism and economic inequality. He challenges widely-held narratives blaming immigrants for economic hardship and calls on listeners to recognize both historic and systemic responsibilities held by wealthy nations. Wolff critiques political manipulation of the immigration issue, underscores the unused productive capacity in the U.S. economy, and offers a passionate call to reject scapegoating in favor of economic honesty and reform.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Political Weaponization of Immigration

• Blaming the Vulnerable:
  Wolff notes that far-right parties have rallied support primarily around anti-immigrant sentiment, capitalizing on public dissatisfaction and economic insecurity.
  • “Nothing else has served them this way as beating up on immigrants, telling a story that the economic suffering of these societies has somehow the fault of or linked to or caused by letting immigrants into their societies.” (00:41)

2. Economic Inequality as the Root Cause

• Unequal Development Drives Migration:
  Immigration is a rational response to economic disparity between wealthy and poor regions.
  • “A large portion... of immigration is driven by economic inequality... People in the poor parts of the world like to move to the areas where what they can earn a living, get a job, take care of their families, give their kids a leg up in life.” (01:25)
  • Emphasis that migration is a last resort, undertaken only under extreme duress.

3. The Role of Wealthy Nations and Global Capitalism

• Complicity in Creating Migration Pressures:
  Wolff critiques the notion that wealthy nations are passive bystanders, arguing that capitalist development concentrates wealth and underdevelops other regions.
  • “It's exactly the opposite. Capitalism is more than ever a global economic system. Wealth has been concentrated by capitalism in a very few places... Those places used the rest of the world as a place to get raw materials and food shipped ... but without allowing development to happen.” (03:10)
  • Partial blame rests on local actors, but Western corporations are far from innocent.

4. Historical Parallels with Domestic Migration

• Internal Migration as a Capitalist Feature:
  The movement from rural to urban in U.S. history mirrors today's international migration patterns.
  • “The history of the United States is a migration of people off of the countryside to the city. ... Migration is part of how capitalism works.” (05:05)

5. Moral & Practical Responsibility

• Recognition of Responsibility:
  Wolff insists the U.S. and Europe must acknowledge their roles and actively help migrants, not scapegoat them.
  • “Expelling immigrants, treating them badly, herding them into camps, making them live in the worst parts of town... that's not an acceptance of responsibility, and it's not consistent with any modern religious commitment whatsoever.” (06:05)

6. Economic Myth-Busting: Capacity Utilization

• There Is Space for All:
  Wolff cites U.S. Federal Reserve statistics showing significant unused productive capacity.
  • “As of August 2018... the capacity utilization of the United States is 78%. What does that mean? It means that 22% of the capacity to produce is sitting idle. So if you're wondering, do we have the tools and equipment... to allow human beings to... produce wealth?... Yep, we do.” (07:10)
  • The failure to employ immigrants or the unemployed is not due to economic impossibility, but because of profit-driven limitations.

7. The Systemic Problem: Profit Motive Over Human Need

• Profit as an Obstacle:
  Private capitalists don’t fill available jobs if doing so isn’t profitable—affecting both immigrants and native workers.
  • “Private capitalists who have to make a profit to employ someone, they're not doing it... But the problem of immigration isn't, therefore the immigrant. It's the inability of a profit-driven system to use the industrial capacity it has...” (08:18)

8. Call to Reject Scapegoating and Tackle Real Issues

• Demand Economic Honesty:
  Blaming immigrants only diverts attention from capitalism's flaws and deepens societal division.
  • “Blaming the immigrant is an ignorant as well as cynical and unkind way of getting out of the difficulty. This has to be said. It has to be said loudly...” (09:15)

9. The Danger of Rising Nationalism

• Warning About Political Polarization:
  Wolff points to the actions of Steve Bannon and the internationalization of anti-immigrant nationalism.
  • “Steve Bannon... is going around the world organizing nationalist political parties that are anti-immigrant into an international alliance... He foresees a future of this kind of split in the world.” (10:15)
  • A more divided world will only intensify conflict and suffering.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "People don't do that easily. They do it under extreme duress."
  • Richard D. Wolff on the difficulty and emotional toll of migration (02:10)
• "We are not innocent bystanders. And because we bear part of the responsibility for the inequalities and unevenness of capitalism's development of the world, we bear some responsibility in dealing with the results."
  • Highlighting collective responsibility (05:35)
• "Of course they could be given jobs, of course they could be paid properly. There's no problem at all… it's our system that prevents us from doing it."
  • Wolff on the artificiality of economic barriers (08:50)
• "It never was [an economic necessity], it isn’t now, and it’s long past time to get up and say so."
  • Final insistence on confronting the real issues (11:45)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Introduction, context of discussion
• 00:41 – The rise of anti-immigrant politics
• 01:25 – Economic inequality driving migration
• 03:10 – The global role of capitalism in creating migration
• 05:05 – Internal migration and capitalism's dynamic
• 06:05 – Moral responsibilities of wealthy nations
• 07:10 – U.S. capacity utilization statistics
• 08:18 – Profit motive as limiting employment
• 09:15 – The folly of scapegoating migrants
• 10:15 – Steve Bannon and international nationalist alliances
• 11:45 – Call to reject false narratives and take action

Tone & Style

Wolff’s delivery is passionate, direct, and unapologetically critical of mainstream economic narratives and policy failures. He combines economic analysis with historical context and moral appeal, advocating for systemic reform and honest public conversation.

Summary Takeaway

Richard D. Wolff’s analysis dismantles myths about the economic necessity of anti-immigrant sentiment, instead exposing the central role of global capitalism in creating migration pressures. He urges listeners to focus on addressing systemic economic issues rather than scapegoating vulnerable groups and warns of the dangers of rising nationalism if this approach persists.