Greece and the Endgame of the Neocolonial Model of Exploitation (February 19, 2015)

[mother earth]

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogfeb15/Greece-neocolonialism2-15.html

With the bankruptcy of Greece now undeniable, we've finally reached the endgame of the Neocolonial-Financialization Model.
We all know how old-fashioned colonialism worked: the imperial power takes physical control of previously independent lands and declares its ownership of the region as a newly minted colony.

What's the benefit of controlling colonies? In the traditional colonial model, there are two primary benefits:
1. The imperial power (the core) extracts valuable commodities and low-cost labor from its colony (the periphery)
2. The imperial power sells its own high-margin manufactured goods to the captured-market of its colony.

This buy low, sell high dynamic is the heart of colonialism, which can be understood as one example of the The Core-Periphery Model (June 11, 2013).
The book Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History is an excellent history of how this model worked for Great Britain.
The tensions this model generated in the colonial elites of America are brought to life in Tobacco Culture: The Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution.
This traditional model of colonialism was forcibly dismantled in the 1940s-1960s. Former colonies established their political independence, a process that diminished the wealth and global reach of former colonial powers.

In response, global financial powers sought financial control rather than political control. This is one dynamic of what I call the Neocolonial-Financialization Model (May 24, 2012), which substitutes the economic power of financialization (debt, leverage and speculation) for the raw power of political conquest and control.

The main strategy of financialization is: extend cheap credit to those with limited access to capital. Those with limited access to capital will swallow the bait of cheap credit whole, and willingly agree to penalties, high interest rates, etc.
Then, when the credit expansion reaches levels that cannot be supported, the lenders demand collateral and/or favorable trade and financial concessions.
These tactics have been well-documented in books such as The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

But the economic pillaging of former colonies has limits, and as a consequence the global financial powers developed the Neocolonial Model, which turns these same techniques on one's home region.

Thus Greece and other capital-poor European nations were recognized as the periphery that could be exploited by the core, and the euro was the ideal tool to financialize the economies of nations which could never have generated credit/housing bubbles without the wide-open spigots of cheap credit flooding their economies.

In Neocolonialism, the forces of financialization are used to indenture the local Elites and populace to the financial core: the peripheral "colonials" borrow money to buy the finished goods manufactured in the core economies, enriching the Imperial Elites with A) the profits made selling goods to the debtors B) interest on credit extended to the peripheral colonies to buy the core economies' goods and "live large", and C) the transactional skim of financializing peripheral assets such as real estate and State debt.

In essence, the core banks of the EU colonized the peripheral nations via the financializing euro, which enabled a massive expansion of debt and consumption in the periphery. The banks and exporters of the core extracted enormous profits from this expansion of debt and consumption.

Now that the financialization scheme of the euro has run its course, the periphery's neocolonial standing is starkly revealed: the assets and income of the periphery are flowing to the core as interest on the private and sovereign debts that are owed to the core's central bank and its money-center private banks.

Note how little of the Greek "bailout" actually went to the citizenry of Greece and how much was interest paid to the financial powers.
This is not just the perfection of neocolonialism but of neofeudalism as well. The peripheral nations of the EU are effectively neocolonial debtors of the core, and the taxpayers of the core nations are now feudal serfs whose labor is devoted to making good on any loans to the periphery that go bad.

Neocolonialism benefits both the core's financial Aristocracy and national oligarchies/ kleptocracies. This is ably demonstrated in the recent essay Misrule of the Few: How the Oligarchs Ruined Greece.
With the bankruptcy of Greece now undeniable, we've finally reached the endgame of the Neocolonial-Financialization Model. There are no more markets to exploit with financialization, and the fact that the mountains of debt are unpayable can no longer be masked.

At this point, the financial Aristocracy has an unsolvable dilemma: writing off defaulted debt also writes off assets and income streams, for every debt is somebody else's asset and income stream. When all those phantom assets are recognized as worthless, the system implodes.

