1 00:00:16,586 --> 00:00:17,586 ♪ Lively jazz music ♪ 2 00:00:31,458 --> 00:00:34,864 [Overlapping chatter] 3 00:00:34,984 --> 00:00:35,984 ♪♪♪ 4 00:00:43,749 --> 00:00:45,124 Please move backwards! 5 00:00:46,138 --> 00:00:48,130 Five steps backwards for me! 6 00:00:48,331 --> 00:00:49,727 [Woman] Five steps back! 7 00:00:50,375 --> 00:00:51,375 ♪♪♪ 8 00:00:55,547 --> 00:00:59,472 [Woman] All right, guys, [indistinct] Gonna be that way! 9 00:00:59,792 --> 00:01:00,792 ♪♪♪ 10 00:01:05,556 --> 00:01:06,434 [Robert] Hello! 11 00:01:06,516 --> 00:01:07,089 -What's your name? 12 00:01:07,109 --> 00:01:07,600 -[Issa] Issa. 13 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:08,206 -Issa! 14 00:01:08,226 --> 00:01:09,519 -[Issa] Very nice to meet you. 15 00:01:09,559 --> 00:01:10,846 Okay, one, two, three. 16 00:01:11,771 --> 00:01:12,771 Beautiful! 17 00:01:13,552 --> 00:01:14,857 [Issa] Thank you so much. 18 00:01:15,191 --> 00:01:16,206 [Robert] How are you? 19 00:01:17,130 --> 00:01:17,840 Take a couple! 20 00:01:17,860 --> 00:01:18,611 -Take a couple! -[Woman] I got a couple. 21 00:01:18,793 --> 00:01:19,904 Okay, cool. 22 00:01:22,650 --> 00:01:23,650 ♪♪♪ 23 00:01:24,033 --> 00:01:24,741 -[Robert] Good luck to you. 24 00:01:24,761 --> 00:01:25,761 -Thank you. 25 00:01:26,309 --> 00:01:27,309 ♪♪♪ 26 00:01:30,957 --> 00:01:32,685 This is really important for my parents, you know. 27 00:01:32,709 --> 00:01:34,376 [Robert, chuckling] Okay! 28 00:01:34,377 --> 00:01:35,561 Thank you so much for all you do, 29 00:01:35,585 --> 00:01:36,745 and all the education you do. 30 00:01:36,974 --> 00:01:39,414 You're just making the world... you're making america and the 31 00:01:39,463 --> 00:01:40,550 world better, so thank you. 32 00:01:40,632 --> 00:01:41,531 [Robert] Oh, that's really nice of you. 33 00:01:41,551 --> 00:01:42,099 -Yeah, yeah. 34 00:01:42,119 --> 00:01:43,119 -Thank you. 35 00:01:43,214 --> 00:01:44,214 ♪♪♪ 36 00:01:50,268 --> 00:01:52,208 Would you mind signing this for me? 37 00:01:52,228 --> 00:01:53,228 ♪♪♪ 38 00:01:58,901 --> 00:01:59,403 -Thank you! 39 00:01:59,423 --> 00:01:59,946 -[Chuckles] 40 00:01:59,986 --> 00:02:00,708 -It's an honor meeting you. 41 00:02:00,728 --> 00:02:01,728 -[Robert] Thank you. 42 00:02:03,323 --> 00:02:03,984 -Hope you enjoy the shoe. 43 00:02:04,004 --> 00:02:05,004 -[Man] Yeah, I will! 44 00:02:05,908 --> 00:02:06,908 ♪♪♪ 45 00:02:14,584 --> 00:02:16,615 [Man on mic] Testing, check, check. 46 00:02:17,522 --> 00:02:18,658 Left channel, left channel. 47 00:02:18,963 --> 00:02:20,940 Right channel, right channel, right channel. 48 00:02:21,545 --> 00:02:23,438 Left channel, left channel, left channel. 49 00:02:23,780 --> 00:02:25,241 Right channel, right channel... 50 00:02:25,261 --> 00:02:27,381 [Robert VO] I've been a professor... a teacher... for 51 00:02:27,825 --> 00:02:28,825 42 years! 52 00:02:30,223 --> 00:02:32,400 [Woman] You made it! 53 00:02:32,421 --> 00:02:32,602 [Laughs] 54 00:02:32,603 --> 00:02:34,295 [Robert VO] I've done a lot of other things, 55 00:02:34,319 --> 00:02:35,871 but I've always come back to teaching. 56 00:02:37,750 --> 00:02:38,751 [Woman] Did you get the email... 57 00:02:38,775 --> 00:02:39,058 Yes. 58 00:02:39,442 --> 00:02:40,584 [Woman] With the syllabus and the readings? 59 00:02:40,608 --> 00:02:41,404 Yes, thank you. 60 00:02:41,567 --> 00:02:43,509 [Robert VO] That's been my home. 61 00:02:43,613 --> 00:02:45,873 And I can't imagine not... 62 00:02:47,022 --> 00:02:48,574 Doing it, to be quite honest. 63 00:02:49,118 --> 00:02:50,285 [Ezra] Bob, it's great to see you. 64 00:02:50,286 --> 00:02:51,451 -[Bob] Ezra, great to see you. 65 00:02:51,471 --> 00:02:52,471 -[Ezra] I'm, uh... 66 00:02:53,309 --> 00:02:55,509 Just kinda getting over the adrenaline rush that is the 67 00:02:55,540 --> 00:02:57,533 start of the [chuckles] semester. 68 00:02:58,237 --> 00:02:59,797 [Robert VO] But aging is a funny thing, 69 00:03:00,672 --> 00:03:03,526 and I just began to ask myself over and over again, 70 00:03:04,008 --> 00:03:05,008 "can I do... 71 00:03:05,677 --> 00:03:09,402 What I love to do... and what I feel like I am called to do... 72 00:03:10,223 --> 00:03:11,686 as well as I should be doing it?" 73 00:03:12,809 --> 00:03:16,810 And so, tomorrow, I'm going to be beginning my last semester 74 00:03:17,313 --> 00:03:18,313 as a professor. 75 00:03:19,065 --> 00:03:20,531 -[Robert] So, Nicki... -[Nicki] Yes. 76 00:03:20,692 --> 00:03:22,023 [Robert] Tomorrow, I will... 77 00:03:23,695 --> 00:03:25,770 Probably not come in from over there. 78 00:03:26,767 --> 00:03:27,033 Okay. 79 00:03:27,156 --> 00:03:29,316 [Robert VO] But there's inevitably a big question Mark 80 00:03:29,387 --> 00:03:30,387 in my mind. 81 00:03:31,035 --> 00:03:33,529 I still feel that excitement, that buzz, 82 00:03:33,871 --> 00:03:34,871 that energy. 83 00:03:35,373 --> 00:03:38,045 So, how can I possibly think about retiring from teaching? 84 00:03:40,002 --> 00:03:41,002 So, I will... 85 00:03:41,898 --> 00:03:43,565 Do introductions, announcements... 86 00:03:44,549 --> 00:03:46,058 Who I am, what this course is about, 87 00:03:46,299 --> 00:03:48,539 who you are, about you... 88 00:03:48,761 --> 00:03:50,005 -This is the first clicker. 89 00:03:50,025 --> 00:03:52,171 -[Nicki] Okay, I'm on it. 90 00:03:52,512 --> 00:03:55,990 [Robert VO] Beyond that, I deeply despise the word 91 00:03:56,352 --> 00:03:57,648 "retirement." 92 00:03:57,770 --> 00:04:01,259 So many people over the last couple of years have come up to 93 00:04:01,399 --> 00:04:02,919 me and said, "are you still teaching?" 94 00:04:03,192 --> 00:04:04,192 Or "are you retired?" 95 00:04:06,607 --> 00:04:07,891 And I... 96 00:04:08,072 --> 00:04:09,752 Resist the urge to punch them in the nose. 97 00:04:11,030 --> 00:04:12,878 Okay, can I, um, advance the slides? 98 00:04:14,850 --> 00:04:15,172 -[Nicki] Yes. 99 00:04:15,192 --> 00:04:15,413 -[Clicking] 100 00:04:15,414 --> 00:04:17,122 [Robert VO] I mean... 101 00:04:17,123 --> 00:04:18,590 Patience wears thin... 102 00:04:20,057 --> 00:04:22,852 [Chuckling] When you... when you don't have all that many 103 00:04:23,254 --> 00:04:24,454 infinite number of years left. 104 00:04:26,108 --> 00:04:27,268 So, how are we doing on time? 105 00:04:27,633 --> 00:04:28,160 -[Nicki] 6:33. 106 00:04:28,180 --> 00:04:28,990 -[Sasha] Uh, 6:30. 107 00:04:29,051 --> 00:04:30,051 [Robert] Okay. 108 00:04:30,636 --> 00:04:33,468 We should probably start talking about the course. 109 00:04:33,951 --> 00:04:34,951 [Laughter] 110 00:04:35,391 --> 00:04:38,389 I'm sure there are complications that I don't even need to know 111 00:04:38,831 --> 00:04:40,251 or wanna know. 112 00:04:40,271 --> 00:04:41,359 -[Sasha] It's a great group. 113 00:04:41,379 --> 00:04:41,822 -Yeah. 114 00:04:42,064 --> 00:04:43,410 [Sasha] It's a really great group. 115 00:04:43,434 --> 00:04:43,799 Great. 116 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:45,794 Well, I'm really... I'm looking forward to meeting them 117 00:04:45,818 --> 00:04:46,716 tomorrow. 118 00:04:46,796 --> 00:04:50,511 Now, do we have any feel for how many are going to try to do this 119 00:04:51,073 --> 00:04:51,972 remotely? 120 00:04:52,094 --> 00:04:56,379 We've been trying to encourage everybody to come in person. 121 00:04:56,701 --> 00:04:57,288 [Robert] Good. 122 00:04:57,288 --> 00:04:58,288 Because it's just... 123 00:04:59,248 --> 00:05:03,865 The essence of the live course... just like the essence of the 124 00:05:04,106 --> 00:05:06,236 sections... is in the interaction, 125 00:05:06,859 --> 00:05:07,859 in the liveness. 126 00:05:08,986 --> 00:05:11,146 So, to the extent that we can have them in the course, 127 00:05:11,677 --> 00:05:12,866 so much the better. 128 00:05:14,282 --> 00:05:14,465 Yeah. 129 00:05:14,931 --> 00:05:15,931 [Robert] One other thing: 130 00:05:17,934 --> 00:05:21,685 You had written me... I think in the fall... about 131 00:05:22,688 --> 00:05:26,342 -recruiting people to be gsis... -Okay. 132 00:05:26,844 --> 00:05:28,390 [Robert] I mean, now, I don't know... 133 00:05:28,611 --> 00:05:31,186 I was asked how many people know this is my last semester. 134 00:05:31,447 --> 00:05:32,447 I have no idea. 135 00:05:32,635 --> 00:05:34,035 Is this, a... 136 00:05:34,116 --> 00:05:35,142 -Widely-understood...? 137 00:05:35,162 --> 00:05:35,785 -Yes. 138 00:05:35,785 --> 00:05:35,987 -Yeah. 139 00:05:36,007 --> 00:05:36,452 -[Robert] Okay. 140 00:05:36,452 --> 00:05:37,452 It's widely understood. 141 00:05:37,827 --> 00:05:39,507 We recruited people with that information, 142 00:05:40,825 --> 00:05:42,319 and then, today, I also... 143 00:05:43,187 --> 00:05:47,543 Sent that out, um, as a part of the "welcome back to school, 144 00:05:47,964 --> 00:05:50,364 welcome to wealth and poverty" reminder to all the students. 