Richard D. Wolff
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Richard David Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American
In 1988 Wolff co-founded the journal
Wolff hosts the weekly 30-minute-long program, Economic Update, which is produced by the non-profit Democracy at Work, which he co-founded. Economic Update is on YouTube, FreeSpeech TV,
Early life and education
To escape Nazism, Wolff's parents emigrated from Europe to the United States during World War II. His father, a French lawyer working until that point in Cologne, Germany, gained employment as a steelworker in Youngstown, Ohio (in part because his European certification was not recognized in the United States), and the family eventually settled in New Rochelle, New York, just outside New York City. His mother was a German citizen.[10] Wolff's father was acquainted with Max Horkheimer. Wolff states that his European background influenced his worldview:
"[E]verything you expect about how the world works probably will be changed in your life, that unexpected things happen, often tragic things happen, and being flexible, being aware of a whole range of different things that happen in the world, is not just a good idea as a thinking person, but it's crucial to your survival. So, for me, I grew up convinced that understanding the political and economic environment I lived in was an urgent matter that had to be done, and made me a little different from many of my fellow kids in school who didn't have that sense of the urgency of understanding how the world worked to be able to navigate an unstable and often dangerous world. That was a very important lesson for me."[10]
Wolff earned a
Academic career
Wolff taught at the City College of New York from 1969 to 1973. Here he started his lifelong collaboration with fellow economist Stephen Resnick, who arrived in 1971 after being denied tenure at Yale for signing an anti-war petition.[13] Both would then be part, along with Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, and Rick Edwards, of the "radical package" that was hired in 1973 by the Economics Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Wolff has been full professor since 1981. Wolff retired in 2008 but remains professor emeritus and that year joined The New School as a visiting professor.
The first co-authored academic publication by Wolff and Resnick was "The Theory of Transitional Conjunctures and the Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism,"
Wolff's work with Resnick took
Marx used the word "exploitation" to focus analytical attention on what capitalism shared with feudalism and slavery, something that capitalist revolutions against slavery and feudalism never overcame.
— Richard D. Wolff[15]
In 1989, Wolff joined efforts with a group of colleagues, ex- and then current students to launch Rethinking Marxism, an academic journal that aims to create a platform for rethinking and developing Marxian concepts and theories within economics as well as other fields of social inquiry. For more than two decades, he served as a member of the editorial board of the journal. Currently, he continues to serve as a member of the advisory board of the journal.
Wolff was a visiting professor in spring 1994 at
A founding member of the
This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (December 2023) |
One of his students,
Projects
Wolff is a co-founder of Democracy at Work, a non-profit that produces media and live events opposing capitalism and promoting workplace democracy.[22] The organization is based on his 2012 book, Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Wolff also hosts the nationally syndicated program Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff, which is produced by Democracy at Work.[23]
Reception
In a review of Wolff's book Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, Hans G. Despain, writing for Marx and Philosophy, argued that the ideas presented in the book "deserve wide support and wide debate to repoliticize the American population and rejuvenate the American workforce and citizens."[24]
Personal life
In addition to his native English, Wolff is fluent in French and German.
In an interview on
Works
- Wolff, Richard D. (1974). The Economics of Colonialism. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01639-5.
- Stephen A. Resnick; Richard D. Wolff (1985). Rethinking Marxism: Essays for Harry Magdoff and Paul Sweezy. NY: Autonomedia.
- Wolff, Richard D.; Stephen A. Resnick (1987). Economics: Marxian versus Neoclassical. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 0-8018-3479-1.
- ISBN 0-226-71021-1.
- Fraad, Harriet; Richard Wolff; Stephen Resnick (1994). Bringing It All Back Home: Class, Gender and Power in the Modern Household. Pluto Press. ISBN 0-7453-0707-8.
- Wolff, Richard D.; Stephen Resnick; David F. Ruccio (1988). Crisis and Transitions: A Critique of the International Economic Order. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-0757-0.
- ISBN 0-8166-3618-4.
- ISBN 0-8223-2709-0.
- ISBN 0-415-93317-X.
