Dr. Richard Wolff, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, visiting professor in the graduate program in International Affairs of the New School University and the author, most recently, of “Understanding Socialism” and “Understanding Marxism,” tells the Misfits that the US had no excuse for being unprepared for this pandemic ‒ except for the perennial excuse that it wasn’t profitable. Our government could have been buying and storing public health supplies the same way it does military supplies, but it doesn’t. Our capitalist system crashes every four to seven years, but the combination of events this year has pushed us to a total system breakdown. He urges listeners not to be deflected by the wedges the forces of capital will try to drive between us, be they racial, generational or otherwise. He also predicts much more civil unrest, because job losses on this scale are an open invitation to labor abuse.
We are joined by Dr. Gerald Horne, historian and chair of history and African American Studies at the University of Houston warns DC activists that they are probably the most heavily surveilled in the nation and that this administration appears to be pulling out all the stops to smear and prosecute them. Fascism arrives on little cat feet, he says, and it is imperative to block it now before that fist can fully form and fall. For whatever reason, the black community and its allies have finally snapped, and we may be on the verge of more than a long, hot summer. They discuss historical mechanisms used to disrupt protest movements and parallels to effective paths we’ve seen in the past and his fears that this wall-to-wall media coverage of today’s protests will still somehow miss the point.
Hosts Bob Schlehuber and Jamarl Thomas also discussed the charges levied against the three officers present at George Floyd’s death, Drew Brees’ disappointing statement and bizarre apology on the subject, the rise of the thin blue line flag, the frightening trend of attacks on media and the fighting breaking out within media organs over how to cover this uprising.
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com