[woo me with science]

1. Thank you.

[mother earth]

2. TY, woo me,

[TooPragmatic]

3. I'm surprised this didn't come from Alex Jones...

because this is probably the biggest pile of paranoid conspiracy crap I have read in a long time. No real evidence and crazy paranoia against any leadership position. Only NWO was left unmentioned.

Hindsight is the biggest enemy when looking at the past. Only by looking at things from the position from the past can one truly understand the decision that people made. To state that lenders knew about Greece all along is a claim based on no evidence. And Greece wasn't forced to take the money. To claim that Greece was forced to borrow all that money is similar to the right wing claim that banks were forced to give loans to people who couldn't afford to pay them a back and that was the cause of the 2008 bank crisis in the US. Greece acted knowingly with this and when the economy came down Greece couldn't cover it's losses and was forced to admit that they needed financial assistance. And it's easy to see why the Greek economy collapsed. Highest corruption rate in Europe, many didn't pay taxes, people employed by the government who didn't do anything and got lavish benefits. And many average Greeks had to pay for these mistakes dearly. And because Greece is a democracy, these debts have been gathered in their name.

But to say that Greece is being made into a feudal state has no reason behind it. All EU countries are democracies and to state that they simply puppets for some elites behind the curtain is some hardcore conspiracy bull. There has been a write down on the Greece debt. Many banks have paid fines and suffered for wrong doings. The EU is doing a crackdown on multinationals for their tax avoidance schemes and individual governments in the EU are being investigated for providing tax subsidies that are against market competition.

Should Greece get more lenient terms? In my opinion, yes. Should their debts be forgiven? Not for the moment. If they get to turn their country around and manage it responsibly, the climate could be better for it. But this text is nothing more than an embarrassment to anyone who wants to make this world a better place to live.

[mother earth]

4. Just because he uses the term endgame, doesn't translate "Alex Jones", and frankly I really don't

care if you think it is crap. It only speaks to your need for getting up to speed on what is playing out in Greece.

This is about far more than debt being forgiven, and frankly, any Du'er knows the game of the economic hit man, it's about empowering an oligarchy.

Your text is an embarrassment, but then I don't know you, but your ignorance speaks volumes, if you even read the article.

[TooPragmatic]

7. If one is blind for a cause...

One will only wonder alone in the wilderness.

Don't assume that I don't from what I speak of. DU is not some magical source of superior knowledge. Beware of the echo chamber and question the information and challenge yourself sometimes. The reason I was so harsh on the text was that I'm so disappointed with the intellectual laziness of many left wingers who would rather talk about neo-liberal conspiracy theories about banks and elites than to actually create a sound ideas that people could rally on. And this is not me saying that people on the top don't do any crap that they shouldn't be called for. There are many policies that you and I can agree are awful and make our lives worse. And that banks and big corporations do get off way too easily and have way too much power in our societies. But understanding that they do have an important role and to diffuse that power has to be done without taking the whole society down and governments can't be the ones who will take that power over. That will lead to a different kind of crisis. Power can't be eliminated, it can only be shifted. No one can be relied with having too much power because it always corrupts.

[peacebird]

10. 'Wonder' alone yourself! Many see the vampire squid and the troika for what they are.

I think the OP covers it nicely.

[mother earth]

11. Who wants to take society down? You miss the point, my friend, and friend you will be once

you realize where I am coming from. I am no friend or admirer of Alex Jones, can't stand the man, think he is all about propaganda and money. "Power can't be eliminated, it can only be shifted. No one can be relied with having too much power because it always corrupts." Your words.

Blind for a cause? To what cause do you speak of?

I ask you to go to video/MM at DU and listen to my posted vids on Yanis Varoufakis, and tell me where you are with that. Because he has said almost the very same thing. You do need to get up to speed on Greece. Once you do that, we will talk. This is not about wanting an end game, this about one that is playing out, but is not wanted...so we will see as the events unfold what road this will take us down.

