Economic Update: Socialism VS Covid 19: A Very Different Story

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Economic Update: Socialism VS Covid 19: A Very Different Story
8,713 views•Jun 8, 2020

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Democracy At Work
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[S10 E22] Socialism VS Covid 19: A Very Different Story

**Economic Update is a @Democracy At Work production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads. Please consider supporting our work. Donate one time or become a monthly donor by visiting us at democracyatwork.info/donate or become a patron Economic Update on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/economicupdate. Your contributions help keep this content free and accessible to all. Now more than ever, sharing Prof. Wolff's message is critical.

On this week's show, Prof. Wolff explores what a socialist response to COVID-19 would have looked like. The US has 5% of the world's population but 30% of the world's Covid-19 deaths. US capitalism did poorly against the virus. Today's program explores how socialism could and would prepare for and respond to Covid-19 differently. We include both the logic of socialism's different policies and examples of socialist-influenced policies in other countries.
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Prof. Wolff's latest book "Understanding Socialism"
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/democra...

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177 Comments
Auggie Giuseppe
Add a public comment...
Richard Owens
Richard Owens
12 hours ago
As our economy and our society deteriorates into chaos and pandemonium, we cannot claim that we were not warned.

59


Jason Milton
Jason Milton
9 hours ago (edited)
I grew up as conservative, but after the terrible administration of Bush W. and the Trump Regime.. I am now a Socialist! Capitalism is basically modern-day slavery for the middle class.

42


George Citizen
George Citizen
2 days ago (edited)
We need hundreds of “Professor Wolff” in this country. Thank you

72


Mirna M. Mejias
Mirna M. Mejias
11 hours ago
Cuba did a fantastic job fighting COVID-19. The government literally monitored every single person, so as soon as anybody showed symptoms they got isolated for 28 days, including everyone that was in contact with the suspected patient. Then, they tested all those people in isolation several times. Never got into the "hospitals collapsed" phase. We even were able to send hundreds of medical personnel to many other countries to help.

50


Bob Ramsay
Bob Ramsay
9 hours ago (edited)
Rememder this: Your only status on this earth and your relationship to others is as a "Human being", and collectively our ultimate human product, is our Society!
Thank you!, Proff. Wolff for your great work.

10


Yeska
Yeska
11 hours ago (edited)
The capitalist system is failing at an epic scale.

50


Papa Joe White
Papa Joe White
10 hours ago
I would LOVE to join - However, I am now unemployed - didn't get the "stimulus" and after 5 weeks still getting roadblocks from #TNGovt UE dept.

10


tathagat singh
tathagat singh
12 hours ago
Thank You Professor Wolff

30


etikkboksen
etikkboksen
10 hours ago
Question: Is Democracy At Work run as a worker co op?

10


The Dude
The Dude
2 days ago
Thank you for all you do to educate us Prof Wolff!!

22


DerekSpeare
DerekSpeare
8 hours ago (edited)
The US is not the richest nation in the world.  It is the nation that gives the most to world's richest people and the least to the poorest.  The US is a poor nation with many rich people who live in it.

19


Dinner with Franklin
Dinner with Franklin
11 hours ago
Thank you for answering this question Professor.  I hear it a lot.

7


Andreas Kreissl
Andreas Kreissl
10 hours ago (edited)
Is the US a kind of an totalitarian system? Or is it "only" filled with capitalistic super predators fed by a broken and manipulated political system?

6


Robert Shorthill
Robert Shorthill
11 hours ago
Yes, there is no excuse for what's taken place in the last few months in our country and it's deplorable.  tRump needs to be held responsible.

9


Rebecca Conn
Rebecca Conn
8 hours ago
Capitalism is an epic fail.  Proof: the first thing successful capitalists buy is socialism for themselves.  Trillions in socialism for the richest capitalists, diddly squat for human beings.

3


Dan Powell
Dan Powell
9 hours ago
So good, thank you. Isn't it funny that socialism is simple just letting people decided what is best for themselves, so demacracy haja

3


stratacat2000
stratacat2000
4 hours ago
US, Europe getting back SAME CHAOS they were sowing around the world

1


m m
m m
5 hours ago
My eyebrow only raised when you said "aftermath".

The protests are still happening.



OgloCop
OgloCop
7 hours ago
The question that really interests me is how do we go specifically go about converting the economy into a worker-coop socialist one.

1


Sid N
Sid N
11 hours ago
Thank you Professor Wolff

3


Ben rain
Ben rain
10 hours ago
This should be explain on Fox News so there can be real change; soon!

1


Archaic Revival
Archaic Revival
10 hours ago
What is the purpose of the Covid war? Have you read the 2010 Rockefeller Foundation Lockstep document? Are you ready for the "Great Reset?"

