Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. Michael Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and President of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends. He researches domestic and international finance, the history of economics, and the role of debt in shaping class stratification, among many other topics. This is Richard's sixth appearance on Robinson's Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism; in #154, they focused on the myths surrounding Marxism and Marx himself; in #190 they covered the Israel-Palestine conflict from a Marxist perspective; in #222 they assessed the end of the American Empire; and in #230, they talked about the 2024 election. This is Michael's fourth appearance on the show. In episode #180, he and Robinson discussed neoliberalism, industrial capitalism, and the rentier economy; in #198 they talked about Marxism, economic parasites, and contemporary debt cancellation; and in #220, they cover the history of debt cancellation in the ancient world. But in this episode, Richard, Michael, and Robinson turn back to the present, and more particularly they focus on the role of Marxism in shaping today's world and how ignoring his work is contributing to the rapid decline of the west. They touch on the role of Marxism in an economics education, the connections between communism, socialism, and capitalism, the crumbling American empire, the 2024 election, Russia and Ukraine, China and the BRICS, the strength of the dollar, Das Kapital, Paul Krugman, myths about Karl Marx, and more. Richard's latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024). Michael's most recent book is Temples of Enterprise (ISLET, 2024).

Richard's Website: https://www.rdwolff.com

Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate

Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism

Michael's Website: https://michael-hudson.com

Temples of Enterprise: https://a.co/d/a3c53dm

OUTLINE

00:00 Introduction

00:51 Michael and Rick's Histories with Marx

16:50 A Marxless Education

29:42 Marxism and the West

35:18 Marx and the Emergence of Capitalism

43:59 Socialism Vs State Capitalism

49:21 The Culmination of Economics in Marx

57:16 The Crucial Features of Marxism

1:12:15 Marx, China, and the BRICS

1:25:57 The Laws of Motion of Finance Capitalism

1:28:58 Why Won't Mainstream Media Interview Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff?

1:42:16 Why is the American Empire Crumbling?

1:54:51 Is the Dollar Destroying the United States?

2:01:38 Marx as the Culmination of Classical Economics

2:10:19 Will Trump's China Tariff Policy Spell Disaster for America?

2:22:43 Is Trump's Policy on Russia Idiotic?

2:27:23 Does It Matter for America Who Wins the Election?

2:37:13 Michael's Rhetorical Abilities

2:43:54 How Can We Use Economics to Forecast the Future?

2:54:48 Does Paul Krugman Know Anything About Economics?

2:57:57 How Michael Got His PhD

3:04:59 What's Wrong With the Nobel Prize in Economics?

3:10:04 The Long and Short of Marx's Kapital

3:17:20 Capitalism and Labor

3:31:51 The Biggest Myth About Karl Marx

Robinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

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234 - Richard Wolff & Michael Hudson: Karl Marx and the Fall of the West

Robinson's Podcast