145 00:05:50,508 --> 00:05:51,614 To all the students? 146 00:05:51,634 --> 00:05:52,634 Oh, so they all know? 147 00:05:52,843 --> 00:05:53,843 [Laughs] 148 00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:54,324 Okay. 149 00:05:54,719 --> 00:05:56,605 I can read you the exact language I used. 150 00:05:56,846 --> 00:05:57,494 [Robert] No, it's fine! 151 00:05:57,615 --> 00:05:58,655 You don't have to do that. 152 00:05:58,808 --> 00:05:58,969 -Okay. 153 00:05:58,989 --> 00:06:00,559 -[Robert] I just... I've not... 154 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:01,988 Advertised it at all. 155 00:06:02,812 --> 00:06:03,812 But... 156 00:06:04,063 --> 00:06:05,183 You know, it's not a secret. 157 00:06:05,648 --> 00:06:06,648 So it's perfectly fine. 158 00:06:06,836 --> 00:06:09,360 I said, "it's professor reich's final semester of teaching." 159 00:06:12,154 --> 00:06:13,154 Oh, great! 160 00:06:14,198 --> 00:06:15,198 Great! 161 00:06:16,772 --> 00:06:17,772 [Chuckles] 162 00:06:17,861 --> 00:06:18,184 Okay. 163 00:06:18,584 --> 00:06:20,867 ♪ Lively jazz music ♪ 164 00:06:41,954 --> 00:06:43,281 [Heather] Thank you, sir. 165 00:06:43,853 --> 00:06:44,997 Edwin, how are you this morning? 166 00:06:45,021 --> 00:06:45,526 [Edwin] I'm good. 167 00:06:45,547 --> 00:06:46,335 How are you doing today? 168 00:06:46,355 --> 00:06:46,897 Great, thank you. 169 00:06:46,939 --> 00:06:48,514 [Edwin] A little honey on the side, exactly how you like it, 170 00:06:48,538 --> 00:06:48,899 -okay? 171 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:49,422 -Okay. 172 00:06:49,442 --> 00:06:50,048 -[Edwin] Enjoy. 173 00:06:50,068 --> 00:06:51,359 -[Heather] Okay, um... 174 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:51,785 -A couple items. 175 00:06:51,805 --> 00:06:53,160 -[Robert] Okay. 176 00:06:53,402 --> 00:06:54,927 [Heather] Did you sleep last night? 177 00:06:54,947 --> 00:06:55,947 Do I look that bad? 178 00:06:56,032 --> 00:06:57,217 [Heather, laughing] No, you don't look bad! 179 00:06:57,241 --> 00:06:58,601 But I'm just curious if you slept. 180 00:06:59,170 --> 00:07:00,170 [Robert] No, no. 181 00:07:01,203 --> 00:07:03,083 Oh, that reminds me; I have a new prescription. 182 00:07:04,434 --> 00:07:05,434 Anti-inflammatory. 183 00:07:05,708 --> 00:07:07,716 The only potential side effect... 184 00:07:07,877 --> 00:07:08,361 -Is heart attack. 185 00:07:08,381 --> 00:07:09,381 -[Heather] Stop it! 186 00:07:11,065 --> 00:07:12,093 [Chuckles] 187 00:07:12,214 --> 00:07:13,029 [Heather, laughing] This is terrible! 188 00:07:13,049 --> 00:07:14,275 -But that's... -[Heather] I don't want this 189 00:07:14,299 --> 00:07:14,788 responsibility. 190 00:07:15,134 --> 00:07:16,294 It's not your responsibility! 191 00:07:16,469 --> 00:07:18,053 Heather, you take responsibility for all kinds of things. 192 00:07:18,054 --> 00:07:20,358 Yeah, but now I know that you might take this pill walking 193 00:07:20,382 --> 00:07:22,824 into your 800-person... which is gonna be a thousand people... 194 00:07:22,848 --> 00:07:24,369 [Robert] Well, why is it your responsibility? 195 00:07:24,393 --> 00:07:26,725 'Cause I will feel guilty when you croak 'cause I could have 196 00:07:26,749 --> 00:07:27,829 stopped you from taking it! 197 00:07:28,105 --> 00:07:29,585 No, you can't stop me from taking it. 198 00:07:32,443 --> 00:07:33,991 This officially begins my old age. 199 00:07:36,572 --> 00:07:37,572 [Heather] Oh my gosh... 200 00:07:40,030 --> 00:07:41,910 [Robert] So now, in terms of the other business... 201 00:07:41,911 --> 00:07:43,311 If you could take a look at that... 202 00:07:44,914 --> 00:07:46,609 Tape of Arthur laffer and me? 203 00:07:47,558 --> 00:07:48,558 Because... 204 00:07:49,293 --> 00:07:51,373 That's another thing that would be great to develop. 205 00:07:51,877 --> 00:07:56,156 The public sees no examples of people who disagree... 206 00:07:56,759 --> 00:07:57,464 -[Heather] Right. 207 00:07:57,484 --> 00:07:57,887 -On everything. 208 00:07:57,947 --> 00:07:58,455 [Heather] Right. 209 00:07:58,678 --> 00:08:01,583 But who actually like each other or get along with each other, 210 00:08:02,264 --> 00:08:03,464 and are civil with each other. 211 00:08:04,809 --> 00:08:08,413 You know, I do have friends who I enjoy being with who... 212 00:08:10,272 --> 00:08:12,200 Are on the other side of this great divide... 213 00:08:12,441 --> 00:08:13,681 who are Republicans, who are... 214 00:08:14,318 --> 00:08:16,255 I mean, look at Alan Simpson. 215 00:08:16,779 --> 00:08:17,631 -[Heather] Yeah. 216 00:08:17,651 --> 00:08:18,651 -I love the guy. 217 00:08:19,064 --> 00:08:19,285 I think... 218 00:08:19,385 --> 00:08:21,105 We could do a series, and we wrap around... 219 00:08:22,326 --> 00:08:23,326 You know, maybe three. 220 00:08:24,495 --> 00:08:25,975 It's an important piece of education. 221 00:08:27,206 --> 00:08:28,452 It's so typical for you... 222 00:08:29,959 --> 00:08:31,705 To be on the precipice of retiring, 223 00:08:32,628 --> 00:08:34,148 and we've started two new initiatives, 224 00:08:34,463 --> 00:08:35,049 -and it's not even 8:22. 225 00:08:35,070 --> 00:08:36,070 -[Robert] That's right. 226 00:08:37,400 --> 00:08:37,928 [Laughs] 227 00:08:38,009 --> 00:08:39,243 [Heather] This is great. 228 00:08:39,264 --> 00:08:39,385 Check! 229 00:08:39,426 --> 00:08:39,958 And you're doing them. 230 00:08:39,978 --> 00:08:40,469 And you're doing them! 231 00:08:40,530 --> 00:08:42,307 [Heather] I need to get outta here. 232 00:08:42,428 --> 00:08:47,353 [Clock tower bell tolling] 233 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,803 ♪ Energetic jazz drumming ♪ 234 00:09:04,534 --> 00:09:06,235 [Cacophonous chatter] 235 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:16,281 ♪♪♪ 236 00:09:19,737 --> 00:09:21,138 [Chatter continues] 237 00:09:34,276 --> 00:09:35,276 ♪♪♪ 238 00:09:38,381 --> 00:09:38,715 [Robert] Hello! 239 00:09:38,857 --> 00:09:40,695 [Sasha] Hello, good to see you! 240 00:09:40,696 --> 00:09:42,158 Your announcements... 241 00:09:42,239 --> 00:09:44,199 "If you have any questions related to the course, 242 00:09:44,384 --> 00:09:45,384 please email Sasha..." 243 00:09:45,534 --> 00:09:46,534 This is so articulate... 244 00:09:47,286 --> 00:09:48,286 You're gonna give it. 245 00:09:49,371 --> 00:09:50,053 -[Sasha] Okay! 246 00:09:50,073 --> 00:09:51,073 [Laughs] -[Robert] Okay? 247 00:09:51,481 --> 00:09:52,168 [Sasha] Sure! 248 00:09:52,289 --> 00:09:53,580 [Man on mic] Students, as you come in, 249 00:09:53,604 --> 00:09:55,901 please file to the center of each row. 250 00:09:56,021 --> 00:09:57,735 Do not congregate in the aisles. 251 00:09:57,775 --> 00:09:59,008 Step all the way in. 252 00:09:59,068 --> 00:10:00,502 [Indistinct] On either side. 253 00:10:01,592 --> 00:10:03,272 ♪ What you want ♪ 254 00:10:04,159 --> 00:10:05,888 ♪ baby, I got it ♪ 255 00:10:06,232 --> 00:10:07,344 ♪ what you need ♪ 256 00:10:07,890 --> 00:10:09,036 ♪ you know I got it ♪ 257 00:10:11,011 --> 00:10:12,061 ♪ all I'm askin' ♪ 258 00:10:12,141 --> 00:10:14,794 ♪ is for a little respect when you come home ♪ 259 00:10:15,055 --> 00:10:16,218 ♪ hey, baby ♪ 260 00:10:17,286 --> 00:10:18,286 ♪ when you get home ♪ 261 00:10:19,416 --> 00:10:20,416 ♪ mister ♪ 262 00:10:22,609 --> 00:10:24,617 ♪ I ain't gonna do you wrong ♪ 263 00:10:25,164 --> 00:10:26,164 ♪ while you're gone ♪ 264 00:10:26,826 --> 00:10:28,731 ♪ I ain't gonna do you wrong... ♪ 265 00:10:28,991 --> 00:10:29,991 This gets me in the mood! 266 00:10:31,423 --> 00:10:32,493 ♪ All I'm askin'... ♪ 267 00:10:33,686 --> 00:10:34,983 [Sasha on mic] Please login now. 268 00:10:35,084 --> 00:10:36,510 [Indistinct] Live poll. 269 00:10:38,617 --> 00:10:41,800 [Indistinct] Email me or your other head gsi Sasha. 270 00:10:44,541 --> 00:10:45,541 Thank you. 271 00:10:46,235 --> 00:10:47,235 ♪♪♪ 272 00:11:04,113 --> 00:11:05,113 [Music shuts off] 273 00:11:05,948 --> 00:11:06,988 [Robert] Okay, well, um... 274 00:11:09,285 --> 00:11:10,285 Hello. 275 00:11:11,083 --> 00:11:11,831 [Crowd] Hi! 276 00:11:11,871 --> 00:11:12,871 [Cheering] 277 00:11:13,289 --> 00:11:14,809 Well, I don't need that kind of hello, 278 00:11:14,874 --> 00:11:16,034 but thank you for that hello! 279 00:11:17,293 --> 00:11:20,265 It's so great to see all of you, and see your faces. 280 00:11:20,546 --> 00:11:22,881 My name is Robert reich, this is wealth and poverty. 281 00:11:24,069 --> 00:11:25,333 And... 282 00:11:25,634 --> 00:11:28,003 We'll talk a lot about wealth, and we'll talk a lot about 283 00:11:28,324 --> 00:11:28,610 poverty. 284 00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:31,568 But, first of all, in terms of introductions, who am I? 285 00:11:31,969 --> 00:11:34,638 Well, I was an economic advisor to Barack Obama. 