I'm guessing you are misinterpreting the above article, so please, if you have time or inclination to view those vids...

[TooPragmatic]

13. I checked those vids

and overall I'm not buying it. Sure I agree with the fact that the austerity has caused a lot of suffering for ordinary Greeks and changes need to be done. And I know that the IMF has a bad history when it comes to debt restructuring in the less developed countries. I learned about a lot of this stuff during my studies a while ago. But when it comes to the changes in the policies in Greece, it can't act without the approval of other European countries.

Does Greece have a mandate from it's people? Yes. But so do other countries as well and they are mandated to get their money. If you lived in Europe, you would realize that the people in Europe don't want to let Greece off the hook that easily. If governments in other EU countries would let Greece off the hook on the debt, many governments would fall and it would only empower anti-EU right wing parties. This is not just about elites wanting to make Greece some colony. It's about democratically elected governments not wanting to be voted out of power. People are already upset with the fact that they bailed out banks in Greece. They don't want to lose that money and suffer larger deficits because of that. That is why the economical solution isn't been done. This is about politics and It can be resolved by either breaking up the eurozone or creating a stronger union where the central government has more powers, like taxation and economic policy and so on.

You don't have to agree with me, but remember it is not just the Greek politicians who are representing their people. The creditors are representing theirs.

[mother earth]

15. I don't agree at all with you about the source of Greece's problems. It's the oligarchy, same as

here, only it is far worst there. I think you need to give a listen to "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" so you can fully grasp how the banks and corporations operate to indebt a nation. John Adams once said, "There are two ways to conquer a nation, one is by the sword, the other by debt." All you have to do is look to our own economic history, which is explained very well by Varoufakis on one of those vids., esp. the Great Depression, how it got there & all the things done after.

The Greeks are being painted as lazy freeloaders, moochers on the EU society, the real moochers are the oligarchs, big monied interests that buy governments & loot & pillage resources, privatizing profits and socializing risk, & one has only to look to our SCOTUS & Citizens United, to see how well that is doing for the masses here.

I don't know who you are, I'm going to assume you are young, I shouldn't have to explain how any progressive feels on these issues.
You seem to feel the "creditors" are representing their interests? I threw up just a little when I read that, but I'll give you a pass on that too and explain, suicide is rampant in Greece, the Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi group is popular, which is what happens when the squeeze is put on a nation and austerity is imposed. Fascism develops very quickly, this is how Hitler came into power, and Germany would do well to remember the compassion and debt they were forgiven in the aftermath of that time.

There is no way you listened to Varoufakis, because that man does not want an exit from the Euro, nor does he want to skip out on debt. The EU will compromise on this issue, because they cannot afford a Greek exit, because there are several other countries that are also in dire straights. This is why its important to understand it isn't just a bailout that gave the banksters here a free pass, the bastards got one everywhere and we are all, globally suffering in the aftermath.

You can sympathize with creditors? Really? Are you aware of the crimes of those so called "creditors"....the crimes they get off with by paying fines? Those big corporations have personhood now, but not a damn one of those criminal entities will ever serve time. When a "creditor" can get away with tax evasion & money laundering, just to name a few, I'm hard pressed to shed a tear for them.

Every gov't that spent money on bail-outs for the banks did so with taxpayer money, middle class taxpayer money. Varoufakis has succinctly said, "Why send murderers when you can send bailiffs?"

I can spend hours and hours on this subject, I'm astounded that anyone here would find any amount of sympathy for the ongoing issues that are morphing and spreading chaos, much less NOT understand exactly how Greece and other EU nations are suffering.

Please, do not tell me you listened to those vids and still "don't buy it".

But when it comes to the changes in the policies in Greece, it can't act without the approval of other European countries.

The big subject of most of those videos is due to negotiations by the EU between Germany et al and Greece.
Of course nothing can be done without a consensus of the EU nations.

All I can say is that with the small number of posts you have, you are either quite young, and perhaps still learning, or worst.

