We’re excited that UVM is bringing two outstanding Burack Lecturers to campus in March and April.

Richard Wolff will speak on “Deepening Economic Problems and New Solutions,” March 17th at 4pm in the Livak Ballroom in Davis.
Wolff’s lecture, “Deepening Economic Problems and New Solutions,” links the 2007-09 financial crisis to structural changes taking place in the US economy beginning in the 1970s. Since the 1970s, for example, average wages have stagnated, forcing American workers into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and growing indebtedness in order to cope. This ultimately set up conditions for the mortgage market meltdown and stock market crash of 2008. Instead of viewing the crisis as purely financial, therefore, Wolff argues that it has deeper roots. He views it as a systemic crisis of capitalism and a failure of Washington’s neoliberal economic policies of the last several decades. Consequently, government bailouts, stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to prevent future instability and additional catastrophes. Instead, he suggests fundamental economic and political changes in order to achieve a more sustainable and equitable economic future. Given his emphasis on the systemic failure of capitalism, Wolff is especially interested in inviting the audience to rethink what is meant by democracy. He will explore how we might achieve an authentic democracy upon which better policies can be formulated aimed at building an economy capable of more optimally meeting our needs. His latest book, Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, for example, promotes workplace democracy and self-government within enterprises as one possible solution. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. He also teaches classes regularly at the Brecht Forum in Manhattan. He hosts the weekly hour-long radio program, “Economic Update,” which is syndicated on public radio stations nationwide, and he has appeared several times on Moyers & Company. Wolff writes regularly for the Guardian and Truthout.org
Gar Alperovitz will speak on “Building Towards the Next System: A community sustaining economy,” April 13th at 4pm in the Livak Ballroom in Davis.