286 00:11:35,019 --> 00:11:37,912 Before that, I was secretary of labor in the Clinton 287 00:11:38,314 --> 00:11:38,802 administration. 288 00:11:39,148 --> 00:11:44,073 Before that, assistant to the solicitor general in the Ford 289 00:11:44,820 --> 00:11:45,820 administration. 290 00:11:47,218 --> 00:11:48,578 Am I getting into ancient history? 291 00:11:49,758 --> 00:11:52,067 And before that, I was special assistant... 292 00:11:53,412 --> 00:11:54,959 To Abraham Lincoln, as many of you... 293 00:11:55,039 --> 00:11:56,570 -[Laughter] -You know that. 294 00:11:57,869 --> 00:11:59,295 No, that's... 295 00:11:59,395 --> 00:12:01,046 That's a bad... 296 00:12:01,126 --> 00:12:02,126 A bad joke. 297 00:12:02,775 --> 00:12:06,032 [Robert VO] Every class, every semester is different. 298 00:12:07,259 --> 00:12:10,981 I'm reminded of that old saying that you can never step into the 299 00:12:11,222 --> 00:12:12,309 same stream twice. 300 00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:16,237 Well, it's something like that with regard to the course. 301 00:12:17,141 --> 00:12:19,430 I've been teaching here at Berkeley for maybe 17 or 18 302 00:12:20,876 --> 00:12:21,079 years. 303 00:12:21,564 --> 00:12:23,274 I never expected it was gonna be that long. 304 00:12:23,275 --> 00:12:25,330 [Robert VO] U Cal Berkeley is a public university. 305 00:12:26,257 --> 00:12:28,331 I came here in part because of exactly that. 306 00:12:29,740 --> 00:12:33,784 And before that, I was teaching at a university called Brandeis. 307 00:12:34,827 --> 00:12:39,171 Before that, at a university called Harvard. 308 00:12:41,105 --> 00:12:43,438 [Robert VO] There is something different about a public 309 00:12:43,921 --> 00:12:44,921 university. 310 00:12:45,714 --> 00:12:48,668 A third of my students are from community colleges. 311 00:12:49,593 --> 00:12:53,488 A disproportionate number are first-generation students in 312 00:12:53,889 --> 00:12:54,889 college. 313 00:12:55,391 --> 00:12:56,551 What difference does it make? 314 00:12:56,600 --> 00:12:57,720 Well, it makes a difference. 315 00:12:58,727 --> 00:13:00,038 [Robert] So, this is the first question. 316 00:13:00,062 --> 00:13:01,462 This is the first clicker exercise, 317 00:13:01,814 --> 00:13:04,158 starting with something very easy about you. 318 00:13:06,042 --> 00:13:08,635 "When I was growing up, I would say my family was: 319 00:13:09,238 --> 00:13:11,311 (A) Wealthy, b) Upper middle class, 320 00:13:11,573 --> 00:13:13,777 (c) Middle class, d) Working class, 321 00:13:14,158 --> 00:13:16,290 (e) Low income or poor." 322 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:19,080 Go. 323 00:13:20,456 --> 00:13:22,795 [Robert VO] They're highly motivated. 324 00:13:22,835 --> 00:13:24,680 They are not entitled. 325 00:13:26,422 --> 00:13:27,748 How can I say that in a nice way? 326 00:13:28,591 --> 00:13:29,631 They don't feel anybody... 327 00:13:31,260 --> 00:13:32,260 Owes them... 328 00:13:33,262 --> 00:13:34,262 A college education. 329 00:13:35,139 --> 00:13:37,545 [Robert] And let's end the bidding there and see... 330 00:13:38,267 --> 00:13:40,867 Well, there's a big bunch of you that say "upper middle class" or 331 00:13:41,145 --> 00:13:43,432 "professional," a small number say "wealthy." 332 00:13:44,315 --> 00:13:46,035 But then, the rest of you are spread out... 333 00:13:47,109 --> 00:13:49,262 "middle class," "working class"... 334 00:13:51,153 --> 00:13:52,153 "Low income or poor." 335 00:13:52,448 --> 00:13:54,457 I wanna just stress the subjectivity here. 336 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,815 I discovered, when I was in my 20s... not until I was in my 20s 337 00:13:58,996 --> 00:14:00,436 that we actually were quite poor. 338 00:14:01,540 --> 00:14:03,740 But I didn't know it because everybody around me was... 339 00:14:05,113 --> 00:14:05,275 Poor. 340 00:14:05,377 --> 00:14:09,639 That is, you don't know much about where you are situated 341 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:13,470 economically if everybody around you is pretty much the same. 342 00:14:14,011 --> 00:14:17,259 It's only when you get a sense of relativity that you learn 343 00:14:17,640 --> 00:14:19,426 more about your situation. 344 00:14:20,309 --> 00:14:22,429 [Robert VO] And so, I have two goals for my students. 345 00:14:23,479 --> 00:14:25,508 That first goal is I want them to think! 346 00:14:26,231 --> 00:14:29,327 I want them to get into the habit of thinking hard about the 347 00:14:29,568 --> 00:14:32,259 issues that we are talking about together. 348 00:14:33,364 --> 00:14:35,204 I want them to question their own assumptions. 349 00:14:35,427 --> 00:14:39,255 I want them to become much more critical in terms of their 350 00:14:39,536 --> 00:14:40,536 thinking. 351 00:14:40,662 --> 00:14:42,555 And so, we start with the question: 352 00:14:42,998 --> 00:14:46,134 "What happened to the us economy beginning after the 353 00:14:46,335 --> 00:14:47,335 second world war?" 354 00:14:47,606 --> 00:14:49,535 And this is adjusted for inflation. 355 00:14:50,339 --> 00:14:51,339 Wow! 356 00:14:51,548 --> 00:14:52,992 This is an extraordinary record! 357 00:14:55,677 --> 00:14:59,313 So, where did most of the economy's gains go? 358 00:15:01,433 --> 00:15:03,240 The wealth held by the richest 400 Americans, 359 00:15:04,686 --> 00:15:07,440 as a percentage of the total us economy. 360 00:15:08,023 --> 00:15:09,023 Let's take a look. 361 00:15:09,586 --> 00:15:10,586 Starting in 1980... 362 00:15:12,361 --> 00:15:13,361 This is just 400. 363 00:15:18,409 --> 00:15:19,409 Do you get the picture? 364 00:15:26,228 --> 00:15:27,714 This is not blaming them. 365 00:15:30,129 --> 00:15:34,291 Let me hasten to say, this is not about them being bad or 366 00:15:34,633 --> 00:15:37,458 wrong, or doing something that is nefarious. 367 00:15:39,304 --> 00:15:41,274 This is simply about what has happened. 368 00:15:43,912 --> 00:15:45,072 [Robert VO] My second goal... 369 00:15:46,478 --> 00:15:49,967 Is I want some of them, and expect some of them, 370 00:15:50,669 --> 00:15:52,361 and hope some of them will actually... 371 00:15:54,403 --> 00:15:56,190 Help the world, help improve... 372 00:15:57,656 --> 00:15:58,656 What we see. 373 00:16:00,262 --> 00:16:01,742 Reverse some of the troubling trends. 374 00:16:03,506 --> 00:16:05,256 Now, I want to suggest to you... 375 00:16:07,666 --> 00:16:09,433 That the subject of this class... 376 00:16:13,464 --> 00:16:18,349 Is directly and powerfully related to the subject of 377 00:16:18,927 --> 00:16:19,927 democracy, 378 00:16:21,638 --> 00:16:22,638 and the quality... 379 00:16:24,159 --> 00:16:26,386 And capacity of our country... 380 00:16:28,437 --> 00:16:29,437 To survive. 381 00:16:30,147 --> 00:16:31,955 Whether you are worried about climate change, 382 00:16:32,357 --> 00:16:33,957 or you're worried about anything else... 383 00:16:36,653 --> 00:16:39,749 I want to suggest to you that much of what we are going to be 384 00:16:39,990 --> 00:16:42,299 talking about over the next 14 weeks 385 00:16:43,785 --> 00:16:45,430 is happening now. 386 00:16:46,975 --> 00:16:49,085 This is not an exercise in theory, 387 00:16:49,748 --> 00:16:54,713 this is an exercise in understanding reality, 388 00:16:55,130 --> 00:16:58,485 understanding a system... a political economic system... 389 00:16:58,967 --> 00:16:59,967 moving through time. 390 00:17:05,994 --> 00:17:07,100 It's gonna be a wild ride. 391 00:17:07,643 --> 00:17:08,643 Thank you for joining me. 392 00:17:09,658 --> 00:17:10,658 [Applause] 393 00:17:23,242 --> 00:17:24,992 [Nicki] How'd it go, Bob? 394 00:17:24,993 --> 00:17:29,457 Judging from, um, what I saw, a lot of people are bewildered. 395 00:17:30,249 --> 00:17:30,670 -[Nicki] Okay. 396 00:17:30,690 --> 00:17:31,690 -A lot of the students. 397 00:17:32,476 --> 00:17:34,802 I've gotta run; We're gonna have... the gsis and I are 398 00:17:35,003 --> 00:17:36,003 getting together. 399 00:17:36,046 --> 00:17:36,512 -Thank you. 400 00:17:36,533 --> 00:17:37,506 -[Sasha] Yeah, thank you. 401 00:17:37,507 --> 00:17:38,539 [Robert] Great Job. 402 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:44,221 [Robert VO] There was a lot of confusion. 403 00:17:44,596 --> 00:17:45,596 I think... 404 00:17:46,682 --> 00:17:49,790 If I were gonna do it again, I'd cut out a lot of the graphs, 405 00:17:50,352 --> 00:17:52,842 because they... they're not... 406 00:17:53,312 --> 00:17:56,094 They're less, um... 407 00:17:56,275 --> 00:17:58,841 They're less fascinated by the graphics stuff than I am. 408 00:18:00,924 --> 00:18:04,778 [Robert VO] What they're used to is kind of absorbing data for 409 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,130 regurgitation on exams. 