(Editing to add this, Varoufakis is the Greek Finance Minister who is negotiating with the EU nations, to find a way of meeting the Greece obligations.)

[TooPragmatic]

25. Don't just assume something about me

Let me answer your main points and explain why I disagree with you.

There is no way you listened to Varoufakis, because that man does not want an exit from the Euro, nor does he want to skip out on debt.

I know that he doesn't want to leave the Euro, I never said that. Syriza hasn't made this claim either mainly because Greeks don't want to leave the EU. But their demands have been for debt forgiveness. And if they would chosen to keep their election promises, they would be leaving the Euro and possibly the EU.

Here is an excerpt from Syrizas election program.

A moratorium on debt servicing.
Negotiations for debt cancellation, with provisions for the protection of social insurance funds and small savers. This will be pursued by exploiting any available means, such as audit control and suspension of payments.
Regulation of the remaining debt to include provisions for economic development and employment.

And if that wasn't enough here is an interview with Tsirpas before the election:

Tsipras has pledged to end the austerity programme imposed by the troika – and at the same time negotiate the write-off of 50 per cent of Greek debt.

Varoufakis is more moderate in his position on the debt but he doesn't ultimately decide what is the policy. His Policy does however contain a smaller write-off.

The ECB, for its part, holds 27 billion euros of Greek bonds bought at the height of the 2011 debt crisis. The value of the bonds coming due this summer is 6.5 billion euros. Varoufakis wants to swap this debt for paper that would not pay a coupon and would be held by the ECB in perpetuity. Essentially, this is where the proposed write-off is hidden.

suicide is rampant in Greece, the Golden Dawn, a neo-Nazi group is popular, which is what happens when the squeeze is put on a nation and austerity is imposed. Fascism develops very quickly, this is how Hitler came into power, and Germany would do well to remember the compassion and debt they were forgiven in the aftermath of that time.

Suicides in Greece have risen sharply since the beginning of the crisis. The most resent numbers that I was able to find show that in 2009 Greece had a suicide rate of 3.5 to 100.000. The numbers have grown for sure but suicide in Greece is lower than in many other countries. Why should other countries pay for Greece when they have suicide problems of their own? Golden Dawn was the third largest party in the resent election and gathered 6.3% of the vote. Their share of the vote decreased from the previous election and they gatherd 17 seats in the parliament and they previously held 18. This isn't to say that it's not a threat. But drumming fear by using the Golden Dawn seems a bit hypothetical.

Tsirpas is more than willing to get both a write-off on the Greece debt and demand war reparations from Germany.

We are going to demand debt reduction, and the money Germany owes us from world war two, including reparations

I don't think he can have it both ways. Plus Germany isn't required to pay anything from WWII anymore because of the 1990 Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany. Greece has accepted the treaty. It could lead to terrible consequences if it was ok to dissolve treaties just like that. But I agree that Greece needs better terms and those will be settled. But politically I don't see that other European countries would allow a write-off. Mainly because Greece and Syriza isn't trusted by other European countries. People want to see some numbers and results. A write-off could be possible in the future if Greece creates successful results. This is not my personal opinion, but political reality.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-germany-rejects-greek-claim-for-world-war-two-reparations-2015-2

The EU will compromise on this issue, because they cannot afford a Greek exit, because there are several other countries that are also in dire straights. This is why its important to understand it isn't just a bailout that gave the banksters here a free pass, the bastards got one everywhere and we are all, globally suffering in the aftermath.

There was a Greece contagion still in 2012, but since the EU basically Bailed out the banks and assumed most of the Greek debt, there is no longer a contagion. If one looks at government bond yields and volatility, other countries like Italy, Portugal, Spain and Ireland have been quite stable compared to Greece this year.

It would be damaging for the reputation of Europe and it could have an influence on trust for the common project. Nobody wants Greece to leave, but they are willing to let Greece go, if it doesn't play ball. Again stating a fact not a personal opinion.

