Free Republic

A debate took place last month at the SoHo Forum. The proposition before the debaters was "Socialism is preferable to capitalism as an economic system that promotes freedom, equality, and prosperity." Arguing in the affirmative was Richard D. Wolff, the preeminent American Marxian economist. He is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University in New York. Opposing was Gene Epstein, the former economics editor of Barron's Magazine. The debate itself wasn't that interesting. Wolff is a skilled communicator and drove...

[SNIP]... Intellectual discourse is, of course, extraordinarily valuable in reaching truth. In this sense, I welcome the opportunity to discuss my views on the economy and monetary policy and how they may differ with those of you here at the Fed. That said, I suspect my views are so different from those of you here today that my comments will be a complete failure in convincing you to do what I believe should be done, which is to close down the entire Federal Reserve System. My views, I suspect, differ from beginning to end... [SNIP]... I stand here confused as...