1


Pav
Pav
8 hours ago
Thank you Professor! Another excellent update

1


Zola Jia
Zola Jia
9 hours ago
Thank u professor for ur consistent contribution👍

1


Joonas Pastila
Joonas Pastila
1 hour ago
I fully support workplace democracy, but I do not believe it alone can fullfill all the roles of state, for example in a case of pandemic.
Coops still would exist in a market place. Sure they wouldn't have a never ending need to expand, nor an incentive to optimise everything, but they still would feel taking necessary but low probability precautions as a major price to pay. From every worker. I wouldn't want to work in a workplace that constantly needs to manage emergency equipment, emergency plans, protective gear against various threats, and scenarios. I don't know if I would vote against them, but I would at least need convincing.

Neither would every workplace doing it individually make sense. Should the face-mask factory be obligated to stockpile masks for whole nation? Who would compensate them?

No, even under democratic work, socialism trough collective worker ownership of means of production, state is needed. Some level of planned economy is needed. Taxation, if the economy is not fully planned, is needed.

 Precisely so things like pandemic responses can be planned for efficiently, without every single worker having to worry about it and vote about it alongside their work issues.

So I don't agree that it would be in the workers interests to have a pandemic plan for their workplace: it is in the workers interests that a state under democratic control, a byrocracy, takes care of such issues.

Not only is it more efficient, not only does it utilise expertise better, but most importantly it lets me to worry about my work, instead of  quite literally everything bad that could happen in the world.

1


James Provost
James Provost
9 hours ago
45 Million Americans living below Poverty.  Unknown how many are homeless.  In Los Angeles area 971 homeless died last year.  Many more this year thanks to COVID-19.

2


Mark Evans
Mark Evans
1 hour ago
“We, in Africa, have no more need of being 'converted' to socialism than we have of being 'taught' democracy. Both are rooted in our past, in the traditional society which produced us." "No nation has the right to make decisions for another nation; no people for another people." — Julius Nyerere

“We don't want police here": Land of the real-life Robin Hood
With virtually no police, crime or unemployment, meet the Spanish town described as a democratic, socialist utopia
https://www.salon.com/2013/07/25/we_dont_want_police_here_land_of_the_real_life_robin_hood/

Statement by Mr. Che Guevara (Cuba) before the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 1964
https://youtu.be/bufHojkoGtw

¡Hasta la victoria siempre y viva la revolución!



Eldridge Davis
Eldridge Davis
11 hours ago
Great video

2


Scot Forsythe
Scot Forsythe
9 hours ago (edited)
Wolf report oowwwwooooh!



B.J.W.
B.J.W.
6 hours ago
I wish they had of started to teach me this in grade school just like they did Capitalism! Now I am just an old worn out old man.



Juliette Rose
Juliette Rose
8 hours ago
Could you argue our police force/ military is socialist? Not one city hesitated to put riot gear on their officers but God forbid we give our healthcare workers a mask.

3


Derek Horwat
Derek Horwat
1 hour ago
Proff Wolf can u rally ur colleagues asking for change from the gov?



Tom Mallard
Tom Mallard
6 hours ago
Preventative medicine seems intentionally underfunded, not forgotten, part of this pandemic needs a fast & cheap solution, tests don't improve immunity.

To gain immunity for over 40% of urbanites VitaminD tabs freely distributed at all food venues will control it better than a vaccine to any statistical view by raising basic immunity, found to jump it 70% in deficient people.

So, improving the bottom half of society, really, they needing it the most is done by improving general health needs a diet isn't adequate for too many.

Too bad there a chicken in the coop.



Henry Rollins
Henry Rollins
2 hours ago
Take a look at Argentina...!



David Woolnough
David Woolnough
2 hours ago
Sound advice from Professor Wolff.  If I were a youngster today this is definitely the direction that I would travel.



Big G Haywood
Big G Haywood
3 hours ago
My employer was in a hurry to re-open after having to close in late March.  They re-opened on May 11th, and by May 21st they announced to all of us that they were going to close down one entire shift.  So, instead of operating 3 shifts, they cut it to 2 shifts.  Now, being a Marxist, I foresaw this coming.  I knew that they had been running and filling their warehouse since March 1st because most of our customers had been closed; so they were manufacturing products for no one.   They now are dealing with what Marx called "the crisis of overproduction."

But, all of that aside, they announced today that they are going to require those of us who still have a job there to begin working 10-hour shifts, next week, instead of the usual 8-hour shifts ... until further notice.  I wonder how long it will be before they just go to two 12-hour shifts, and do away with the furloughed shift altogether?  Next will be our pay and our benefits.  I'm waiting for it.

1


Sana Nosser
Sana Nosser
3 hours ago
I'm glad you're breaking down the ideas of Socialism so that people with an IQ of 75 can understand it - like Trump supporters and Republicans.

1


Andrew Skipsey
Andrew Skipsey
11 hours ago
Dumb YouTube algorithms flagging this for a Covid banner...

6


Scot Forsythe
Scot Forsythe
9 hours ago
Has anyone else experienced a new and improved safety net fashioned as click bait app based hell?



Jimmy Gentile
Jimmy Gentile
2 hours ago (edited)
My heart goes out to germany, beautiful country with wonderful people. They handled this crisis wonderfully. More than I can say for america which always does things the hard way. Pathetic.



Peter Cua
Peter Cua
9 hours ago
Whatever the system of government, it's still depend  on capable  leadership is and the discipline of the masses.