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    Richard D. Wolff

    For other people named Richard Wolff, see Richard Wolff (disambiguation).
    Richard D. Wolff
    Wolff in 2015
    Born
    Richard David Wolff

    (1942-04-01) April 1, 1942 (age 83)[1]
    Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.[1]
    SpouseHarriet Fraad[8]
    Children2
    Academic background
    Education
    Influences
    Academic work
    Discipline
    School or traditionMarxian economics
    Institutions
    Notable ideas
    Wolff's voice
    On education
    Website
    This article is part of a series on
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    Richard David Wolff (born April 1, 1942) is an American Marxian economist known for his work on economic methodology and class analysis. He is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs at The New School. Wolff has also taught economics at Yale University, City College of New York, University of Utah, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and The Brecht Forum in New York City.

    In 1988, Wolff co-founded the journal Rethinking Marxism. He made the 2009 documentary Capitalism Hits the Fan.[9] In 2012, he released three new books: Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism, with David Barsamian; Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian, with Stephen Resnick; and Democracy at Work. In 2019, he released his book Understanding Marxism.[10]

    Wolff hosts the weekly 30-minute-long program Economic Update, produced by the non-profit Democracy at Work, which he co-founded. Economic Update is on YouTube, Free Speech TV, WBAI-FM in New York City (Pacifica Radio), CUNY TV (WNYE-DT3), and available as a podcast. Wolff is featured regularly in television, print, and internet media. He is considered by a number of media outlets to be influential in the field of Marxian economics,[11] and The New York Times Magazine has named him "America's most prominent Marxist economist".[12] Wolff lives in Manhattan with his wife and frequent collaborator, Harriet Fraad, a practicing psychotherapist.

    Early life and education

    To escape Nazism, Wolff's parents, both Jewish German citizens, emigrated to the United States during World War II.[13] His father, a lawyer in Cologne, Germany, became a steelworker in Youngstown, Ohio.[14] The family settled in New Rochelle, New York.[14] Wolff has described his European background as shaping his worldview:

    "Everything you expect about how the world works probably will be changed in your life, that unexpected things happen, often tragic things happen, and being flexible, being aware of a whole range of different things that happen in the world, is not just a good idea as a thinking person, but it's crucial to your survival. So, for me, I grew up convinced that understanding the political and economic environment I lived in was an urgent matter that had to be done, and made me a little different from many of my fellow kids in school who didn't have that sense of the urgency of understanding how the world worked to be able to navigate an unstable and often dangerous world. That was a very important lesson for me."[15]

    Wolff earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in history from Harvard College in 1963.[14] He studied at Stanford University with Paul A. Baran, earning a Master of Arts in economics in 1964.[14] After Baran's death in 1964, Wolff transferred to Yale University, where he received a second master's degree in economics in 1966, a Master of Arts in history in 1967, and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics in 1969.[14] At Yale, he worked as an instructor.[14] His dissertation, "Economic Aspects of British Colonialism in Kenya, 1895–1930",[16] was published as a book in 1974.[17]

    Academic career

    Wolff began teaching at the City College of New York in 1969, where he collaborated with economist Stephen Resnick, who joined in 1971 after being denied tenure at Yale for signing an anti-war petition.[18] In 1973, Wolff and Resnick, along with economists Samuel Bowles, Herbert Gintis, and Richard Edwards, joined the Economics Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where Wolff became a full professor in 1981.[19] He retired from UMass Amherst in 2008, becoming professor emeritus, and joined The New School as a visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs.[20] Wolff has also taught as a visiting or guest lecturer at institutions including University of Utah, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, and The Brecht Forum in New York City.

    Wolff and Resnick's early co-authored publication, "The Theory of Transitional Conjunctures and the Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism," appeared in the Review of Radical Political Economics in 1979.[21] The article explored the transition from feudalism to capitalism, focusing on class dynamics and economic structures. Their collaboration extended to works like Knowledge and Class, which drew on Louis Althusser and Étienne Balibar's Reading Capital and interpreted Karl Marx's Capital Volumes II and III.[4] They analyzed Marxian class theory as the study of surplus labor's performance, appropriation, and distribution, identifying class processes such as ancient, slave, feudal, capitalist, and communist.[4]

    Marx used the word "exploitation" to focus analytical attention on what capitalism shared with feudalism and slavery, something that capitalist revolutions against slavery and feudalism never overcame.

