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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. This is Richard’s third appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In episode #127, he and Robinson discussed some of the most profound criticisms of capitalism, and in #154 installment, they focused on the myths surrounding Marxism and Marx himself. In this episode, Richard and Robinson talk about the current—and enduring—Israel-Palestine conflict, with particular emphasis on how, with his Marxist training and background, Richard understands it from that perspective. Some particular questions discussed are how class figures into the conflict, whether ideology plays any pernicious roles, whether Israel should be considered a refugee state, why pro-Palestinian views are suppressed in the United States, and how Marx might have attempted to adjudicate the conflict.

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

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

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:37 Introduction

04:19 Israel-Palestine and the Marxist Perspective 

11:33 Is Israel a Colonial State or a Refugee State? 

16:45 Some Important Marxist Distinctions in Israel and Palestine 

25:09 Israel as a Project of Colonialist Capitalism 

41:50 Ideology and the Perpetuation of the Israel-Palestine Disaster 

01:01:03 Warfare and the Horrors of Israel-Palestine 

01:07:43 The Suppression of Opposition to Israel in the United States 

01:19:15 The Marxist Solution to the Israel-Palestine Conflict?

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

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.