282 - Richard Wolff: China, Russia, Iran, and World War III

Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. This is Richard’s eleventh appearance on Robinson’s Podcast. In this episode, Richard and Robinson discuss the ongoing war in Iran, as well as the war in Russia and Ukraine, our cold war with China, and the future possibilities of World War III. Richard’s latest book is Understanding Capitalism (Democracy at Work, 2024). Understanding Capitalism (Book): https://www.democracyatwork.info/understanding_capitalism Richard’s Website: https://www.rdwolff.com Economic Update: https://www.democracyatwork.info/economicupdate OUTLINE 00:00 China, Iran, and the Implosion of the West 13:00 The Irreconcilable Gulf Between Russia and the West 16:01 Europe’s Hard World War II Lesson 21:20 Europe’s Final Collapse Is Coming 28:42 How China Is Methodically Conquering the World 35:44 Russia’s Siberian Advantage 39:15 Marx, War, and Economic Decline 52:39 Why Iran Will Always Control the Strait of Hormuz 01:02:02 How the United States Already Failed in Iran 01:06:37 What the United States Can Learn from the Collapse of the British Empire 01:12:19 Why the War in Iran Will Not Lead to Nuclear War 01:14:44 John Mearsheimer’s Escalation Ladder and the Threat of Nuclear War in Russia 01:29:53 What Would World War Look Like in the 21st Century? 01:36:17 Donald Trump, The Isolator 01:41:40 The Sad Legacy of the League of Nations 01:51:04 Is World War III Inevitable?