logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
32m 15s

Karl Marx's Unique Theory of Social Clas...

THE SOCIALIST PROGRAM
About this episode

Brian and Prof. Wolff continue a series of discussions about the basics of Marxism — a method for understanding and changing  the world used by many of the great revolutionaries of modern history. Today, they discuss Karl Marx's theory of classes. Politicians of all stripes love to talk endlessly about their devotion to the middle class, but what does that even mean? What are the unique insights from Karl Marx about the real class structure of society?

Richard Wolff is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books, the latest being “The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself”. You can check out his work at rdwolff.com

Please make an urgently-needed contribution to The Socialist Program by joining our Patreon community at 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 the monthly Q&A seminar with Brian.

Up next
Yesterday
The Government Shut Down Is the Democrats’ Pathetic Response to Trump w/ Prof. Wolff
Government shutdown; airplanes are not landing, hundreds of thousands are not being paid – Prof. Richard Wolff says what’s needed is a mass labor fightback.Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.co ... Show More
27m 19s
Oct 3
What’s in Trump’s Ultimatum Plan for Gaza and His Right-Wing Takeover of US Universities [Preview]
Brian and Layan examine the Trump plan for Gaza and the Palestinian response. They assess the impact of global movement on the future of the Israeli occupation project. They also discuss Trump’s political ultimatum to US universities.This is a preview of a patrons-only episode. S ... Show More
12m 49s
Oct 2
Trump-Hegseth Invasion Plan: Will Military Agree to Fight ‘Enemy Within’? w/ Mike Prysner
Donald Trump is sending the U.S. military into cities and towns all over the country to wage war against U.S. residents…what he calls “the enemy within.” And Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned military generals from all over the globe to Quantico, VA, to amplify this. Brian B ... Show More
44m 41s
Recommended Episodes
May 2019
#1275 So, Marxism. What is that all about?
Air Date: 5/24/2019 Today we take a look at the much-maligned, rarely-understood field of economic and social study known as Marxism Be part of the show! Leave a message at 202-999-3991   Episode Sponsors: Amazon USA| Amazon CA| Amazon UK| Clean Choice Energy Get AD FREE Shows & ... Show More
1h 17m
Mar 2025
Marxism for the Masses w/ Savannah from All Power Books
Marxism is not some esoteric philosophy meant to be analyzed and discussed in the ivory towers of the academy—not that appreciating Marxism from an intellectual perspective is wrong, or anything—we do that quite a bit—but at its essence, Marxism is a weapon. It’s a tool for chang ... Show More
1h 49m
Jul 2024
Talking Marxism with the Proles
Jeremy, Rae, & Tony from Proles Pod join Breht to talk about the new show, the changes they have made to the original Proles of the Roundtable, Marxism and its relevance for the modern world and contemporary moment, the importance of the masses as well as leaders in the communist ... Show More
1h 57m
Apr 2025
Socialism: Utopian & Scientific | Classics of Marxism #2
In the second episode of our series on the Classics: Daniel, Nye, Georgina & Peter discuss the ideas of Engels' Socialism: Utopian & Scientific.Covering the historical development of scientific socialism and its precursors, it is however far from a text of mere historical value t ... Show More
49m 14s
May 2025
[BEST OF] Estranged Labor: Karl Marx on Alienation
ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 4, 2020 In this solo episode, Breht breaks down Karl Marx’s powerful concept of alienation from his Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. He walks listeners through the four types of alienation Marx identified—alienation from the product, the labor ... Show More
22m 13s
Mar 2025
Communist Manifesto | Classics of Marxism #1
Opening our new series on Marxist Classics, aimed to inspire our listeners to tackle these texts for themselves, Daniel, Tom, Lubna & Peter discuss the Communist Manifesto.The founding document of our movement, it is without a slightest doubt a text that changed the world. Despit ... Show More
54m 36s
Apr 2025
Marxism 101: Intro to Historical Materialism (and the Necessity of Socialism)
In this lecture, Breht provides an accessible but rigorous introduction to the Marxist theory of history: historical materialism. Breht explains how historical materialism is dialectical materialism applied to the evolution of human societies over time, the role that the base-sup ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2017
Episode 26, Karl Marx's Political Philosophy (Part II)
Website: www.thepanpsycast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast Karl Marx is one of the most influential figures in human history. The Prussian-born philosopher, economist, political theorist, sociologist, and revolutionary socialist, produced some of the most controversial ... Show More
37m 50s
Sep 2017
Episode 26, Karl Marx's Political Philosophy (Part I)
Website: www.thepanpsycast.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/thepanpsycast Karl Marx is one of the most influential figures in human history. The Prussian-born philosopher, economist, political theorist, sociologist, and revolutionary socialist, produced some of the most controversial ... Show More
36m 20s