410 00:18:08,537 --> 00:18:13,062 They're not used to absorbing data in terms of the... 411 00:18:14,438 --> 00:18:16,437 Emotional reality of data. 412 00:18:16,962 --> 00:18:18,642 This is something that's really important. 413 00:18:18,797 --> 00:18:21,372 I mean, you can't reach their intellect if you don't reach 414 00:18:22,237 --> 00:18:23,345 their emotions. 415 00:18:23,385 --> 00:18:25,029 You can't reach their emotions unless you've reached... 416 00:18:25,053 --> 00:18:26,213 You've gotta operate on both. 417 00:18:27,256 --> 00:18:28,489 [Clapping] [Woman] Well done, gsis! 418 00:18:28,513 --> 00:18:30,099 [Sasha] That was awesome! 419 00:18:30,100 --> 00:18:30,643 -[Woman] So good! 420 00:18:30,663 --> 00:18:31,709 -[Sasha] That was great. 421 00:18:32,133 --> 00:18:33,133 Good! 422 00:18:33,268 --> 00:18:34,816 [Sasha] The energy was really great. 423 00:18:35,879 --> 00:18:36,879 [Woman] Yes. 424 00:18:37,957 --> 00:18:38,957 Gspp? 425 00:18:39,350 --> 00:18:39,877 [Sasha] Gspp. 426 00:18:39,897 --> 00:18:40,897 All the gsis are outside. 427 00:18:41,435 --> 00:18:42,435 [Woman] Perfect. 428 00:18:42,787 --> 00:18:47,472 ♪ Tender light jazz ♪ 429 00:19:15,687 --> 00:19:18,533 [Robert] I can't tell you the number of times I'm on a plane 430 00:19:19,274 --> 00:19:21,947 or in a city, and somebody comes up and says, 431 00:19:23,695 --> 00:19:24,695 "professor reich!" 432 00:19:25,113 --> 00:19:28,056 You know, "John blah blah blah from class of... 433 00:19:28,197 --> 00:19:29,197 '84!" 434 00:19:29,618 --> 00:19:31,193 And I have no recollection. 435 00:19:33,015 --> 00:19:34,015 But just do the math. 436 00:19:34,873 --> 00:19:37,923 If I'm teaching an average of 800 to 1,000 students a year, 437 00:19:39,628 --> 00:19:42,196 there are a number of students out there... quite a number. 438 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:44,480 ♪♪♪ 439 00:19:47,970 --> 00:19:49,610 The students used to call this my museum, 440 00:19:50,514 --> 00:19:53,690 because I put up on the walls stuff that I, um... 441 00:19:54,976 --> 00:19:56,138 Have done over the years. 442 00:19:58,647 --> 00:20:02,102 Up there is a photo of Bill Clinton's cabinet... 443 00:20:02,484 --> 00:20:03,484 his first cabinet. 444 00:20:05,404 --> 00:20:06,686 My first supreme court argument. 445 00:20:09,177 --> 00:20:12,095 Over there is a puppet of newt gingrich. 446 00:20:15,724 --> 00:20:19,368 That's when we got the first minimum wage increase in years, 447 00:20:20,669 --> 00:20:22,480 through a republican-controlled congress. 448 00:20:23,567 --> 00:20:25,341 I was very proud of that. 449 00:20:28,844 --> 00:20:31,404 [Elliot] When did you think you knew you wanted to be a teacher? 450 00:20:33,452 --> 00:20:35,601 [Robert] I knew it from the first day, 451 00:20:36,184 --> 00:20:38,079 when I came into the classroom at Harvard. 452 00:20:39,187 --> 00:20:40,861 It was like... 453 00:20:41,022 --> 00:20:43,296 Eating a wonderful meal for the first time. 454 00:20:44,443 --> 00:20:47,194 I just thought, "oh, this is so... 455 00:20:47,696 --> 00:20:50,038 [Chuckles] Wonderful, and lovely, 456 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,562 and easy, and refreshing, and delicious!" 457 00:20:52,784 --> 00:20:55,700 And I just... I fell in love with it immediately. 458 00:20:57,187 --> 00:20:58,187 ♪♪♪ 459 00:21:00,041 --> 00:21:03,386 If you asked me, emotionally, is this 40 years ago? 460 00:21:04,608 --> 00:21:06,890 [Chuckling] No, it's five years ago! 461 00:21:07,152 --> 00:21:11,794 I mean, I understand that that is not the person who you are 462 00:21:12,095 --> 00:21:15,243 now seeing, but that's actually my self-image 463 00:21:16,306 --> 00:21:17,306 part of the time now. 464 00:21:18,907 --> 00:21:19,907 [Laughs] 465 00:21:19,978 --> 00:21:22,803 The big surprise is not what you see in the photo, 466 00:21:23,064 --> 00:21:24,944 the big surprise is what you see in the mirror! 467 00:21:26,962 --> 00:21:30,434 Here is when I ran for the nomination for governor in 468 00:21:31,156 --> 00:21:32,156 Massachusetts. 469 00:21:32,706 --> 00:21:34,906 The Boston herald... very conservative... they couldn't 470 00:21:35,243 --> 00:21:36,563 find anything else to talk about, 471 00:21:36,912 --> 00:21:40,303 so they manufactured a story about short people being angry 472 00:21:40,624 --> 00:21:43,520 because I was making fun of my height sometimes. 473 00:21:44,936 --> 00:21:48,165 I'm gonna have to find places for all this in my garage. 474 00:21:49,007 --> 00:21:51,247 Maybe I'll just have a big "going out of business" sale. 475 00:21:52,427 --> 00:21:55,151 And this is my cabinet chair. 476 00:21:56,493 --> 00:21:57,693 It's incredibly uncomfortable. 477 00:21:58,099 --> 00:21:59,166 I mean, I never liked it. 478 00:22:00,455 --> 00:22:02,580 But what are you gonna do when you have a cabinet chair? 479 00:22:02,604 --> 00:22:03,684 Are you gonna throw it out? 480 00:22:04,450 --> 00:22:04,981 [Chuckles] 481 00:22:05,062 --> 00:22:06,822 You're not gonna put it in your living room! 482 00:22:06,942 --> 00:22:08,302 So, this is the best place for it. 483 00:22:08,860 --> 00:22:11,846 I don't know what happens to it when I leave this office. 484 00:22:13,509 --> 00:22:14,509 ♪♪♪ 485 00:22:38,702 --> 00:22:39,862 This is Berkeley, California. 486 00:22:41,059 --> 00:22:42,706 I first came out here in the late 1960s. 487 00:22:44,374 --> 00:22:46,922 It was a tumultuous decade; I remember, 488 00:22:48,146 --> 00:22:50,589 you know, when I first came out here... 1968... well... 489 00:22:53,405 --> 00:22:54,565 Many of us thought america... 490 00:22:56,199 --> 00:22:57,751 Would never recover from... 491 00:22:59,202 --> 00:23:02,926 The assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, 492 00:23:04,693 --> 00:23:08,429 the cities burning as a result of riots... 493 00:23:08,670 --> 00:23:11,327 And the whole country was coming apart; 494 00:23:11,649 --> 00:23:13,529 it felt like we were coming apart at the seams. 495 00:23:15,010 --> 00:23:18,180 And then who becomes president but Richard Nixon! 496 00:23:18,863 --> 00:23:21,300 Of all people, Richard Nixon becomes president! 497 00:23:21,683 --> 00:23:23,376 I mean, I went to Oxford... 498 00:23:25,664 --> 00:23:27,419 That... 499 00:23:27,439 --> 00:23:31,787 Fall, thinking I wasn't sure what the future of this country 500 00:23:32,249 --> 00:23:33,378 was going to be. 501 00:23:34,863 --> 00:23:36,063 I wasn't sure it had a future. 502 00:23:39,548 --> 00:23:41,668 [Robert] Now, we have not yet talked about something. 503 00:23:43,038 --> 00:23:46,631 There is a kind of social contract in the course. 504 00:23:48,376 --> 00:23:51,601 And by "social contract," I mean what we owe each other... 505 00:23:54,215 --> 00:23:58,179 As members of the same community in this classroom, 506 00:24:00,095 --> 00:24:04,960 or community as in Berkeley, university of California, 507 00:24:05,226 --> 00:24:06,794 or community as in Berkeley town, 508 00:24:07,437 --> 00:24:11,771 or community as in east bay, or community as in people who 509 00:24:12,233 --> 00:24:14,004 inhabit the United States, 510 00:24:15,070 --> 00:24:16,070 or as human beings. 511 00:24:21,242 --> 00:24:22,282 What do we owe each other? 512 00:24:24,245 --> 00:24:28,028 I bring this up to you because, as we get deeper into the 513 00:24:28,249 --> 00:24:33,114 course, we can't avoid these moral questions. 514 00:24:35,590 --> 00:24:39,034 What is the meaning of a good, decent 515 00:24:40,095 --> 00:24:41,095 society? 516 00:24:41,763 --> 00:24:43,159 Since I came to... 517 00:24:43,807 --> 00:24:47,282 [Robert VO] I try to be mindful of the world these students are 518 00:24:47,644 --> 00:24:48,644 entering. 519 00:24:49,104 --> 00:24:50,744 I was talking with some of them recently, 520 00:24:50,939 --> 00:24:53,426 and I asked, "you're no longer generation z. 521 00:24:54,609 --> 00:24:55,649 What do you call yourself? 522 00:24:55,777 --> 00:24:57,486 What's the generation after generation z? 523 00:24:58,049 --> 00:24:58,843 What are you?" 524 00:24:58,903 --> 00:25:00,343 And they... several of them... said, 525 00:25:01,009 --> 00:25:02,392 "we're the last generation." 526 00:25:05,954 --> 00:25:06,988 The last generation? 527 00:25:06,989 --> 00:25:07,010 ! 528 00:25:07,497 --> 00:25:08,022 What does that mean? 529 00:25:08,002 --> 00:25:09,002 ! 530 00:25:10,625 --> 00:25:12,218 Are you so cynical? 531 00:25:12,460 --> 00:25:13,460 Are you so... 532 00:25:14,462 --> 00:25:16,071 Kind of laden with this sense of doom 533 00:25:17,298 --> 00:25:18,986 that you think everything will end? 534 00:25:18,987 --> 00:25:19,987 ! 535 00:25:22,303 --> 00:25:24,226 [Robert] This is another clicker question. 