I agree on the fact that the bank bailout in Greece should have been done differently and banks should have taken more losses. But the problem before the bailout was the contagion. Germany could have handled their Banks, But Italy and Spain and France where big question marks at the time. Their banks had large amounts of money in Greece. The bailout was created to combat the domino effect and in this sense the bailout worked. One can't roll back the clock on this anymore.

What I don't like about the Progressive Movement is this blind hatred of all banks and creating this artificial 99% versus 1%. Many banks have done and still do fucked up shit everywhere in the world. But this doesn't mean that all banks and bankers are complicit. And because the banks hold such a strong position in our societies, letting banks fail is not always an option. Many countries resulted in Nationalizing their banks and started fixing the mess internally. But this is also expensive for a country to do and difficult to manage if there is no trust from the market. I don't agree with it, but this is the world we live in at the moment and should try to fix. But going back and do things differently is not an option.

I agree that one viable solution is to brake up many large banks and reduce the possible costs of a bank collapse by creating higher buffers for banks. However I do not support the idea of having state owned banking only. This does create risks that politicians will use these banks as personal piggy funds and create massive problems. Just check what is happening in China where local governments have created a possible banking crisis by borrowing money on construction projects and corruption. There are exceptions like rich oil countries, but this requires a country to have a profitable resource and managing the profits is necessary to keep inflation low and not using the profits to become indebted.

Don't belittle me or my age. Just because we disagree doesn't mean that you can resort to ageism. I'm 28, which maybe young compared to you, but I have studied this stuff and lived through enough that I can write on this topic on a discussion board. Just because I'm new here doesn't meant much.

[mother earth]

29. TY. I apologize, very often a new person is simply a troll, it is hard to know. I'm so glad you

replied.

These days at DU it is hard to know friend from foe and given the fact you started with the Alex Jones meme, we were off to the wrong start. Now that you have offered more of an opinion, your young age of 28 is a plus, at 28 I was not on DU, so major kudos to you.

[TooPragmatic]

33. And I apologize for the Alex Jones stuff.

I wash a bit harsh on that.

[mother earth]

16. I reread your post, I'm thinking that you mean the other nations of the EU as lending creditors?

It doesn't really matter, some kind of jubilee or other compromise must happen. There comes a point in time when a nation cannot be squeezed, do you send in the mafia to break its legs or kill the debtor? Well, without a compromise and a way out of debt or negotiating exactly how to pay that debt, Greece will either leave the Euro or the EU will force it to leave...either way, more countries are sure to follow.

The people from the other countries that are upset must realize two things, they can either work with Greece to find a way for them to honor their debts, or they will oust Greece from the EU and start a domino effect thereby killing the Euro....there is no other choice but to find common ground with Greece. The right thing is only done when all other avenues have been exhausted.

Either way, this debt/slave nation/austerity era is going to collapse, austerity does nothing but breed desperation by the already overwhelmed working class who have no hope for their families, much less their country. The jig is up for the criminals at large. Now it will be onto working on a compromise that can lift Greece out of chaos and keep the EU running.

Who is representing justice, my friend? Who will bring back accountability and rule of law for the true entitlement holders, the real source of our welfare problem.

[TooPragmatic]

26. and yes I ment the debt Greece owes to other EU countries and institutions

I agree that many austerity policies should be scrapped in favour of growth aimed policies and investment investment by the EIB and ECB in Europe.

I don't live in the US so I'm not going to address those issues here much. But I agree that the US has a lot to do when talking about the poor and the middle class.

[mother earth]

30. Yes, which is why every nation is watching what is taking place in the EU. One would be a fool

to want Greece to not pay its debts and skip out on the EU, and no doubt those negotiating are fully aware of the consequences.
Germany's hardline stance gets no sympathy from many here who see it for what it is.

We, in the US, fully understand how debt is foisted on the people in any nation, when we say privatizing profit & socializing risk, so we have much sympathy for the predatory capitalism that makes slaves of us all. Austerity is not the answer, and TPTB know this full well, which is even more evil. The debt is always on the back of the poor.

