Socialism or Capitalism? Arthur Brooks and Richard Wolff Debate

Love this debate style. No interruptions, no drama just well thought out statements.

Guy wants to make capitalism less vicious without removing the individuals who became rich by being vicious. In the end he resorted to fear mongering because he didn't have an argument.....Prof Wolff brought facts and real history to a ridiculous degree..

I've never heard a capitalist make such a great argument against capitalism

33:50 Brooks literally describes worker-owned coops here as part of his solution, which is exactly what Wolff has been advocating for years.

Never witnessed such a civilized debate. Thanks to the moderator and both professors

Anyone who says we should be "developing people as assets" can stop talking to me immediately

Brooks doesn't reach the level of analysis required to discuss this topics with Wolff.

I really appreciated the respectful tenor of the discussion from both professors, although I found one thing Professor Brooks said quite disgusting. He referred to the Cuban economy as a "joke," or something to that effect. He's an educated person, so I'm assuming he's aware of the US economic blockade of Cuba (not to mention CIA terrorism). In spite of the decades long illegal economic strangulation of the Cuban economy by the US, they've been able to do incredible things for their people (things the richest country in the world refuses to do) and have been a shining example of what international solidarity means. I'd have an easier time hearing out pro-capitalist arguments if they weren't so detached from historical and geopolitical realities.

Amaizing! All the comments are on HOW the speakers speak. And none comments on WHAT the speakers say. It looks like people came here to enjoy speakers nice voices and pleasent manners and nobody is interested in the subject of the debate

Share the work, share the rewards. I'd rather work for the good of all than the greed of a few. If you don't have democracy in the workplace, you don't live in a democracy.

Had to laugh at the end of the Q&A where Brooks condemns the idea of a system that relies on "people not being selfish" ala the family style socialism, but that is 100% his argument for moral capitalism. That we need to rely on the capitalists allowing themselves to be guided by the invisible hand to follow their moral duty. Wow

How wonderful to hear clear thinking, and respect for each other's differences without childish personal attack! Bravo. ❤

Arthur Brooks is talking about trickle down. I heard this for many years about training in the 80's. It never happened.

It's really weird how Brooks keeps repeating Wolff's point that there are multiple definitions of Socialism, but then in his own arguments only ever articulates the idea of Socialism being equivalent to the Soviet Union

Really wonderful debate! Some thoughts on Professor Brooks’ comments (currently around an hour in so this could be addressed in the past half hour for all I know)- I admire the dedication Professor Brooks shows to his ideals and to the notion that Capitalism can be improved with the right morals, however the lived experience of the average American today in my experience is that the situation is so dire that there simply isn’t the possibility to even consider one’s place in things, or what “proper morals” really even are. In an economic system that - especially in crisis - necessitates a cutthroat mentality in order to survive, time to reflect and consider one’s values is a luxury only the already wealthy can afford. The conditions are destitute enough that there simply isn’t the possibility to both follow a decent moral code and put food on the table, the conditions necessitate choosing one or the other. In addition, on the topic of Denmark- I have the luxury of being both a Dane and an American, and have lived and studied in both countries. With all due respect, graphs and charts are all fine, but there is no discussion that Denmark is objectively the better of the two nations in terms of economic and labor structure, and especially in standard of living. My experience is that there isn’t a particularly noticeable difference between the two in terms of how difficult it is to get a job, and the networks of state support here make it so that in interim periods between jobs there still isn’t really the risk of starving. The distance is so vast that there is an almost universal fear here of economic liberalisation/becoming more like the US. Denmark certainly has its own problems, and those of integration are absolutely among them, however I would say personally that the economic hardship faced by especially non-European newcomers to Denmark has more to do with conservatism in the Danish culture itself than specifically with the economy, and that the inability of the economy to successfully adapt to this as of yet is due less to a rigidity of the system and more due to intolerance towards foreigners among the Danish population. I also definitely wouldn’t go so far as to call Denmark Socialist as some do, but there is little doubt that the system here exists in the form that it does because of the historic success of Danish Socialist movements- I can highly recommend anyone who’s interested in this topic to visit the Workers Museum in Copenhagen. EDIT: have now finished watching. I’m not sure where Professor Brooks is getting his statistics on job satisfaction in European social democracies vs in the US, but what he talks about in that section simply does not reflect reality, it’s absolutely the inverse, certainly in my experience job satisfaction is significantly higher in the social democracies by an overwhelming degree. I’m also a bit disappointed to see Professor Brooks resorting to what feel like idealistic - and, frankly, profoundly misguided - arguments in the last half hour or so.

Yes, the exchange was very civil, but I wish that Prof. Wolf had an opponent who was as clear & substantive about capitalism as he was about socialism. I think this needs to be a debate between economists. 🙏🏽

Brooks’ argument is “we need to love each other.” This is the state of Ivy Leagues and DC think tanks. Worthless intellects

I'm just realizing that I am a socialist. He is brilliant!

“Workers of the world unite!” has been replaced by “Students of the world unite!”

Crazy how I can follow this amazing debate from the comfort of my car in Indonesia... Thank you for makin this