Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: "Insurgent Working Class and Organization"

Date: June 17, 2021
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: Professor Manny Ness

Episode Overview

This episode explores the economic and political dynamics of the global working class, focusing in particular on the insurgent energy of workers in the Global South and the challenges of transforming that energy into organized, sustained socialist movements. In the first half, Wolff updates listeners on American economic policies—specifically, shortcomings in Medicare, the impact of Trump’s tariffs on China, and profiteering in the pandemic-era healthcare industry. The second half features a rich conversation with Professor Manny Ness, author of Organizing Workers Movements in the Global South. Together, they discuss worldwide worker insurgency, the need for organization, and examples from regions where such movements are taking tangible form.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Medicare’s Incomplete Coverage (00:10–04:25)

• Wolff analyzes the historic failure of U.S. Medicare to include dental, vision, and hearing, critiquing the ongoing opposition to expanding these benefits.
  • Points out the contradiction in U.S. policy, which prefers tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy over broadening healthcare coverage.
  • “Why it only covered people over 65 rather than the population as a whole...is as much a mystery...as why it didn't cover dental, hearing, and vision care.” — Richard D. Wolff (01:18)

2. The Real Impact of Trump-Era China Tariffs (04:26–13:58)

• Refutes the common narrative that tariffs hurt China more than the U.S.:
  • “President Trump repeatedly said something that a first-year student in economics would flunk for...The payer of the tariffs...were the United States businesses, who...would pass the extra cost...onto the final consumer.” — Wolff (06:00)
  • Tariffs ultimately increased costs for U.S. firms and consumers, while Chinese firms became more efficient and found alternate markets.
  • “We stimulated [China] to be more productive, which in the medium and long run...is self-defeating for the United States.” — Wolff (08:02)
  • U.S. trade policy incentivized production shifts to countries like Vietnam, often with communist leadership, undercutting the stated anti-communist logic.
• Political theater replaced effective policy.

3. Profiteering in Pandemic Healthcare (13:59–15:56)

• Pharmaceutical companies promote annual booster shots and vaccine sales, motivated by profit rather than public health needs.
  • “Profit in the healthcare business is a bad combination.” — Wolff (15:50)
• Vaccine access and ethics raised; those unable to pay are left without.

Main Interview — Professor Manny Ness (16:06–28:46)

Defining the Global South: "Holding Up the World" (16:06–18:09)

• Ness explains that the Global South’s working class produces the commodities and goods consumed in the affluent North.
• Draws on Greek mythology (Atlas) as a metaphor:
  • “The majority of the working class in the world...produce almost anything that we consume, [and] live in places like India, South Asia, East Asia...Africa.” — Manny Ness (16:40)
  • The Global North’s prosperity relies on this often-invisible labor.

On "Insurgency": The Ever-Present Struggle (18:10–20:21)

• Workers everywhere, especially in the Global South, are described as being in “constant motion”—always resisting, protesting, and organizing.
  • “Workers are constantly in a process of struggle against their employers and their oppressors. This is not something unique to the Global South.” — Ness (18:40)
• Organization is critical; without it, insurgency is fleeting.

Insurgency vs. Organization: The Missing Link (20:22–22:21)

• Wolff asks if socialism everywhere is “insurgent, perhaps everywhere, but well organized, almost nowhere.” Ness agrees:
  • “Organization...will be as strong, if not absolutely stronger than the bosses, because the bosses will continue to fight even after socialism. This we learn from Marx...Lenin...classical and contemporary scholars.” — Ness (21:35)
• Stresses the need for principled, disciplined, and enduring socialist organizations—especially unions linked with parties—citing examples from his research.

Concrete Examples: Seeds of Organization (22:22–25:46)

• Micro and macro struggles are discussed:
  • In the Philippines, Marxist-Leninist unions are connected to political parties, organizing in both urban and crucially, rural areas.
  • In India, oppressed steelworkers build labor solidarity through organization, maintaining hope for systemic change.
  • South Africa’s Numsa union, led by Irvin Jim, is actively working towards a revolutionary future.
  • “I found highly principled...people in places like the Philippines who are organizing unions...there is a necessity to link a party with a union.” — Ness (23:25)
• Inequality is highlighted as an ongoing problem, especially in post-apartheid South Africa.

Can the Global South Lead the Way? (25:46–28:06)

• Wolff raises the idea that today the South, not the North, may be the global laboratory for socialism and organized working class power.
• Ness agrees:
  • “They’re fighting, and they’re fighting only because they’ve got organizations that are backing them.” — Ness (27:42)
• Advocates learning from the successes and failures of past revolutions to build societies rooted in justice and equality.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Why it only covered people over 65 rather than the population as a whole...is as much a mystery...as why it didn't cover dental, hearing, and vision care.” — Wolff (01:18)
• “President Trump repeatedly said something that a first-year student in economics would flunk for...The payer of the tariffs...were the United States businesses, who...would pass the extra cost...onto the final consumer.” — Wolff (06:00)
• “Profit in the healthcare business is a bad combination.” — Wolff (15:50)
• “The majority of the working class in the world...produce almost anything that we consume, [and] live in places like India, South Asia, East Asia...Africa.” — Ness (16:40)
• “Workers are constantly in a process of struggle against their employers and their oppressors. This is not something unique to the Global South.” — Ness (18:40)
• “Organization...will be as strong, if not absolutely stronger than the bosses, because the bosses will continue to fight even after socialism. This we learn from Marx...Lenin...classical and contemporary scholars.” — Ness (21:35)
• “They’re fighting, and they’re fighting only because they’ve got organizations that are backing them.” — Ness (27:42)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Medicare and U.S. Health Policy Critique: 00:10–04:25
• Evaluation of Trump’s China Tariffs: 04:26–13:58
• Healthcare Profiteering & COVID-19: 13:59–15:56
• Introduction to Professor Manny Ness: 16:06
• Defining the Global South and Worker Power: 16:06–18:09
• Insurgency in the Global South: 18:10–20:21
• Necessity of Organization: 20:22–22:21
• Examples of Successful Organization: 22:22–25:46
• Learning from the Global South: 25:46–28:06

Conclusion

This episode emphasizes the centrality of the Global South’s working class to the global economy, the perennial struggle between labor and capital, and the urgent need for strong, principled, and organized socialist organizations. Through both economic critique and practical examples of worker movements, Wolff and Ness encourage listeners to see the potential of the South to “show the way forward”—an invitation to study, support, and learn from the insurgent, organized struggles happening worldwide.