It isn't just the US that has to talk more about the poor and the middle class, these games are played out very well by Germany and the EU, it's a game of "beggar thy neighbor". Two people that have outlined this so well are Heiner Flassbeck & (see below) Richard Wolff. I feel Richard Wolff explains it a bit better, if you go to the link I provided below, his website, you will find a vast amount of info from a prominent US economist who's background bio is below too. These are pivotal times.

Everyday we are learning what happens in any nation, in any part of the globe, affects us all. We are all connected with the same hopes and dreams, so we applaud Syriza, we applaud this revolutionary new gov't that is uplifting its downtrodden people. I so stand with this new way of thinking, and am not alone. It's truly inspiring.

[sabrina 1]

37. I am very excited about Syriza, but he will have to watch his back. The predatory Capitalists are

angry now. Their European 'goldmine' is under attack. Greed is always their undoing. They can never take away enough from the poor and the working class. It almost becomes an obsession, like a drug. And then, when the expected 'revolutions' begin, they are always OUTRAGED, shocked!

[mother earth]

38. If you get a chance to listen to deutsey's link to the Richard Wolf interview I think you

will enjoy it. Ty for your thoughts on this, Sabrina 1.

[sabrina 1]

39. I will definitely do that, thank you for posting it! n/t

[sendero]

27. I know you won't believe this..

... but you are the one lacking in education and understanding of what is happening.

But here is a simple question even you should be able to answer. Everyone knows (well certainly if you are going to weigh in on this subject you SHOULD know) that Goldman Sachs cooked Greece's books in order to gain them entry into the Euro. Now you may choose to believe that the dumb Germans didn't know this, I do not. Which begs the question "why was it so important to get all of these little peripheral countries into the Euro?".

Let me posit an answer. It wasn't for THEIR benefit.

[TooPragmatic]

32. You make too many assumptions

Can you prove that Germany or the EU as a whole knew about the settlement. Banks and governments work together all the time and Greece provided official stats that they also faked to the EU and these were part of Eurostat.

What Greece government wanted was this. Euro is a more stable currency and this would provide a more stable basis and lower interest rates for them than the Drachma. When the government did the deal with Goldman Sachs, they hoped that the Euro would provide more growth opportunities and that the Greek economy would grow so quickly that the debts would have been manageable. This didn't happen and this mess is here.

And one generally believes government statistics. Or do question all government stats as well. That is also why there is little trust for Greece. Perhaps you should also ask what you have against Germans?

[sabrina 1]

40. Who was in charge of the Government when that deal was made? Airc, the people of Greece

began protesting all of this, over seven years ago. Robo cops were sent out to suppress those protests, same thing in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and of course we saw similar destructive 'deals' involving the same entities, in Latin America and in the Third World they've been doing it for decades.

Everywhere these Globalists have forced countries into debt to the IMF/World Bank, those countries have lost their sovereignty and their economies, ended up with HUGE unemployment rates, see Europe now that they have moved into the First World, saw wages drop to unlivable conditions and watched as their National Assets were auctioned off to the highest bidders.

Greece hopefully is the first of the victims of these horrific Austerity policies to begin the turnaround.

First they need to go after those who have taken the money out of the country to hide in offshore accounts. AND start prosecuting the Banks and the Politicians who created the problems in the first place, as Iceland did.

Installing a Goldman Sachs Ceo in place of the elected leader, in Greece a few years was the last straw. A fox to guard the henhouse. And not just in Greece.

[sabrina 1]

34. Correction, 'all European countries USED to be democracies, until the Globalists set their sights on

the First World after destroying most of the Third and Second World sovereign nations.

Greece has just taken a step towards ending those draconian policies, inflicted on their once sovereign nation by Goldman Sachs/Wall St/Globalist/World Bank/IMF Oligarchs.

If you want to know more about how they ravage countries, read Shock Doctrine as an introduction, then study what they have done to European, once sovereign and proud nations.