536 00:25:26,014 --> 00:25:28,174 "Overall, when I'm being very honest with myself, i'm: 537 00:25:28,309 --> 00:25:31,196 (A) Pessimistic about the future of america and the world, 538 00:25:31,436 --> 00:25:34,141 although I'm optimistic about my own future, 539 00:25:34,482 --> 00:25:38,200 (or b) I'm optimistic about the future of america and the world, 540 00:25:38,381 --> 00:25:40,510 although I'm pessimistic about my own future, 541 00:25:41,132 --> 00:25:42,896 (or c) I'm pessimistic about both." 542 00:25:44,909 --> 00:25:45,909 Go. 543 00:25:47,162 --> 00:25:51,135 [Robert VO] But there is this huge question hanging over these 544 00:25:51,416 --> 00:25:52,416 young people today... 545 00:25:53,501 --> 00:25:57,975 About whether the world will survive in anything close to the 546 00:25:58,256 --> 00:26:00,028 state it now exists. 547 00:26:03,464 --> 00:26:05,532 Okay, let's end the bidding. 548 00:26:10,934 --> 00:26:14,199 Well, most of you say that you are pessimistic about the future 549 00:26:14,439 --> 00:26:16,559 of america and the world, although you are optimistic 550 00:26:16,733 --> 00:26:18,137 about your own future. 551 00:26:21,716 --> 00:26:24,247 And the next largest group of you are pessimistic about both. 552 00:26:27,744 --> 00:26:28,934 Pessimism is fine. 553 00:26:32,082 --> 00:26:33,082 Cynicism is not. 554 00:26:35,627 --> 00:26:36,627 There is a difference. 555 00:26:38,670 --> 00:26:42,119 [Robert VO] Now, I think one way to help make sense of the world 556 00:26:42,801 --> 00:26:47,171 has to do with inequality... widening inequality... 557 00:26:47,472 --> 00:26:49,784 of income, and wealth, and political power, 558 00:26:50,266 --> 00:26:51,266 and racism. 559 00:26:51,643 --> 00:26:52,926 Because it's inequality... 560 00:26:54,562 --> 00:26:57,987 That, in many ways, is undermining democracy, 561 00:26:58,608 --> 00:27:01,995 which, in many ways, makes it difficult to do anything. 562 00:27:03,798 --> 00:27:08,423 [Robert] Today, we're going to be looking at kind of a pretty 563 00:27:08,743 --> 00:27:09,743 basic question: 564 00:27:09,971 --> 00:27:14,355 "Should you care about widening inequality of income... 565 00:27:15,667 --> 00:27:16,667 And wealth?" 566 00:27:17,502 --> 00:27:19,970 And the reason I even bring this up... 567 00:27:20,130 --> 00:27:22,450 Is because there are a lot of voices out there that say we 568 00:27:22,757 --> 00:27:23,757 should not. 569 00:27:24,946 --> 00:27:27,614 And I wanna talk to you about their arguments. 570 00:27:30,014 --> 00:27:32,172 One of the best ways of learning... I have found, 571 00:27:32,454 --> 00:27:35,551 in my life... is to discuss something with somebody who 572 00:27:35,812 --> 00:27:36,812 disagrees with you. 573 00:27:37,981 --> 00:27:41,639 Now, we have a little bit of a problem here at Berkeley in that 574 00:27:42,483 --> 00:27:44,013 the consensus is very strong. 575 00:27:45,321 --> 00:27:48,082 It's hard to find a lot of people who disagree with the 576 00:27:48,283 --> 00:27:49,283 dominant view. 577 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,366 But that means that if you do have a, 578 00:27:52,787 --> 00:27:54,267 quote, "minority or dissenting view," 579 00:27:55,290 --> 00:27:57,467 not only should you be respected, 580 00:27:57,809 --> 00:28:01,475 but also, obviously, that discussion is the essence of 581 00:28:01,796 --> 00:28:02,796 learning, for everybody. 582 00:28:04,966 --> 00:28:06,030 And so, should we care? 583 00:28:07,135 --> 00:28:10,604 One of the "no" reasons why we should not care about widening 584 00:28:10,805 --> 00:28:14,369 inequality is that the rewards of great wealth... 585 00:28:16,644 --> 00:28:18,073 Fuel entrepreneurship, 586 00:28:19,522 --> 00:28:21,266 from which we all benefit. 587 00:28:22,901 --> 00:28:25,412 Without inequality... or at least some inequality... 588 00:28:25,673 --> 00:28:27,953 of income and wealth, there would not be enough incentive 589 00:28:28,718 --> 00:28:30,310 for people to invent. 590 00:28:32,577 --> 00:28:33,577 And create businesses. 591 00:28:35,163 --> 00:28:36,163 And create jobs. 592 00:28:38,708 --> 00:28:40,164 Secondly... 593 00:28:40,710 --> 00:28:42,848 [Robert VO] Hopefully, I'm giving these students the 594 00:28:43,171 --> 00:28:45,746 ability to ask the kind of questions that they need to be 595 00:28:46,007 --> 00:28:49,200 asking of themselves and of the world that they're entering. 596 00:28:50,573 --> 00:28:54,759 But that process is more challenging today than it was 597 00:28:55,119 --> 00:28:56,119 40 years ago. 598 00:28:57,078 --> 00:29:00,788 I'm looking at your faces, and I would say 20 percent of you have 599 00:29:01,189 --> 00:29:02,189 no idea what I just said. 600 00:29:03,608 --> 00:29:06,174 But we'll come back to that; Don't worry about it. 601 00:29:06,194 --> 00:29:08,811 [Robert VO] And so, I've had classes that I don't really ever 602 00:29:09,113 --> 00:29:11,059 feel come fully together. 603 00:29:13,540 --> 00:29:13,723 But... 604 00:29:13,743 --> 00:29:14,743 I can't force it. 605 00:29:15,954 --> 00:29:17,295 ♪ Light jazz music ♪ 606 00:30:26,941 --> 00:30:29,117 [Woman] A lot of my students, they've... 607 00:30:29,319 --> 00:30:33,078 Noticed that pattern of you not wanting to share your own 608 00:30:34,224 --> 00:30:35,224 opinion. 609 00:30:35,345 --> 00:30:36,366 So I just thought it was interesting that, 610 00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:37,636 even though they know where you stand, 611 00:30:37,660 --> 00:30:40,013 they kind of just want you to say it to their faces, 612 00:30:40,496 --> 00:30:42,186 -and... -[Laughter] 613 00:30:42,206 --> 00:30:43,206 I... yeah. 614 00:30:43,541 --> 00:30:45,644 A lot of my students have said similar things in their 615 00:30:45,668 --> 00:30:47,938 mid-semester feedback of "can you give us the answers after 616 00:30:47,962 --> 00:30:48,962 the polls?" 617 00:30:49,253 --> 00:30:51,148 And he purposefully doesn't do that. 618 00:30:51,712 --> 00:30:53,817 Like, the way the slides are structured is that there's a 619 00:30:53,841 --> 00:30:55,466 graph after the poll or something like that, 620 00:30:55,490 --> 00:30:57,197 and so you get the students critically thinking about the 621 00:30:57,221 --> 00:30:58,711 material, and what the question is, 622 00:30:58,973 --> 00:31:01,327 and what the answer might be, given this information that Bob 623 00:31:01,351 --> 00:31:02,351 is presenting. 624 00:31:02,951 --> 00:31:05,589 And so, what I've tried to tell my students is "try to think 625 00:31:05,730 --> 00:31:07,944 about why he's not giving you the answers." 626 00:31:08,790 --> 00:31:10,070 [Chuckles] Does that make sense? 627 00:31:10,358 --> 00:31:11,527 [Woman] That's very helpful. 628 00:31:11,829 --> 00:31:13,909 And, again, it's not as if there's the right answer. 629 00:31:14,425 --> 00:31:15,425 There's informed... 630 00:31:16,511 --> 00:31:17,789 Thoughtful... 631 00:31:17,992 --> 00:31:20,225 Opinions, based upon data... 632 00:31:21,371 --> 00:31:22,371 And analysis. 633 00:31:22,663 --> 00:31:23,663 That's all there is. 634 00:31:23,831 --> 00:31:26,401 I don't want them to carry around my opinions; 635 00:31:26,521 --> 00:31:27,667 that's.. [Chuckles] 636 00:31:27,668 --> 00:31:28,723 Who cares what my opinion is? 637 00:31:28,703 --> 00:31:28,723 ! 638 00:31:29,170 --> 00:31:30,356 It's not that there are no facts; 639 00:31:30,380 --> 00:31:31,380 there are facts. 640 00:31:31,839 --> 00:31:35,061 But they want more than facts, they want... 641 00:31:35,343 --> 00:31:35,972 "What should we think?" 642 00:31:35,993 --> 00:31:36,886 [Chuckles] 643 00:31:36,887 --> 00:31:38,454 And that's different than the facts. 644 00:31:40,118 --> 00:31:41,829 [Woman] Yeah, I got that from some of my students, 645 00:31:41,849 --> 00:31:43,329 'cause they're so used to this, like, 646 00:31:43,518 --> 00:31:45,391 "we all sit in the front and look at the teacher, 647 00:31:45,415 --> 00:31:47,039 and then the teacher tells us what to think, 648 00:31:47,063 --> 00:31:48,929 and then deposits some information," 649 00:31:49,190 --> 00:31:51,576 and we're doing a lot more interaction than I think they're 650 00:31:51,776 --> 00:31:52,776 used to. 651 00:31:52,902 --> 00:31:55,122 Sometimes I even have them just sit in a circle, 652 00:31:55,405 --> 00:31:56,405 because... 653 00:31:56,447 --> 00:31:58,622 Whenever they're responding in discussion, 654 00:31:58,923 --> 00:32:00,828 they're looking at me, and I'm like, 655 00:32:00,868 --> 00:32:02,054 "I want you to look at each other, 656 00:32:02,078 --> 00:32:03,078 and talk to each other. 657 00:32:03,118 --> 00:32:05,518 You're not saying this to me, and I'm also not responding to 658 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:07,514 what you're saying, your classmates are." 659 00:32:07,538 --> 00:32:09,742 So that has helped to disrupt this... 660 00:32:11,045 --> 00:32:15,080 Teacher-student deposit information vibe that happens. 