Global Capitalism

In this every-other-month presentation, Professor Wolff explains how "old" colonialism ended with World Wars I and II, and how the U.S. inherited and reorganized the profits from that version of colonialism after and since 1945. He also discusses the rise of the Global South, China, and BRICS as economic opposition to the U.S., and Trump's responding proposal to retake Panama, conquer Greenland, Canada, Venezuela, Cuba, and declare them as U.S. colonies.   Co-sponsored by Democracy at Work and Left Forum, these presentations are made available ad-free and free of charge through the generous support of viewers and supporters of Democracy at Work. Please consider supporting this ongoing creation and distribution of this every-other-month presentation by giving a one-time suggested donation of $10 on our website at:  https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate Thank you for your support and please remember to share this video and others we produce to help us reach a broader audience than we can do alone.  Professor Wolff's latest book, "Understanding Capitalism," is available for purchase now: https://linktr.ee/understandingcapitalism  Professor Wolff's "Understanding Series," is available for purchase: https://linktr.ee/RichardWolffBooks © 2026 Democracy at Work, Inc. All Rights Reserved

In this every-other-month presentation, Professor Wolff explains how the events unfolding between Europe and Russia look increasingly like soft warfare. He presents several key points as evidence for this reality, including the role of the war in Ukraine, class conflict in both Europe and Russia, and the growing enemization between the two driven by rising nationalism across much of both regions. He ends the discussion by looking at what new world order might emerge from an escalated war between Europe and Russia.  

In this every-other-month presentation, Professor Wolff presents insights and analysis on the decline of the capitalist system as evident in four key periods of U.S. history. From The Legacy of World War 2 from 1945-1974, to the petrodollar boom from 1974 to 2026, the rise of the global south since 1945, and China's relentless rise from 1945 to the present, Professor Wolff shows how these examples are evidence enough that it is time to do better than capitalism. The lecture ends with an overview of the possibilities for a future in which socialism is a viable replacement for the declining capitalism plaguing the world today.   Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk

In this every-other-month presentation, Professor Wolff presents insights and analysis on six key topics leading up to, and lasting beyond, the current war on Iran; including: the history of U.S. military involvement in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the economic trends throughout U.S. history that lead up to war, the role of oil and natural gas as an excuse for conflict, the relevance and importance of the Straight of Hormuz, the reality of the U.S. empire's decline and Israel's gamble, and the prospects and consequences of renewed global conflict.    Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk2:13 

In this presentation, Professor Wolff discusses how the first two world wars brought an end to the British, German, and Japanese empires, and how a third would likely bring down the American empire. Specific topics include: 1. The U.S. empire's decline provokes desperate economic policy  2. The U.S. empire's decline provokes resurgent neo-colonialism around Venezuela, Greenland, Cuba, etc, along with the potential U.S. withdrawal from the United Nations and the weakening of NATO 3. A burgeoning political dictatorship in the U.S. that is giving rise to state "command" capitalism, the use of ICE as a special executive-controlled force for domestic control, and the militarization of MAGA versus the rest of us. 4. The emergence of capitalists against Trump is creating a divide among capitalists 5. An American self-imposed isolation from partners and allies while preparing for multiple wars.   Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk2:13 

In our capitalist economy, employers pay wages and set prices that together determine whether a decent life is affordable. Employers' goal is to maximize their profit. But employees – the vast majority of us – have different goals. One of them is basic affordability. In this presentation of Global Capitalism, Professor Wolff discusses the factors at play in determining our cost of living, and ways we can and should get involved in affecting them.    Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk2:13 

We are thrilled to share the replay of Democracy at Work and The Left Forum's special live, in-person Global Capitalism event, held last Wednesday at Women Building Up (WBU). Professor Wolff gave a special "May Day" Global Capitalism Lecture on the impact of President Trump's economic policies and how they are ultimately an attack on working people We would like to thank Susan Shah, Kim Westcott and all the remarkable people at Women Building Up for hosting Democracy At Work and The Left Forum.   Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk

Professor Wolff will present four key points that reveal the emergence of a new Cold War the U.S. has embarked upon in response to the rise of global alliances from which it is being excluded and that challenge the near century-old American economic dominance. I. The Old Cold War Targeted Communism in the West and the USSR as its Source II. The New Cold War Targets China and the BRICS III. Trump/Musk Target the US Working Class and its Allies IV. Europe's Decline Deepens Presented by Democracy at Work and the Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk

We are thrilled to share the replay of Democracy at Work and The Left Forum's special live, in-person Global Capitalism event, held this past Saturday at Women Building Up (WBU). Professor Wolff gave his thoughts and analysis on what the new Trump Presidency means and how we may react.    Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk

The U.S. Election and Trump 2.0 in Historical Perspective Topics Include: The overdetermination of the vote The new government Persistent problems of a declining empire Co-sponsored by Democracy at Work and Left Forum   Special messages to our audience:  Please help sponsor Global Capitalism by becoming a monthly donor to Democracy at Work. Go to our website to learn more (www.democracyatwork.info/donate). Follow Democracy at Work on X (Twitter) and YouTube.   Our four Democracy at Work books, three by Richard Wolff (Understanding Marxism, Understanding Socialism, and The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Cannot Save Us from Pandemics or Itself) are for sale on Lulu.com.   Find direct purchase links on our website ( www.democracyatwork.info/books ), or find them directly on Lulu ( www.lulu.com/spotlight/democracyatwork )   Your support helps to produce and distribute these talks. Thank you.   Follow us on X (formally known as Twitter) at: @ProfRDWolff @DemocracyAtWrk