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  • 6 weeks ago
American political economist, professor, author, and social media sensation Robert Reich teaches his final "Wealth and Poverty" class to 1,000 students at UC Berkeley, ending a 40-year career that reached 40,000 students. One thousand fill the biggest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus, the last class to receive Reich's wisdom and exhortations not to accept that the world has to stay the way it is. His belief in the next generation's ability to take on the fight is inspiring.
Transcript
00:02My name is Robert Reich. This is Wealth and Poverty.
00:05What we are going to be talking about is happening now.
00:10I've been a teacher for 42 years.
00:13One, two, three.
00:15I'm beginning my last semester.
00:17I've done a lot of other things.
00:19That's when we got a minimum wage increase through a Republican-controlled Congress.
00:24I was economic advisor to Barack Obama.
00:27I was Secretary of Labor.
00:28But I've always come back to teaching.
00:30And I can't imagine not doing it.
00:35I still feel that excitement, that energy.
00:38What do we owe each other as members of the same community?
00:41So many people have come up to me and said,
00:44Are you still teaching or are you retired?
00:46And I resist the urge to punch them in the nose.
00:52One of the best ways of learning is to discuss something with somebody who disagrees with you.
00:56Can I do what I love to do as well as I should be doing it?
01:03The wealth is held by the richest 400 Americans.
01:06You get the picture.
01:07We have to all engage their curiosity.
01:09Democracy is not a spectator sport.
01:12It's active.
01:41You can't reach their intellect if you don't reach their emotions.
01:43A true leader helps people overcome cynicism.
01:49I believe in your capacities.
01:52I believe in your commitment.
01:56I believe in you.
01:58It's going to be a wild ride.
02:00Thank you for joining me.
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