661 00:32:15,883 --> 00:32:18,094 [Robert] It's an important point. 662 00:32:18,114 --> 00:32:20,425 We have to all keep telling ourselves, 663 00:32:21,993 --> 00:32:23,362 "they will learn much more... 664 00:32:24,892 --> 00:32:27,042 Through engaging their curiosity, 665 00:32:27,645 --> 00:32:29,329 not giving them our opinions." 666 00:32:30,513 --> 00:32:32,427 And we've talked about this before, 667 00:32:32,608 --> 00:32:36,992 but it's really important to protect the dissident voices. 668 00:32:39,780 --> 00:32:40,780 And... 669 00:32:40,825 --> 00:32:44,549 Not just protect them, but encourage them, 670 00:32:45,830 --> 00:32:48,074 and continue to keep them all off balance, 671 00:32:48,916 --> 00:32:49,956 which is what we're doing. 672 00:32:51,185 --> 00:32:53,688 ♪ Lively jazz music ♪ 673 00:33:29,384 --> 00:33:31,149 So, I wanna play a game. 674 00:33:32,793 --> 00:33:33,793 Every one of you, 675 00:33:34,670 --> 00:33:37,398 just look to the person to your right or to your left. 676 00:33:38,883 --> 00:33:41,333 The person on my left is person a, 677 00:33:42,136 --> 00:33:44,583 and the person on my right is person b. 678 00:33:46,682 --> 00:33:49,526 Person a is going to get, figuratively, 679 00:33:50,728 --> 00:33:51,998 1,000 dollars from me. 680 00:33:53,147 --> 00:33:54,147 Figuratively. 681 00:33:56,150 --> 00:33:58,054 I offer 1,000 dollars to a, 682 00:33:59,098 --> 00:34:01,267 and a offers a portion to b... 683 00:34:03,491 --> 00:34:05,317 And writes it down in complete silence. 684 00:34:09,313 --> 00:34:13,032 And my 1,000-dollars offer goes through only if b accepts. 685 00:34:15,545 --> 00:34:16,865 In other words, it's conditional. 686 00:34:17,922 --> 00:34:18,967 B must accept the deal, 687 00:34:20,675 --> 00:34:22,078 or neither of you gets a penny. 688 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:23,800 [Laughter] 689 00:34:25,594 --> 00:34:26,786 Does it make sense to you? 690 00:34:26,847 --> 00:34:27,787 You understand? 691 00:34:27,848 --> 00:34:28,848 Not complicated. 692 00:34:30,912 --> 00:34:32,352 When you're done, put up your hands. 693 00:34:33,075 --> 00:34:34,075 [Chatter] 694 00:34:34,466 --> 00:34:35,690 [Robert] Shh! 695 00:34:43,030 --> 00:34:44,030 Okay, person a, 696 00:34:45,366 --> 00:34:50,011 I wanna know how much you offered person b. 697 00:34:51,038 --> 00:34:53,108 So, again, this is only to be answered by as. 698 00:34:56,377 --> 00:34:57,377 Go. 699 00:35:02,049 --> 00:35:04,213 Okay, let's end the bidding there, 700 00:35:04,594 --> 00:35:06,159 and let's take a look and see... 701 00:35:07,575 --> 00:35:10,583 Majority... vast majority of you were between 10 and 500, 702 00:35:11,726 --> 00:35:13,436 a few of you offered more than 500, 703 00:35:14,743 --> 00:35:18,618 and we've got 15 of you who offered between one and nine 704 00:35:18,899 --> 00:35:20,985 -dollars... -[Laughter] 705 00:35:21,185 --> 00:35:24,368 And we've got 11 of you who offered zero. 706 00:35:26,782 --> 00:35:29,974 Now, I would like to talk to somebody who offered 707 00:35:31,078 --> 00:35:32,564 between one dollar and nine dollars. 708 00:35:35,289 --> 00:35:36,289 Okay. 709 00:35:37,251 --> 00:35:38,099 -What's your name? 710 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:39,169 -Henry. 711 00:35:39,170 --> 00:35:39,532 -Henry. 712 00:35:39,552 --> 00:35:40,552 -[Robert] Henry. 713 00:35:41,172 --> 00:35:42,452 Henry, how much did you offer b? 714 00:35:44,133 --> 00:35:44,958 -A dollar. 715 00:35:44,978 --> 00:35:45,843 -[Robert] A dollar. 716 00:35:45,944 --> 00:35:46,944 [Laughter] 717 00:35:50,014 --> 00:35:51,039 -Did you accept the dollar? 718 00:35:51,060 --> 00:35:52,226 -[Sam] I did not. 719 00:35:52,266 --> 00:35:54,295 -[Robert] You did not. 720 00:35:54,315 --> 00:35:55,315 -[Laughter] 721 00:35:56,103 --> 00:35:59,514 [Robert] Henry, do you realize you've just forfeited a lot of 722 00:36:00,099 --> 00:36:01,099 money? 723 00:36:01,817 --> 00:36:03,851 Did you expect that... 724 00:36:04,274 --> 00:36:05,274 Your name? 725 00:36:05,321 --> 00:36:05,964 -[Sam] Sam. 726 00:36:05,985 --> 00:36:06,427 -Graham. 727 00:36:06,447 --> 00:36:09,240 Did you expect that Graham would agree? 728 00:36:11,071 --> 00:36:11,661 Hoped. 729 00:36:11,702 --> 00:36:13,371 [Robert] You hoped he would. 730 00:36:14,381 --> 00:36:14,644 [Laughter] 731 00:36:14,664 --> 00:36:18,515 The reason I'm asking is we are engaged in a little bit of an 732 00:36:18,876 --> 00:36:19,941 experiment about fairness. 733 00:36:21,629 --> 00:36:24,356 We all carry around, in our heads, 734 00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:27,891 some notion of what is... 735 00:36:29,178 --> 00:36:30,178 Quote-unquote "fair." 736 00:36:33,027 --> 00:36:37,792 And as we diagnose what has happened to the economy, 737 00:36:39,123 --> 00:36:41,864 what has happened to inequality, why we're concerned about 738 00:36:42,066 --> 00:36:43,066 inequality, if we are... 739 00:36:44,985 --> 00:36:48,028 Our notions of fairness or lack of fairness 740 00:36:49,490 --> 00:36:52,498 become profoundly important. 741 00:36:54,995 --> 00:36:57,009 All right, let me ask a different question. 742 00:36:57,331 --> 00:36:59,051 Those of you who were on the receiving end. 743 00:36:59,667 --> 00:37:00,667 Is there anybody who... 744 00:37:01,085 --> 00:37:02,525 [Robert VO] In the classroom itself, 745 00:37:02,626 --> 00:37:06,017 there's a joy, and a confusion... simultaneously. 746 00:37:07,341 --> 00:37:09,372 And, in a way, there's some chaos. 747 00:37:11,521 --> 00:37:14,345 But, in a metaphorical way, that chaos is fine. 748 00:37:15,286 --> 00:37:16,286 The world is chaotic. 749 00:37:17,099 --> 00:37:20,031 The material has a chaotic quality to it. 750 00:37:21,397 --> 00:37:25,195 And so, the students, they've got to make sense out of it. 751 00:37:27,214 --> 00:37:29,882 But we are now already halfway through this semester, 752 00:37:30,865 --> 00:37:35,289 and so I've decided not to try to go through as much material 753 00:37:36,056 --> 00:37:37,665 each week, 754 00:37:37,705 --> 00:37:40,379 either in my lecture or in the sections. 755 00:37:42,350 --> 00:37:45,391 I'm trying to be a little bit less ambitious, 756 00:37:45,713 --> 00:37:47,313 because I want the students to have a... 757 00:37:48,549 --> 00:37:51,147 A better shot at understanding everything that is being 758 00:37:51,551 --> 00:37:52,450 presented. 759 00:37:52,470 --> 00:37:53,701 [Robert] Workers' rights. 760 00:37:53,721 --> 00:37:55,975 I was secretary of labor, I got very close to this. 761 00:37:56,780 --> 00:37:58,540 [Robert VO] But these are not simple issues. 762 00:37:59,538 --> 00:38:01,057 You know, globalization, globalization, 763 00:38:01,081 --> 00:38:02,241 globalization, globalization. 764 00:38:02,563 --> 00:38:05,308 I mean, rarely has a word gone so directly... 765 00:38:06,670 --> 00:38:09,663 From obscurity to meaninglessness... 766 00:38:11,572 --> 00:38:13,827 Without any intervening period of coherence. 767 00:38:15,409 --> 00:38:16,769 You know, there are certain words, 768 00:38:17,411 --> 00:38:21,408 I have found, that are guaranteed to make people either 769 00:38:21,789 --> 00:38:22,789 anxious or bored. 770 00:38:24,605 --> 00:38:26,031 The earned-income tax credit. 771 00:38:26,754 --> 00:38:29,467 Generational wealth transfer. 772 00:38:30,110 --> 00:38:31,447 The affordable care act. 773 00:38:31,467 --> 00:38:33,107 Nafta, the north American free trade act. 774 00:38:33,260 --> 00:38:35,967 The national labor relations act of 19... 775 00:38:37,932 --> 00:38:38,932 35. 776 00:38:41,648 --> 00:38:43,590 ♪ Lively funky music ♪ 777 00:38:44,438 --> 00:38:45,473 Stakeholder capitalism. 778 00:38:46,082 --> 00:38:47,257 Shareholder capitalism. 779 00:38:47,378 --> 00:38:48,562 Surveillance capitalism. 780 00:38:48,984 --> 00:38:50,544 The securities and exchange commission! 781 00:38:50,818 --> 00:38:51,987 The supreme court. 782 00:38:52,027 --> 00:38:53,547 Texas department of community affairs. 783 00:38:53,614 --> 00:38:54,920 Us gross domestic product. 784 00:38:55,302 --> 00:38:56,618 Economies of scale. 785 00:38:58,837 --> 00:38:58,897 ♪♪♪ 786 00:38:59,139 --> 00:39:00,139 Economic downturn. 787 00:39:00,307 --> 00:39:01,307 Corporate spending. 788 00:39:01,789 --> 00:39:04,514 Symbolic analytic work, which we'll get to in a moment. 789 00:39:04,875 --> 00:39:06,282 I'll describe it in more detail. 790 00:39:07,167 --> 00:39:09,683 [Robert VO] When I'm teaching, I watch their faces; 791 00:39:10,005 --> 00:39:11,433 I am constantly scanning. 