Episode

Marx's Key Insight: Capitalism's Surplus

Podcast

Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Published

Jul 5, 2026

Duration seconds

1943

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Summary

The central concept of Marx's contribution to a critical understanding of the capitalist economic system - the entry point into his distinctive analysis - is "the surplus." Today's show is devoted to making clear (1) what the surplus is, (2) how and why the surplus is central to understanding capitalism's key features, and (3) how the surplus explains such flaws in capitalism, such as the endless class struggles it provokes and the extreme inequalities of wealth and income it generates.