[chervilant]

5. We are witnessing this implosion even now.

And, it will have far reaching consequences.

[mckara]

6. Excellent Post!

[HereSince1628]

8. Yes, and the US has hooks ready for the Ukraine

When they borrow to get Arms, US financials will have their ass in hand more firmly than the Euro-zone they've pondered joining.

[mother earth]

20. There's a neverending supply of money for warring, and nothing left for anything more. nt

[scarletwoman]

9. Excellent piece! Thank you for posting it!

Very on point and succinct.

[mother earth]

12. I invite all of you to listen to Yanis Varoufakis on video/MM board of DU. nt

[deutsey]

14. Marxian economist Richard Wolff is about to be on KPFA talking about Greece

1:00 pm (EST); 10:00 am (PST)

www.kpfa.org

It will be archived if you can't listen live (Letters and Politics is the name of the program).

[mother earth]

17. TY, deutsey, if you can post a link for us here that would be great.

[deutsey]

18. Will do

Later today, though, when I can access the site on my home computer (radio stations are blocked on my work computer ...I listen to KPFA via iPhone).

[mother earth]

19. TY! Give us a synopsis if ya can, when you can.

[deutsey]

21. Link for "Letters and Politics" show with Richard Wolff

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/111487

From the opening:

"That whole business of Greece is a laboratory effort to see how far you can push the working-class in modern, industrial, advanced countries. That, unless things change, is our future being played out and, depending on how that gets worked out, we're going to have a big clue as to what is going to be tried out on us." Richard Wolff

[Starry Messenger]

22. TY.

Posting to find later.

[mother earth]

23. Thanks so much. Snipped bio on Wolff from wikipedia:

Richard D. Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American heterodox economist, well known for his work on Marxian economics, economic methodology, and class analysis. He is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Utah, University of Paris I (Sorbonne), and The Brecht Forum in New York City. In 2010, Wolff published Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It, also released as a DVD. He released three new books in 2012: Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, with David Barsamian (San Francisco: City Lights Books), Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian, with Stephen Resnick (Cambridge, MA, and London: MIT University Press), and Democracy at Work (Chicago: Haymarket Books).

Wolff hosts the weekly hour-long radio program Economic Update on WBAI, 99.5 FM, New York City (Pacifica Radio) and is featured regularly in television, print, and internet media. The New York Times Magazine has named him "America's most prominent Marxist economist."[

I look forward to listening to this.

[mother earth]

24. Excellent radio show, he pretty much says what happens in Greece happens here, alright,

along with everywhere else, I'm halfway into this and will have to continue tomorrow.

Here is another link, his website, where I found similar confirmation of Heiner Flassbeck's "beggar Thy Neighbor" dirty playing of Germany, no surprise, but easier to understand with Wolff's explanation, along w/ a vast amount of other info.

http://www.rdwolff.com/content/richard-wolff-greek-crisis-austerity-and-post-capitalist-future

[Euphoria]

28. A comment on the Wolf link: Wow!

[mother earth]

31. :) And I thought I liked Krugman...wow is right for Wolff.

[sabrina 1]

35. 'How far you can push the working class in modern, industrial, advanced nations'. They did it in

the Third World and the Second World, then moved on to Europe and HERE. Really, all they needed to do was to look at what happens to those who tried this before throughout history. The French Revolution would be a good place to start. You would think they would LEARN from history!

Greed and power hunger never was rational though and has never been deterred by historical facts. Every time they show up they are certain that THEY will be BETTER at it.

Hopefully Greece will begin a massive movement against them throughout Europe, and then, hopefully the prosecutions will begin, as they did in Iceland.

It's way past time.

Ukraine is about to become their latest victim, and look at the lengths they are willing to go to, start a Civil War to bring the working class into line?

These globalists are a far bigger threat to the world, than ISIS and Al Queda and all the other 'threats' we are constantly being pushed into being 'afraid of'.

[mother earth]

36. Well said!