792 00:39:12,967 --> 00:39:17,012 And my challenge, as a teacher, is to make it alive, 793 00:39:17,533 --> 00:39:19,173 to make it relevant, to make it exciting, 794 00:39:19,848 --> 00:39:20,724 to... 795 00:39:20,784 --> 00:39:23,409 Avoid, you know, sort of the dead-eye, 796 00:39:24,311 --> 00:39:25,311 eyes glazed over. 797 00:39:25,646 --> 00:39:28,594 I'm mixing it up a little bit, in terms of students... 798 00:39:29,618 --> 00:39:31,229 Asking them directly some questions. 799 00:39:32,054 --> 00:39:33,181 Who voted against this? 800 00:39:35,823 --> 00:39:36,823 Why? 801 00:39:37,486 --> 00:39:39,286 [Woman] I want my piece of the pie. 802 00:39:39,326 --> 00:39:40,808 [Robert] Wait a minute, you want your piece of the pie, 803 00:39:40,828 --> 00:39:43,908 so you're willing to sacrifice the middle and everybody at the 804 00:39:45,195 --> 00:39:45,356 top? 805 00:39:45,336 --> 00:39:45,356 ! 806 00:39:45,416 --> 00:39:46,976 All right, I'll give you a better deal. 807 00:39:47,167 --> 00:39:48,670 [Woman] Eat the rich! 808 00:39:48,851 --> 00:39:49,853 [Laughter] 809 00:39:52,961 --> 00:39:55,050 Sometimes, I am the devil's advocate. 810 00:39:55,613 --> 00:39:58,271 Sometimes, I play act, essentially. 811 00:39:59,096 --> 00:40:00,819 When I put on these glasses... 812 00:40:03,662 --> 00:40:04,662 I'm not me. 813 00:40:05,895 --> 00:40:06,895 I'm... 814 00:40:07,354 --> 00:40:08,634 The person known as hacksaw Bob. 815 00:40:10,056 --> 00:40:10,445 [Laughter] 816 00:40:10,608 --> 00:40:12,888 [Robert VO] Obviously, students need the quantitative and 817 00:40:12,982 --> 00:40:17,559 qualitative data, but they also need to be able to see the 818 00:40:17,921 --> 00:40:19,308 larger picture. 819 00:40:19,408 --> 00:40:22,693 You're concerned about the harshness of this plan. 820 00:40:23,454 --> 00:40:27,441 [Woman] Because there's some unfair labor practices involved? 821 00:40:27,541 --> 00:40:30,418 [Mockingly] "Unfair labor practices." 822 00:40:31,565 --> 00:40:32,565 Oh, Dee-da Dee-da. 823 00:40:33,002 --> 00:40:34,002 We're going to... 824 00:40:34,088 --> 00:40:36,288 [Robert VO] This year, everything is maybe a little bit 825 00:40:36,566 --> 00:40:37,566 more profound. 826 00:40:38,594 --> 00:40:40,639 I mean, it sounds odd and it sounds ridiculous, 827 00:40:41,281 --> 00:40:43,291 but I really feel like I'm holding them... 828 00:40:45,079 --> 00:40:46,319 intellectually and emotionally. 829 00:40:46,977 --> 00:40:49,920 I have my arms around them, and I don't know why. 830 00:40:52,399 --> 00:40:55,262 It may be subconsciously because I feel like... 831 00:40:56,904 --> 00:40:57,904 I already miss them. 832 00:41:09,742 --> 00:41:10,969 [Soft clanking] 833 00:41:23,207 --> 00:41:24,733 [Sets cup on table] 834 00:41:34,128 --> 00:41:36,109 [Marker on paper] 835 00:41:36,110 --> 00:41:37,110 Drawing helps me think. 836 00:41:38,654 --> 00:41:41,062 It's another way of... 837 00:41:41,323 --> 00:41:42,473 Processing information. 838 00:41:44,618 --> 00:41:48,355 As a kid, because I was always very short for my age, 839 00:41:48,998 --> 00:41:50,403 I was bullied in school. 840 00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:56,516 And so, coming home, I would just sit there at my little 841 00:41:56,998 --> 00:41:58,342 desk... 842 00:41:58,632 --> 00:41:59,632 And draw. 843 00:42:01,468 --> 00:42:04,923 As I've grown up, I've realized that this is kind of therapeutic 844 00:42:05,366 --> 00:42:06,366 for me. 845 00:42:13,313 --> 00:42:14,473 If there are enough people... 846 00:42:15,522 --> 00:42:16,522 Who feel bullied. 847 00:42:18,485 --> 00:42:19,699 They... 848 00:42:19,820 --> 00:42:20,820 Begin to have power. 849 00:42:22,531 --> 00:42:24,050 [Elliot] Is that what you're drawing here? 850 00:42:24,074 --> 00:42:25,514 [Robert] Yeah, almost unconsciously, 851 00:42:25,699 --> 00:42:27,914 [laughing] That's what I'm drawing. 852 00:42:28,015 --> 00:42:32,700 And so, I don't really think analytically about what i'm 853 00:42:33,041 --> 00:42:34,501 drawing. 854 00:42:35,544 --> 00:42:37,347 It comes from a very different... 855 00:42:39,089 --> 00:42:40,089 Place in my mind, 856 00:42:41,425 --> 00:42:43,917 but it bubbles up from what I'm worrying about, 857 00:42:44,219 --> 00:42:45,751 or thinking about, or angry about, 858 00:42:46,033 --> 00:42:47,033 or outraged about. 859 00:42:51,159 --> 00:42:54,334 ♪ Pensive jazz music ♪ 860 00:42:54,414 --> 00:42:56,398 I think there's so much distrust in 861 00:42:58,061 --> 00:43:01,328 the air we breathe and the culture we inhabit. 862 00:43:03,006 --> 00:43:06,022 50 years, 100 years from now, looking back on this era we are 863 00:43:06,283 --> 00:43:09,294 in, it may be the historians say, 864 00:43:10,198 --> 00:43:13,095 "power and money... the lust for both... 865 00:43:13,457 --> 00:43:14,868 pulled society apart. 866 00:43:15,876 --> 00:43:18,158 There was just too much... too much temptation, 867 00:43:18,420 --> 00:43:19,990 too much power, too much money." 868 00:43:22,736 --> 00:43:26,241 Maybe, sometimes I think that that's the problem. 869 00:43:27,382 --> 00:43:28,382 ♪♪♪ 870 00:43:33,227 --> 00:43:36,993 But the larger question I ponder a lot is: 871 00:43:37,314 --> 00:43:39,132 "Who are the teachers today? 872 00:43:39,233 --> 00:43:40,568 Who are the teachers of society? 873 00:43:41,276 --> 00:43:41,758 Of america? 874 00:43:41,858 --> 00:43:42,858 Of the world? 875 00:43:44,113 --> 00:43:45,320 Who is conveying the lessons? 876 00:43:45,823 --> 00:43:48,170 Who is making sense... or trying to make sense... 877 00:43:48,992 --> 00:43:50,032 of the common experiences? 878 00:43:51,286 --> 00:43:54,634 Are there people around who are interpreting what we have 879 00:43:54,915 --> 00:43:55,915 learned?" 880 00:43:56,917 --> 00:43:57,917 I'm not sure there are. 881 00:43:59,288 --> 00:44:00,421 And that worries me. 882 00:44:03,924 --> 00:44:06,793 I really do feel that, with any challenge we face, 883 00:44:07,636 --> 00:44:09,787 if people understand it... [chuckles] 884 00:44:09,847 --> 00:44:12,177 We have a very good chance of dealing with it, 885 00:44:12,639 --> 00:44:14,329 coping with it, rising to the occasion. 886 00:44:15,455 --> 00:44:18,530 But if there's a cacophony of contradictory voices... 887 00:44:19,434 --> 00:44:20,818 some of whom are... 888 00:44:22,542 --> 00:44:25,187 Intentionally doing the opposite of teaching, 889 00:44:26,530 --> 00:44:27,530 giving... 890 00:44:28,238 --> 00:44:31,312 Lies, misinformation, misleading people... 891 00:44:33,918 --> 00:44:34,143 how... 892 00:44:34,424 --> 00:44:35,911 How can the country learn? 893 00:44:40,882 --> 00:44:41,882 ♪♪♪ 894 00:44:45,640 --> 00:44:46,640 [Bird caws] 895 00:44:49,469 --> 00:44:51,499 But I do have a sense of the future. 896 00:44:52,890 --> 00:44:55,406 One of the last stages of life, Erik Erikson, 897 00:44:55,809 --> 00:44:58,082 the psychologist, calls it the "generative stage," 898 00:44:58,645 --> 00:44:59,965 where you are giving of yourself. 899 00:45:01,063 --> 00:45:02,803 You're no longer worried about your career, 900 00:45:03,066 --> 00:45:04,544 you're no longer trying to build this, 901 00:45:04,568 --> 00:45:05,758 you're no longer... 902 00:45:06,119 --> 00:45:08,682 You're now purely trying to leave... 903 00:45:10,574 --> 00:45:13,050 People with something, not so that they remember you, 904 00:45:13,493 --> 00:45:15,948 but so that they can have something of you, 905 00:45:16,330 --> 00:45:17,330 by you, from you. 906 00:45:18,665 --> 00:45:21,733 And, at its best, teaching is all about... 907 00:45:23,301 --> 00:45:24,301 Giving. 908 00:45:24,671 --> 00:45:28,018 And if you are lucky, as I am, the students take it, 909 00:45:28,298 --> 00:45:29,532 and they run with it. 910 00:45:31,386 --> 00:45:34,042 So you're not letting go, you're launching. 911 00:45:49,863 --> 00:45:52,226 This is called a "mess," in academic terms. 912 00:45:53,804 --> 00:45:55,766 There is more junk... 913 00:45:55,786 --> 00:45:56,866 Accumulated in this office. 914 00:46:01,513 --> 00:46:01,855 [Humming softly] 915 00:46:01,875 --> 00:46:03,905 This is my last week of teaching. 916 00:46:05,963 --> 00:46:07,626 They tell me I've gotta get out of here; 917 00:46:08,548 --> 00:46:09,548 the cleaners are coming. 918 00:46:10,550 --> 00:46:13,886 Now, in my 17 years here, they've never had cleaners. 919 00:46:14,429 --> 00:46:15,469 "The cleaners are coming!" 920 00:46:15,575 --> 00:46:16,556 You know, it's like... 921 00:46:16,557 --> 00:46:18,462 They will have to disinfect the room? 922 00:46:20,227 --> 00:46:21,856 I'm trying to put these little tabs... 923 00:46:23,063 --> 00:46:24,503 On things that I would like to save. 924 00:46:26,566 --> 00:46:28,013 This is just memories! 