I've been listening to this podcast for more than two hours and I absolutely
loved it. Thanks Carl. I'd be interested to hear what Roger and Maurice think
of what Richard Wolff had to say.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2020 12:02 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Fwd: Cooperatives and socialism: Prof Wolff on All
Things Co-op
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Democracy at Work <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:40:01 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Cooperatives and socialism: Prof Wolff on All Things Co-op
To: Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx>
<https://democracyatwork.info/donate>
Carl --
Professor Wolff recently joined the hosts of All Things Co-op in a special
event to talk about cooperatives, Marxist theory, critiques of capitalism, and
more.
In this conversation Prof Wolff shared many personal stories, including how his
French father’s determination created a Latin class for him to take in his Ohio
high school, his experiences in Ivy League schools, and how he became
interested in cooperatives <https://youtu.be/XTd9KRtO5yI?t=682>.
Wolff: “I spent 10 years of my life in these Ivy League places and they were
constantly telling me economics is price theory and I kept saying that's not
why I came here. I'm interested in how it's all arranged, what it does to human
beings in society, and how we can change it… I didn't know anything about
worker co-ops but the more I studied the more I understood that Marx's idea
meant to pose the question, well what then, if not that? I had heard about
Yugoslavia, or about Kibbutzim in Israel, or about those hokey little
agricultural co-ops that made cheese in Wisconsin or wine in France. Suddenly
it all came together. It's an attempt to organize the production process
without master/slave, lord/serf or employer/employee. Literally dozens of bits
of Marxism that I had known but didn't see how they'd fit together, then fit.”
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTd9KRtO5yI>
He also shared a story of talking to entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley
<https://youtu.be/XTd9KRtO5yI?t=984>, who had left the large tech companies
such as Google and Oracle in order to create their own startups. They shared
with Prof Wolff how they were much happier and more creative working with each
other, making decisions together.
Wolff: “I said, you know what you're doing? You are acting out Karl Marx's
notion of communism. It was hysterical. I wish I had a camera.
I would explain to them, no one ever taught you Marxism. That's why you don't
know what you're doing. And I'm here to make you uncomfortable. You walked away
from capitalism and you created communism because it makes you happier and
makes you more productive... Some of them still write to me."
Prof Wolff explained how he feels it’s critical that cooperatives have
political representation, how the US could follow some examples of political
movements in the UK that can foster cooperative growth, and how co-ops are a
very promising idea when coupled with the argument that we should move on from
monarchy-like organizational structures.
<https://youtu.be/XTd9KRtO5yI?t=7320>
Wolff: “When the United States made a revolution, it didn't get rid of King
George III and erect King George Washington. We didn't do that because we
didn't want that anymore. But why do we allow it to live on [in the workplace]?
And the co-op is the answer. The co-op is the alternative. Self-determination
of the working man and woman.”
These are just some snapshots of a long conversation that is filled with many
other stories and insights. It is our latest piece of work that aims to provide
simple and relatable content for a wide audience, and explain how and why we
should move beyond capitalism.
Wolff: “It's a fantastic irony, when I talk to socialists and explain why
co-ops are relevant they're uncomfortable. When I talk to co-op people and tell
them how it's relevant to socialism they're uncomfortable. Because neither of
them figured out yet that these things can and should go together. And that, in
a sense, is my project.”
In solidarity,
The d@w Team
Democracy at Work
<https://democracyatwork.info/donate>
<https://www.facebook.com/democracyatwrk/>
<https://twitter.com/democracyatwrk>
<https://www.instagram.com/democracyatwrk/>
-=-=-
Democracy at Work - PO Box 30941, New York, NY 10011, United States
This email was sent to carjar82@xxxxxxxxx. To stop receiving emails:
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Created with NationBuilder - http://nationbuilder.com/ Prof. Richard Wolff is a ;
favorite of mine.
Carl Jarvis
