The Challenge for Socialism

This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff discusses how the recent upsurge in socialist politicians and interest in socialism raises the question: why did socialism fade after its last surge in the 1930s Great Depression? The New Deal was a kind of socialism that prevailed then and delivered government programs (Social Security, Minimum Wage, Unemployment Insurance, federal jobs programs), but after 1945, the Cold War presided over the New Deal's undoing. The lesson: something must be done about corporate profits, the pool of money untouched by 1930s socialism that corporations used to buy the politicians who undid the New Deal. That something is to convert factories, offices, and stores into worker co-ops democratically owned and operated by their workers. Workers would receive the profit produced by their labor and would thus never use it to undo the victories socialism achieves. Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a production of Democracy at Work, Inc., and any reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited without written permission. We make it a point to keep the show ad-free and rely solely on viewer support to continue doing so. Every donation counts and helps us reach a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world that they won't find anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and the others we produce possible each week. We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info Professor Wolff's latest book, "Understanding Capitalism," is available now for purchase: 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