Capitalism And Its Discontents - Richard Wolff On What Went Wrong [View all]

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Today’s economic crisis is the most severe since the Great Depression. Some put the blame on greedy bankers who pawned off credit-default swaps, subprime mortgages, and a smorgasbord of derivatives on hapless investors in a time of little or no regulation. Others blame consumers who irresponsibly took out loans they couldn’t pay back. Economist Richard Wolff says no single sector of the economy is at fault. The seismic failures are systemic and deep, and fundamental change is necessary to avoid future collapses.

Wolff has devoted a lifetime to the study of economics and capitalism. He is professor of economics emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is currently a visiting professor at The New School in New York City. His 2009 book, Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do about It, is an account of the current crisis and its origins, with suggestions for structural changes rather than tepid reforms. “The issues raised by the crisis,” he says, “go far beyond the stale old debates between those favoring more versus less government. The capitalist system itself has been placed in question.”

http://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/434/capitalism_and_its_discontents