Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Episode: Globalization from Celebration to Condemnation
Date: December 23, 2025

Overview

In this episode, renowned economist Richard D. Wolff critically examines the history and shifting perception of globalization over the past half-century. Once hailed as a powerful force for prosperity and unity, globalization is now widely condemned in many circles. Wolff unpacks how and why the concept evolved from a universally celebrated idea to a scapegoat for economic and social problems, particularly among the U.S. working class. The episode explores who drove and benefited from globalization, who lost out, and how the resulting backlash fueled the rise of populist politics.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origins and Early Promise of Globalization

• Context:
  Globalization gained prominence in the 1970s-80s, describing the expansive reach of multinational corporations beyond their original borders (Western Europe, North America, Japan).
• Initial Framing:
  • Promoted as “a wonderful, mutually beneficial integration... of the world economy.”
  • Consumers learned that products from all over the world were staples of daily American life.
  • Claimed to be more efficient than relying solely on domestic sources of production.
• Corporate Motivation & Narrative:
  Corporations claimed that globalization would benefit everyone by:
  • Lowering costs through cheaper labor abroad.
  • Supposedly passing savings onto consumers.
  • Providing jobs in developing countries.
• Reality Check:
  • “If you lower the price because the cost is lower, then where's the profit for the company, which just spent a fortune moving the factory from Cincinnati to Shanghai, which did that, because it wants more profit, not to help the rest of us, let's be real.” — Richard Wolff [08:02]
  • Despite promises, consumers didn't see falling prices; profits went up instead.

2. The Hidden Costs: Who Lost Out?

• Ignored Victims:
  • Media, politicians, academics all “celebrated globalization,” while ignoring those harmed.
  • Profound economic pain for workers in industries offshored for cost-saving.
• Impact on U.S. Manufacturing:
  • Sectors most unionized and with the highest wages were hit hardest. These were “the best paid workers in the working class... so they became the target and they lost their jobs.” — Richard Wolff [14:05]
  • Predominantly affected: “White male Christian workers...the top of the heap for all the reasons, good and bad, of American culture.”
• Social Dislocation:
  • Factory closures devastated not just workers, but entire communities, leading to declining local economies, family hardship, and a broken “American Dream.”
  • “The machinist who has to take a job as a greeter in Walmart... the skilled worker who's now doing one of those phone call jobs where you try to hustle people out of their money in some semi honest way.” — Wolff [22:40]

3. From Pain to Political Backlash

• Seeking Redress:
  • Displaced workers sought help from both parties, but “got none”—politicians “happily spewing globalization nonsense.”
  • Rising anger and bitterness as the American family structure and expectations crumbled.
• Coping with Change:
  • Families tried to maintain lifestyles by adding second earners, incurring new expenses, and ultimately, borrowing more than any prior working class.
  • “The last 50 years of American capitalism sit on a mountain of debt. And in 2008, as you all know, it blew up... a lot of suffering.” — Wolff [25:55]

4. Rise of Right-Wing Populism

• Failure of Existing Institutions:
  • Established parties and mainstream media ignored the economic pain; academic circles were oblivious.
• Populist Appeal:
  • Right-wing politicians, led by Donald Trump, seized on the anger:
    “And along came some politicians from the right wing of America and said in the person of Mr. Trump, I hear you, I see you, I feel your pain. And I'm a different politician… I'm going to be the champion of all of you angry white male Christian workers who've gotten screwed.” — Wolff [27:20]
• Blame-Setting:
  • Immigrants and foreigners were scapegoated:
    “You know who did it to you? Immigrants... No, you know what globalization has really meant? The whole world is taking advantage of us.” — Wolff [28:25]
  • Globalization reframed as a disaster; politicians offered “America First” and “economic nationalism” as solutions.

5. Compare & Contrast: History Shows Alternatives

• It Didn’t Have to Be This Way:
  • In the 1930s, faced with massive unemployment, “the American working class went sharply to the left” and achieved significant social gains (Social Security, minimum wage, unemployment compensation, massive federal jobs program).
  • “Don’t tell me American workers have to go to the right. Not at all. They're doing it this time because of how globalization worked.” — Wolff [32:50]
• Globalization’s Real Beneficiaries:
  • Huge corporate profits; surging stock market primarily benefits the top 10% (who own 80% of stocks).
  • The promised benefits for the majority didn’t materialize:
    “A booming stock market is good for 10%, not for the other 90... we're worried because a trickle hasn't happened.” — Wolff [35:20]

6. Global Competitors and the New U.S. Response

• Shifting Power:
  • Nations like China, India, and Brazil used globalization to build their own industries, now outcompeting the U.S.
  • China especially leveraged technology transfers in exchange for market access.
• Corporations Seek Policy Change:
  • Now, those who profited most from globalization “are now proposing to reverse the game. America first. Tariffs, isolate us, expel the immigrants. They tell us it's what we need. It isn't. It's what the corporations need because they can't compete very well anymore.” — Wolff [37:13]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The people were overwhelmed. The media, the business leaders, the political leaders, the academics, everybody celebrated globalization. Nobody wanted to hear too much about those who were hurt.” — Wolff [10:50]
• “The very success of the manufacturing working class in America getting good job conditions, getting good unions, getting good wages, made them the most attractive workers for their bosses to lay off to replace with cheap workers.” — Wolff [13:25]
• “This is not a program that everybody will benefit from. It's a program that helps the same corporations, the ones who globalized and made a fortune and hurt the working class, are now proposing to reverse the game.” — Wolff [37:13]
• “What you get in a capitalist system is what's good for the capitalists. That's why you got to change the system and no longer be fooled by promises that are thin veneers for the profit driven system you and I know capitalism was and is.” — Wolff [39:10]

Important Timestamps

• 00:20 – 05:00: Introduction, background on globalization’s rise.
• 07:00 – 14:30: How corporations orchestrated and benefited from globalization; impact on U.S. workers.
• 21:00 – 28:00: The social fallout from globalization on families and communities; American working-class malaise.
• 27:20 – 32:00: The political turn to right-wing populism and scapegoating of immigrants/foreigners.
• 32:50 – 36:00: Historical alternative from the 1930s, labor’s leftward turn and real gains.
• 37:13 – 39:10: Warning against “economic nationalism”—it benefits capitalists, not workers.

Summary Takeaway

Richard Wolff’s episode is a critical, historically grounded look at the lifecycle of globalization in the U.S. Despite early celebrations, the reality for most working-class Americans was job loss, declining living standards, and growing debt. As globalization’s winners consolidated gains, the losers—largely ignored—eventually fueled a politics of resentment and right-wing backlash. Wolff cautions listeners not to trust simplistic promises, whether from globalization’s boosters or its nationalist detractors, and urges systemic change that prioritizes the needs of workers over corporate profits.