Michael Hudson: Iran, Israel, and World War III

Michael Hudson is Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City and President of the Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends. He researches domestic and international finance, the history of economics, and the role of debt in shaping class stratification, among many other topics. This is Michael’s sixth appearance on the show. On past episodes, including with Richard Wolff, he and Robinson have neoliberalism, industrial capitalism, the rentier economy, Marxism, and the role of economics in political history. In this episode, Michael and Robinson talk about Donald Trump, the war in Iran, Russia and Ukraine, Israel, China, and the possibility of World War III. Michael’s most recent book is Temples of Enterprise (ISLET, 2024).  Michael’s Website: ⁠https://michael-hudson.com⁠ Temples of Enterprise: ⁠https://a.co/d/a3c53dm⁠ OUTLINE 00:10 How Oil Controls US Foreign Policy 10:44 How American Foreign Policy Is Leading to World War III 31:03 Trump’s Neocon War Strategy 34:56 Why Does the United States Need Israel for its Iran War? 41:26 Does the US Finance Terrorism in Ukraine and Israel? 44:16 How the West Provoked Russia’s War in Ukraine 52:53 Why Does the US Support Ukraine? 56:10 How China Became an Economic Superpower 59:49 AI and the Economic War for Global Dominance 01:10:21 Oil, Renewable Energy, and the Shifting Global Power Structure 01:12:25 The US Economy After WWI 01:24:21 Why Europe Fell from WWII to the Present 01:36:45 How Trump Ignores the First Amendment 01:40:20 The Apex of American Power after WWII 01:43:12 Who Will Win the Economic World War? 01:49:25 Why Iran Is Crucial to the World’s Future 01:53:38 The Dismal Future of the American Empire Robinson’s Website: ⁠http://robinsonerhardt.com⁠ Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University, where he is also a JD candidate in the Law School.