- ISBN 0-415-77025-4.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2009). Capitalism Hits the Fan. Olive Branch Press. ISBN 978-1-56656-784-8.
- Wolff, Richard D.; Stephen A. Resnick (2012). Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262018005.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2012). Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1608462476.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2016). Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1608465958.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2019). Understanding Marxism. New York: Democracy at Work. ISBN 978-0359467020.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2019). Understanding Socialism. New York: Democracy at Work. ISBN 978-0578227344.
- Wolff, Richard D. (2020). The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself. New York: Democracy at Work.
Films
- Richard Wolff (2009). Capitalism Hits the Fan (DVD). ISBN 1-932869-30-1.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wolff, Richard D. "Wolff C.V." (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- YouTube
- ^ Extended interview with prof. Wolff on how Marxism influences his work Archived October 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Democracy Now!, March 25, 2013
- ^ "Prof. Wolff at the Rosa Luxemburg Conference Opening Night, 08/21/15 | Professor Richard D. Wolff". Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0226710235
- ^ "On Moyers & Company" Archived March 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine by Richard D. Wolff, February 22, 2013
- ^ "Richard Wolff – Guests". Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Rampell, Ed (May 22, 2019). "Understanding "Wolff-ism": Prof. Richard Wolff's Take on Karl Marx in New Text". Hollywood Progressive. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
- ^ Davidson, Adam (February 5, 2012). "It Is Safe to Resume Ignoring the Prophets of Doom ... Right?". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
- ^ a b Goodman, Amy. "Democracy Now! March 25, 2013 Watch Extended Interview with Economist Richard Wolff on How Marxism Influences His Work". Pacifica Radio. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- OCLC 682061093
- ISBN 978-0-300-01639-0.
- from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
- ^ Resnick, S. and Wolff, R. (1979). "The Theory of Transitional Conjunctures and the Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism," Review of Radical Political Economics, 11:3, 3–22 and 32–36.
- ^ Richard D. Wolff (May 26, 2015). Critics of Capitalism Must Include Its Definition Archived May 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Truthout. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
- ^ "Green Party of Connecticut: Election History". Connecticut Green Party. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- ^ Wolff, Richard D. (March 13, 2011). "What's left of the American left?". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
- ^ a b Wolff, Richard D. "About Professor Richard D. Wolff". Rdwolff. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
- ^ "Economic Update – Richard D. Wolff". WBAI. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- ^ Interview in "To Vima" Newspaper – Greek Publication Archived March 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, January 24, 2011, translated by and uploaded on RDWolff.com
- ^ "Capitalism, Socialism, and Economic Democracy: Reflections on Today's Crisis and Tomorrow's Possibilities" Archived November 5, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, by Costas Panayotakis, Envisioning a Post-Capitalist Order, December 2010
- ^ "About – Democracy at Work". Democracy at Work. 2013. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ^ "Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff". Liberated Syndication. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ^ "'Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism' reviewed by Hans G Despain". marxandphilosophy.org.uk. November 10, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
- ^ Wolff, Richard D. (January 13, 2021). "Capitol Insurrection Caused by Capitalism Failure & Rapacious Donor Class -- Dr. Richard Wolff". The Jimmy Dore Show (Interview). Interviewed by Dore, Jimmy. YouTube. Timestamp: 34:00. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
External links
- Richard D. Wolff's website
- Democracy@Work, a YouTube series hosted by Richard Wolff
- Richard D. Wolff's UMASS webpage (with Stephen A Resnick)
- Wolff's faculty profile at The New School
- Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture and Society
- Democracy at Work A social movement "for greater economic democracy" co-founded by Dr. Wolff
- Richard D. Wolff at IMDb
Interviews
External videos | |
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Capitalism's Stunning Contradiction on YouTube |
- Richard D. Wolff on Charlie Rose
- Capitalism in Crisis: Richard Wolff Urges End to Austerity, New Jobs Program, Democratizing Work. Democracy Now! March 25, 2013.
- The Empire Files: Understanding Marxism and Socialism with Richard Wolff. The Real News, March 21, 2016.
- Poverty Has Always Accompanied Capitalism. Truthout. July 3, 2016.