Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: Working Class History and the 2020 Election (REPEAT)

Date: December 30, 2021
Host: Richard D. Wolff

Overview

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff offers a sweeping historical analysis of the American working class's relationship with politics, focusing particularly on how this dynamic shapes the 2020 presidential election. By tracing a line from the Great Depression through the rise and fall of the New Deal coalition and into the present, Wolff unpacks how shifts in party allegiances and class unity have defined major turning points in US political and economic life. The episode explores how historic divisions, union power, party strategies, and a recurring backlash against working-class gains have led to today's polarized and frustrated electorate.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Working Class as a Pivotal Force (00:10 – 04:30)

• Wolff sets out to address the political and economic significance of the working class—namely, the roughly 150 million "non-supervisory" workers who are the backbone of the country.
• He highlights the inherent divisions within the working class (race, gender, skill, region) but emphasizes their historic moments of unity.
• Quote:

  “It has always been necessary for those at the top to find allies in the working class to survive... And that's what we're going to be sketching.” (02:16)

The Great Depression and the Birth of the New Deal Coalition (04:30 – 16:30)

• 1929 Crash: Wolff recounts the booming post-Civil War economy and its spectacular collapse in 1929, leading to mass unemployment (25% by 1933) and desperation.
• He describes the resulting radicalization: massive unionization, and the growth of socialist and communist parties.
• The New Deal Alliance:
  • Communists, socialists, and unions pressured Roosevelt to enact reforms in exchange for political support.
  • Notable Quote:

    “They had gotten a president to tax the rich and the corporations to provide a vast program of help and support to working men and women.” (16:00)

• Landmark Programs:
  • Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Minimum Wage laws, and massive federal jobs programs—all funded by taxing the wealthy.
• The working class then became the backbone of the Democratic Party, which, under FDR, was re-elected three times with overwhelming support.

Post-WWII Backlash: The Undoing of the New Deal (17:40 – 29:00)

• Republican and Business Response:
  • With Roosevelt’s death (1945), the business community and Republicans worked to undo the New Deal.
• Red Scare and Division:
  • Communists and socialists were vilified as “evil agents of a foreign power”—a strategy to break the coalition.
• Taft-Hartley Act (1947):
  • Critiqued for incentivizing the “free rider” problem, weakening unions, and triggering their decline.
  • Quote:

    “That marks the beginning of the downhill run of the labor movement, which was eviscerated in this way.” (21:45)

• Exacerbating Division:
  • Women, who had entered the workforce en masse during WWII, were pushed back into the household.
  • Racial discord was stoked to further fracture the working class.
  • Insight: Wolff identifies the origins of “modern identity politics” in these strategic divisions.

    “You built up the divisions within the working class to break them apart... and it worked, in large part.” (24:30)

The Neoliberal Turn: Clinton, Reagan, and the “Republican Light” Democrats (29:00 – 41:00)

• Democratic Retreat:
  • The party abandoned its roots as the working-class champion, with leaders like Bill Clinton courting capitalists instead.
  • Result: Both parties chased corporate and wealthy donors, with each appealing only to specific demographics in the working class (Republicans: white and male; Democrats: women, minorities).
• Reagan’s Legacy:
  • Reagan’s firing of air traffic controllers and aggressive union-busting marked a new era of hostility to workers and open celebration of globalization and offshoring.
  • Democrats offered only to “soften” the effects of these policies.
  • Quote:

    “The Democrats become Republican light. And that's not a winning strategy, not at all.” (36:00)

• Discontent grew as both parties largely allowed capitalists to maximize profits at the expense of stable, well-paying jobs.

The Rise of Populist Discontent and the Trump Phenomenon (41:00 – 47:00)

• Years of working-class frustrations led to widespread disdain for establishment politicians.
• Trump presented himself as a distinct, anti-establishment figure, capturing widespread working-class anger—particularly among white workers—by promising radical change.
• Quote:

  “If the only offer of something really different was Mr. Trump, well, they'll surprise everybody, raising their collective middle finger and vote for that, really hoping it'll make a change. No? Maybe. But what's to lose, as Mr. Trump himself said?” (44:30)

Lessons from Europe & The Crossroads for 2020 and Beyond (47:00 – end)

• Comparative Analysis:
  • Unlike the United States, European working classes held onto socialist/communist parties and unions, leading to broad social provisions (universal health care, subsidized education).
• Turning Point:
  • Wolff stresses the American working class is at a crossroads.
  • Key question: Will it re-forge unity and demand transformative change, as in the 1930s, or accept more of the same?
  • Quote:

    “No way is Mr. Trump gonna bring you any of that back. He's one of them... And the Democratic Party in 2020 will have to face that. If they go for someone like Mr. Biden, they're saying to the American working class, we've learned nothing from this history.” (49:15)

• He suggests only a new movement embodying old lessons—real working-class solidarity—can transform American politics.
• Final Challenge:

  “This election coming up in 2020 is a first step in figuring out whether the Democratic Party can rise to this situation, and if it can't, whether new and different parties will have to emerge that do learn the lesson of the history of the American working class...” (50:50)

Memorable Quotes

• On the necessity of alliances:

  “They couldn't run it the way they do … if the mass of people, the vast majority, the non-supervisory working class … didn't allow this to continue, it wouldn't.” (02:05)

• On the New Deal:

  “What an idea! … If the private capitalists of this country can't or won't hire millions of Americans who only ask for a job, then I will as president.” (14:52)

• On the undoing of working-class unity:

  “You could see the whole modern identity politics being born in this onslaught to undo the New Deal.” (24:00)

• On the failure of the establishment:

  “I'm not like every other politician. Oh, I wonder why you're saying that. I'm something new and different because that's what people wanted to hear.” (42:35)

• On the way forward:

  “It has to be something new and different ... but something old that we've learned from in terms of what the Democratic Party was in the 1930s, what it was, it can be again.” (49:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:10 – Introduction; defining the working class and setting up the historical narrative
• 04:30 – The impact of the 1929 crash and the mass radicalization of workers
• 09:00 – The rise of the New Deal: alliance of unions, socialists, communists, and Roosevelt
• 16:30 – Roosevelt’s reforms and the transformation of the Democratic Party
• 17:40 – Death of FDR and the coordinated pushback by Republicans and business leaders
• 21:45 – Taft-Hartley Act and the decline of unions
• 24:00 – Gender and racial division within the working class; origins of identity politics
• 29:00 – Clinton-era Democratic strategy of appealing to capitalists
• 32:00 – Reagan’s anti-union, pro-globalization policies
• 36:00 – Both parties’ alignment with capitalist interests; growing dissatisfaction
• 41:00 – Rise of populist messaging and Trump’s breakthrough
• 44:30 – Working-class support for Trump as a “middle finger” to the establishment
• 47:00 – Comparison with Europe; crossroads for American workers
• 49:15 – The challenge facing the Democrats and American workers in 2020
• 50:50 – Concluding thoughts; call for a new working-class movement

Tone & Language

Wolff’s tone throughout is direct, explanatory, and infused with moral urgency. He is critical of both parties for abandoning the working class, and his language is vivid (“raising their collective middle finger”), analytic, and peppered with historical anecdotes meant to galvanize listeners into collective action and critical thinking.

Summary

Richard D. Wolff’s episode is a compelling tour through American political and economic history, centering on the pivotal, but oft-divided, working class. He traces the rise of the New Deal and its destruction, highlights the consequences of a fractured labor movement, and argues that the 2020 election would be a key test for whether the lessons of history will be heeded, demanding a re-forging of true working-class solidarity, either within or outside the Democratic Party.