About this episode

Chris Hedges interviews economist Richard D. Wolff about the economic impacts of the American-Israeli war on Iran and the potential for a global recession.

The global economic impacts of the American-Israeli war on Iran are already being felt, particularly in Asia, through shortages of fuel and other necessities, the closure of factories and the loss of jobs. We are now on a path heading for a global recession, or even worse, a global depression. To sort out what potentially lies ahead and the likelihood of preventing the worst outcomes, Chris Hedges speaks with economist Richard D. Wolff, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Wolff begins the interview by discussing the weaknesses of the capitalist economic system. Since the 1970s, corporations have been moving production to areas of the world where they can maximize profits. This has created fragile supply chains that are vulnerable to changes in the availability of energy and the fallout of political turmoil. Research demonstrates that capitalist systems result in cyclical downturns every four to seven years. The last economic crisis was five to six years ago, so we may very well be on the edge of another one. Wolff reports that it is too early to determine if that will result in inflation, stagflation or deflation. For the United States, commitments to…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Hedges

Guest: Richard D. Wolff

Topics covered

• global economy
• Iran war
• capitalism
• recession
• supply chains
• military spending

Keywords

• Iran war
• global recession
• capitalism
• economic crisis
• supply chains
• military spending
• Richard Wolff

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Places: United States, Iran, Asia

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