Ask Prof Wolff

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "Does there exist any movement to abolish land-lording? Seems like the existence of landlords is a major part of the problem. Workers are doubly exploited. First, at work where they are not paid what their work is worth, and again, in the home where they are charged more than their dwelling is worth. An alternative could be, in addition to those that own their own homes, cooperatively-owned buildings where the tenants only pay for utilities, maintenance costs, and taxes, and/or a public housing system where housing is operated like a public utility and governed democratically."

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "Can this financial system ever get away from the stock market (Wall St. casino)? I'm watching my IRA go further and further down the drain. Is there a better system we can use?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "With so many types of insurances provided in the capitalist system, such as house, car, business, content insurances, and so on, would a democratic-socialist society need to provide such services through institutions or would the government take care of the unexpected incidents' cost?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "After we win over capitalism, how do we keep it? Human history tells me highly skilled sociopaths always rise to the top. To not repeat Russia's mistakes, how would we go about it?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "The focus on economic growth, something you talked about in the September 2022 Global Capitalism lecture, seems misplaced, at least for rich nations. I'm reminded of the Kenneth Boulding quote from the early 1970's—"Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." Can you please give your perspective on the obsession with economic growth that is seen almost everywhere? There is a degrowth movement which I believe you have mentioned in a discussion of capitalism. Where would economic growth stand in a socialist perspective?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "Prof Wolff, now that we've entered a recession here, how would the continued Fed interest rate hikes correlate to supply shortage due to our low production capacity? At what rate would the Fed have to lower demand in order to bring down inflation? Or are we inevitably entering stagflation?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "In his book "One Nation Under God: How Corporate American Invented Christian America, Kevin Kruse talks about an alliance between American capitalists and conservative religious leaders, going back to the 1930s. This alliance pushes capitalism in churches under a biblical veneer of 'free-market Gospel.' Capitalists supply the money, and the churches supply the voters as well as a moral gloss on unregulated capitalism, resulting in the enormous political power that we see in the 'Religious Right.' Do you agree with his ideas? Is this sort of alliance unique to America or does it happen in other capitalist countries?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "We agree that capitalism is imperfect and that it separates people into the employer and employee classes. However, resources needs to be planned, coordinated and managed otherwise chaos ensues. In many cases, resources are best handled in bulk to attain efficiency and affordability, and that gives rise to the need for concentration of control. Given that people are really not born equal, what system can then best balance all of the above?"

A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "China is having some problems, specifically with their housing market. What's the reason for this and does this mean China may not surpass the United States in nominal GDP?"

A Patron of Economic Update asks: "Professor Wolff, how can consumers support the push for unions in companies like Starbucks and Amazon?"