    — Richard D. Wolff[22]

    In 1988, Wolff co-founded Rethinking Marxism, a journal dedicated to exploring Marxian concepts in economics and social sciences.[23] He served on its editorial board for over two decades and remains on the advisory board as of 2025.[24] In 1994, he was a visiting professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.[14] Wolff continues to teach graduate seminars and undergraduate courses at The New School and lectures at various institutions.[25]

    Wolff was a founding member of the Green Party branch in New Haven, Connecticut, and its mayoral candidate in 1985.[26] In 2011, he called for a new left-wing political party in the United States.[27] He is a regular lecturer at the Brecht Forum and appears on television, radio, and in print media.[28] Since 2011, he has hosted Economic Update, a weekly radio/TV show and podcast on WBAI in New York City.[29]

    One of Wolff's students, George Papandreou, served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2009 to 2011. Wolff described Papandreou as a student interested in socialist economics.[30] However, CUNY professor Costas Panayotakis noted that Papandreou, despite campaigning against austerity, implemented a criticized austerity program after Greece's debt crisis.[31]

    Projects

    Wolff is a co-founder of Democracy at Work, a non-profit that produces media and live events advocating workplace democracy and critiquing capitalism.[32] The organization is based on his 2012 book, Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Wolff also hosts the nationally syndicated program Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff, produced by Democracy at Work.[33]

    Reception

    In a review of Wolff's book Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, Hans G. Despain, writing for Marx and Philosophy, argued that the ideas presented in the book "deserve wide support and wide debate to repoliticize the American population and rejuvenate the American workforce and citizens."[34]

    Personal life

    In addition to his native English, Wolff is fluent in French and German.[14] Wolff lives in New York City with his wife, Harriet Fraad, a psychotherapist. They have two children.[28]

    In an interview on The Jimmy Dore Show in January 2021, Wolff stated that he is a distant relative of the German political activist Wilhelm Wolff, to whom the first volume of Karl Marx's Das Kapital was dedicated.[35]

    Publications

    • Wolff, Richard D. (1974). The Economics of Colonialism. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-01639-5.
    • Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (1985). Rethinking Marxism: Essays for Harry Magdoff and Paul Sweezy. NY: Autonomedia.
    • Wolff, Richard D.; Resnick, Stephen A. (1987). Economics: Marxian versus Neoclassical. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 0-8018-3479-1.
    • Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (1987). Knowledge and Class: A Marxian Critique of Political Economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-71021-1.
    • Fraad, Harriet; Wolff, Richard; Resnick, Stephen (1994). Bringing It All Back Home: Class, Gender and Power in the Modern Household. Pluto Press. ISBN 0-7453-0707-8.
    • Wolff, Richard D.; Resnick, Stephen; Ruccio, David F. (1988). Crisis and Transitions: A Critique of the International Economic Order. Westview Press. ISBN 0-8133-0757-0.
    • Gibson-Graham, J.K.; Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (2000). Class and Its Others. Minneapolis: Minnesota University Press. ISBN 0-8166-3618-4.
    • Gibson-Graham, J.K.; Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (2001). Re/Presenting Class: Essays in Postmodern Marxism. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 0-8223-2709-0.
    • Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (2002). Class Theory and History: Capitalism and Communism in the USSR. NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-93317-X.
    • Resnick, Stephen A.; Wolff, Richard D. (2006). New Departures in Marxian Theory. NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-77025-4.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2009). Capitalism Hits the Fan. Olive Branch Press. ISBN 978-1-56656-784-8.
    • Wolff, Richard D.; Resnick, Stephen A. (2012). Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262018005.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2012). Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1608462476.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2016). Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1608465958.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2019). Understanding Marxism. New York: Democracy at Work. ISBN 978-0359467020.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2019). Understanding Socialism. New York: Democracy at Work. ISBN 978-0578227344.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2020). The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself. New York: Democracy at Work.
    • Wolff, Richard D. (2024). Understanding Capitalism. New York: Democracy at Work. ISBN 978-1-7356013-6-6.

