Trade War Will Be a ‘Colossal Blunder’ For U.S. w/ Prof. Richard Wolff
The Socialist Program with Brian Becker
The Socialist Program
4.7 • 587 Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Trump's trade war against China is escalating, but so far it seems to have only facilitated a growing political and economic isolation of the United States. Brian Becker and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the real motives behind Trump’s seemingly chaotic tariff declarations, including how Greenland factors in, and what may lie ahead.
Brian and Prof. Wolff also discuss Harvard’s refusal to cave to Trump’s threats to pull federal funding, and the wider role of elite universities in the United States.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.
Join the The Socialist Program community at www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram. We rely on the generous support of our listeners to keep bringing you consistent, high-quality shows. All Patreon donors of $5 a month or more are invited to join and submit questions to the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | In the face of massive tariffs, stock market chaos rains. |
| 0:06.0 | Donald Trump imposed 125% tariffs on China one day and then announced that Apple iPhones and |
| 0:15.0 | computers are exempted. |
| 0:17.0 | Well, the next day he announced that the exemption isn't really an exemption. |
| 0:22.5 | Maybe it's a pause. |
| 0:24.8 | Much is uncertain, but one thing is certain. |
| 0:27.5 | The U.S. confrontation with China has entered a new and dangerous stage. |
| 0:32.7 | We need a new system. |
| 0:34.7 | We need a new society. |
| 0:36.6 | We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible even a few weeks ago, |
| 0:41.3 | but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. We are excited to have Professor Richard Wolfe join us again for our regular weekly segment |
| 1:12.8 | where we talk about the biggest stories related to the economy, the state of the working class, |
| 1:18.3 | and the crimes of big business. |
| 1:20.2 | I'm your host, Brian Becker. |
| 1:22.1 | The Socialist Program brings you content several days a week. |
| 1:25.3 | Thanks to the support of our patrons at patreon.com |
| 1:28.8 | forward slash the socialist program. |
| 1:32.4 | Please become a patron today if you're not yet. |
| 1:36.0 | Richard Wolfe is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. |
| 1:39.3 | He's the author of many books, including understanding capitalism, |
| 1:43.3 | which is available at Democracy at Work.Info. |
| 1:47.7 | Professor Wolfe, welcome back. |
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