    Films

    References

    1. ^ a b c d Wolff, Richard D. (January 1, 2007). "Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications: Richard D. Wolff" (PDF). UMass.edu. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2025.[independent source needed]
    2. ^ "Richard Wolff". The Guardian. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
    3. ^ Crisis and Openings: Introduction to Marxism (2012) on YouTube
    4. ^ a b c d Wolff, Richard D. (1989). Knowledge and Class: A Marxian Critique of Political Economy. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226710235. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    5. ^ "Extended interview with prof. Wolff on how Marxism influences his work". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    6. ^ "Prof. Wolff at the Rosa Luxemburg Conference Opening Night, 08/21/15". Professor Richard D. Wolff. Archived from the original on October 27, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    7. ^ "On Moyers & Company". Richard D. Wolff. Archived from the original on March 30, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    8. ^ "Richard Wolff – Guests". Bill Moyers. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    9. ^ Libin, Kevin (September 19, 2009). "America no longer afraid of Mr. Wolff". National Post. pp. A1A10A12. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
    10. ^ Rampell, Ed (May 22, 2019). "Understanding "Wolff-ism": Prof. Richard Wolff's Take on Karl Marx in New Text". Hollywood Progressive. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    11. ^ Matthews, Dylan (April 25, 2013). "Inside the offbeat economics department that debunked Reinhart-Rogoff". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
    12. ^ Davidson, Adam (February 5, 2012). "It Is Safe to Resume Ignoring the Prophets of Doom ... Right?". The New York Times Magazine. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    13. ^ "Watch Extended Interview with Economist Richard Wolff on How Marxism Influences His Work". Democracy Now!. March 25, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    14. ^ a b c d e f g h Wolff, Richard D. (January 1, 2007). "Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications: Richard D. Wolff" (PDF). UMass.edu. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 1, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    15. ^ Goodman, Amy (March 25, 2013). "Democracy Now! March 25, 2013, Watch Extended Interview with Economist Richard Wolff on How Marxism Influences His Work". Pacifica Radio. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    16. ^ OCLC 682061093
    17. ^ Wolff, Richard D. (1974). Economics of Colonialism: Britain and Kenya, 1870–1930. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-01639-0.
    18. ^ "Yale Denies Tenure to Anti-War Economist". Yale Daily News. April 15, 1971. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    19. ^ "UMass Amherst Hires Five Economists for Economics Department". The Chronicle of Higher Education. June 10, 1973. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    20. ^ "New Faculty Appointments". New School Bulletin. September 1, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    21. ^ Resnick, Stephen; Wolff, Richard (1979). "The Theory of Transitional Conjunctures and the Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism". Review of Radical Political Economics. 11 (3): 3–22, 32–36. doi:10.1177/048661347901100302.
    22. ^ Wolff, Richard D. (May 26, 2015). "Critics of Capitalism Must Include Its Definition". Truthout. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    23. ^ "Rethinking Marxism: Founding Statement". Rethinking Marxism. March 1, 1988. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    24. ^ "Advisory Board". Rethinking Marxism. January 15, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    25. ^ "Faculty Profile: Richard D. Wolff". The New School. February 10, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    26. ^ Feinstein, Mike (October 5, 2011). "Election History: 131 Green Candidates since 1985". Green Party of Connecticut. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    27. ^ Wolff, Richard D. (March 13, 2011). "What's Left of the American Left?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    28. ^ a b Wolff, Richard D. (August 4, 2017). "About Professor Richard D. Wolff". RDWolff.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    29. ^ "Economic Update—Richard D. Wolff". Pacifica Foundation. October 1, 2011. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    30. ^ Psychari, Eirene; Wolff, Richard D. (January 24, 2011). "Interview in 'To Vima' Newspaper—Greek Publication". RDWolff.com. Archived from the original on March 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    31. ^ Panayotakis, Costas (December 1, 2010). "Capitalism, Socialism, and Economic Democracy: Reflections on Today's Crisis and Tomorrow's Possibilities". Capitalism Nature Socialism. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    32. ^ "About – Democracy at Work". Democracy at Work. January 1, 2013. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    33. ^ "Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff". Liberated Syndication. August 30, 2018. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    34. ^ "'Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism' reviewed by Hans G Despain". Marx and Philosophy. November 10, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
    35. ^ Wolff, Richard D. (January 13, 2021). "Capitol Insurrection Caused by Capitalism Failure & Rapacious Donor Class -- Dr. Richard Wolff". The Jimmy Dore Show (Interview). Interviewed by Dore, Jimmy. YouTube. 34:00. Retrieved May 17, 2025.

    Interviews

    External videos
    video icon Capitalism's Stunning Contradiction on YouTube
    video icon Abby Martin & Richard Wolff Discuss Socialism in 2019 on YouTube
    video icon Professor Richard Wolff: Does COVID Crash Show Capitalism Has Finally Failed? on YouTube
    video icon Does Capitalism Actually Reduce Poverty? (with Richard Wolff) on YouTube
    video icon Richard Wolff: Marxism and Communism (Lex Fridman Podcast, 2022) on YouTube
    Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_D._Wolff

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