925 00:46:28,817 --> 00:46:30,177 And you can't just throw them out. 926 00:46:30,757 --> 00:46:33,478 It's like putting a pet down or saying goodbye to an old friend; 927 00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,117 you don't wanna do that. 928 00:46:35,258 --> 00:46:36,258 Ch-ch-ch-ch... 929 00:46:36,326 --> 00:46:38,513 On the other hand, there must be 300 books here. 930 00:46:39,496 --> 00:46:42,470 I can't possibly take this; There's no place; 931 00:46:42,791 --> 00:46:43,791 I have no room! 932 00:46:44,793 --> 00:46:47,217 I called the white house this morning... the switchboard. 933 00:46:47,838 --> 00:46:49,918 I said, "I have a cabinet chair I'd like to return." 934 00:46:50,424 --> 00:46:52,505 She said, "you wanna talk to somebody in the cabinet?" 935 00:46:52,529 --> 00:46:53,923 I said, "no, I was in the cabinet. 936 00:46:54,469 --> 00:46:56,114 I wanna return a cabinet chair." 937 00:46:56,596 --> 00:46:57,962 "You wanna recycle something?" 938 00:46:58,765 --> 00:46:59,765 They didn't understand. 939 00:47:00,684 --> 00:47:03,489 I can't sell it on eBay; That would just be undignified. 940 00:47:04,771 --> 00:47:07,764 And so, I guess the white house doesn't have a answer for 941 00:47:08,025 --> 00:47:09,825 somebody who wants to return a cabinet chair. 942 00:47:10,672 --> 00:47:11,122 Disinfecting. 943 00:47:11,695 --> 00:47:13,266 You know, it's like I have a... 944 00:47:13,507 --> 00:47:17,831 It's like I've infected this place by just being here for... 945 00:47:19,786 --> 00:47:20,826 Lord knows how many years. 946 00:47:22,789 --> 00:47:24,749 On the other hand, there's a lot of good feeling. 947 00:47:25,792 --> 00:47:27,322 You know, this is closing a chapter; 948 00:47:28,128 --> 00:47:30,111 I don't regard this as... 949 00:47:30,172 --> 00:47:31,172 As the end. 950 00:47:35,135 --> 00:47:36,541 This evening, there is a party. 951 00:47:38,825 --> 00:47:40,793 I don't know anything about the party, 952 00:47:40,974 --> 00:47:43,254 I just know that I've been invited to a party in honor of 953 00:47:44,373 --> 00:47:45,381 me, whatever that means. 954 00:47:47,647 --> 00:47:51,611 I had requested that my former teaching assistants be invited. 955 00:47:53,235 --> 00:47:54,235 And, um... 956 00:47:58,700 --> 00:48:00,585 I don't know how I'm gonna feel. 957 00:48:03,249 --> 00:48:06,493 ♪ Band playing smooth funky music ♪ 958 00:48:18,047 --> 00:48:19,556 [Man] Yes, yes, yes! 959 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:21,000 Thank you. 960 00:48:22,552 --> 00:48:23,552 [Chatter] 961 00:48:26,686 --> 00:48:27,475 -Hello, krista. 962 00:48:27,496 --> 00:48:28,507 -[Krista] Hello. 963 00:48:30,403 --> 00:48:31,631 It's great seeing you. 964 00:48:31,691 --> 00:48:32,996 -Thank you for coming. 965 00:48:33,017 --> 00:48:34,017 -Lovely to see you. 966 00:48:34,297 --> 00:48:35,043 Thank you. 967 00:48:35,124 --> 00:48:36,124 Turn this way? 968 00:48:36,817 --> 00:48:37,817 Thank you. 969 00:48:37,864 --> 00:48:39,504 [Robert VO] 42 years ago, when I started, 970 00:48:40,387 --> 00:48:41,920 I walked into my first classroom, 971 00:48:42,202 --> 00:48:45,771 and, at some level of my subconsciousness, 972 00:48:46,373 --> 00:48:47,897 I knew that this was my calling. 973 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,023 This is my... 974 00:48:50,043 --> 00:48:51,483 One of my first teaching assistants. 975 00:48:52,489 --> 00:48:53,179 Oh, wow! 976 00:48:53,422 --> 00:48:55,192 -[Laughter] -Oh, I'm so glad you're here. 977 00:48:56,258 --> 00:48:58,479 [Robert VO] It sounds a little bit silly for me to say, 978 00:48:58,802 --> 00:49:02,314 as I think about saying it, but 42 years doesn't feel that long. 979 00:49:03,056 --> 00:49:04,876 [Robert] You were my student... 980 00:49:05,159 --> 00:49:06,394 At the Kennedy school. 981 00:49:06,435 --> 00:49:07,675 [Man] Your last semester there! 982 00:49:07,769 --> 00:49:08,769 My last semester there. 983 00:49:09,729 --> 00:49:11,981 We graduated 10 years ago, can you believe it? 984 00:49:11,982 --> 00:49:13,290 -[Robert] 10 years ago? 985 00:49:13,310 --> 00:49:13,733 -Yeah. 986 00:49:13,753 --> 00:49:15,167 So that was in 20... 987 00:49:15,733 --> 00:49:16,733 What was it? 988 00:49:17,231 --> 00:49:17,874 -[Man] 1992. 989 00:49:17,894 --> 00:49:18,356 -'92. 990 00:49:18,738 --> 00:49:19,761 -[Man] When you left, yeah. 991 00:49:19,781 --> 00:49:20,804 -When I left. 992 00:49:20,945 --> 00:49:21,945 [Man] [Indistinct]. 993 00:49:22,075 --> 00:49:25,241 Several of my students from the Kennedy school from the '90s and 994 00:49:25,662 --> 00:49:26,929 -'80s are here. 995 00:49:26,949 --> 00:49:28,377 -[Woman] Oh, my god! 996 00:49:29,985 --> 00:49:30,292 [Laughs] 997 00:49:30,493 --> 00:49:31,964 [Robert] I mean, talk about heavy. 998 00:49:32,126 --> 00:49:33,404 [Woman laughs] 999 00:49:33,708 --> 00:49:36,828 [Robert VO] I think some of us are fortunate enough... 1000 00:49:37,090 --> 00:49:40,428 To be doing things that feel right in a very, very 1001 00:49:41,011 --> 00:49:42,011 profound way. 1002 00:49:43,884 --> 00:49:45,592 And so, I'm retiring from teaching, 1003 00:49:47,100 --> 00:49:49,675 but I will continue... as long as I'm able... 1004 00:49:49,936 --> 00:49:50,936 to be an educator. 1005 00:49:52,729 --> 00:49:53,578 [Man] Oh, this is great! 1006 00:49:53,598 --> 00:49:54,598 Now hold that! 1007 00:49:55,699 --> 00:49:55,861 Yes! 1008 00:49:55,942 --> 00:49:57,262 [Robert VO] This is not "poor me, 1009 00:49:57,319 --> 00:49:58,783 I'm ending my teaching career." 1010 00:49:59,946 --> 00:50:02,416 I'm not gonna sit on a front porch and collect social 1011 00:50:02,657 --> 00:50:03,657 security! 1012 00:50:04,951 --> 00:50:07,757 Teaching... regardless of whether it's a big enterprise in 1013 00:50:08,038 --> 00:50:09,038 the classroom, 1014 00:50:09,476 --> 00:50:12,869 or anything else I do after I end my teaching career... 1015 00:50:14,334 --> 00:50:16,725 it's the same fundamental process: 1016 00:50:20,728 --> 00:50:21,973 One is engaged in... 1017 00:50:25,138 --> 00:50:26,138 Thinking with others. 1018 00:50:29,142 --> 00:50:30,142 A good teacher... 1019 00:50:32,145 --> 00:50:35,011 Instills both curiosity... 1020 00:50:37,150 --> 00:50:38,150 And critical thinking. 1021 00:50:41,488 --> 00:50:43,088 And this is the connection to democracy. 1022 00:50:45,492 --> 00:50:47,946 [Robert] "The arc of the moral universe is long, 1023 00:50:48,328 --> 00:50:49,488 but it bends toward justice." 1024 00:50:51,164 --> 00:50:53,278 That's what Martin Luther King Jr. told us. 1025 00:50:58,088 --> 00:50:59,088 It's not that simple. 1026 00:51:00,067 --> 00:51:01,067 [Laughter] 1027 00:51:02,509 --> 00:51:04,318 As I think I've shared with many of you, 1028 00:51:05,845 --> 00:51:10,001 my introduction to much of what we've been talking about this 1029 00:51:10,724 --> 00:51:14,788 semester happened when I was a freshman in college, 1030 00:51:16,690 --> 00:51:19,373 and one of the young men 1031 00:51:20,876 --> 00:51:24,390 who had been my protector when I was about eight years old... 1032 00:51:25,615 --> 00:51:27,572 although I had lost track of him for years... 1033 00:51:28,076 --> 00:51:31,082 I discovered that he had been registering voters 1034 00:51:32,706 --> 00:51:34,360 in Mississippi... 1035 00:51:34,661 --> 00:51:35,661 In 1964. 1036 00:51:38,420 --> 00:51:40,011 And the ku klux klan... 1037 00:51:41,818 --> 00:51:44,583 And the sheriff of neshoba county, Mississippi... 1038 00:51:47,971 --> 00:51:51,647 Didn't want black people registered to vote. 1039 00:51:54,581 --> 00:51:59,526 And so, my protector when I was a much younger kid, 1040 00:52:00,817 --> 00:52:01,817 Michael schwerner... 1041 00:52:02,777 --> 00:52:04,537 along with two other civil rights workers... 1042 00:52:06,967 --> 00:52:07,967 they were... 1043 00:52:10,910 --> 00:52:11,910 Tortured and murdered. 1044 00:52:14,331 --> 00:52:17,001 And when I found out that the person who had protected me 1045 00:52:18,688 --> 00:52:19,688 from the bullies... 1046 00:52:21,254 --> 00:52:22,254 Had been... 1047 00:52:23,423 --> 00:52:24,632 Killed by the real bullies, 1048 00:52:27,677 --> 00:52:29,428 it changed my life, 1049 00:52:29,971 --> 00:52:31,102 because I... 1050 00:52:31,264 --> 00:52:32,475 I began to see bullying... 1051 00:52:34,809 --> 00:52:35,809 All around. 1052 00:52:38,438 --> 00:52:39,438 Economic bullying... 1053 00:52:41,316 --> 00:52:42,724 Racial bullying, ethnic bullying, 1054 00:52:43,026 --> 00:52:44,026 the bullying... 1055 00:52:44,944 --> 00:52:46,544 Of anybody who's different, who's other, 1056 00:52:46,821 --> 00:52:48,606 who doesn't have the power. 1057 00:52:57,540 --> 00:53:00,556 But these movements... the movement against racism... 1058 00:53:01,501 --> 00:53:04,616 [Robert VO] Over the years, I've learned democracy requires 1059 00:53:05,340 --> 00:53:06,340 engagement. 1060 00:53:07,507 --> 00:53:09,079 It requires participation. 1061 00:53:11,304 --> 00:53:13,618 If we take the idea of self-government seriously... 1062 00:53:16,226 --> 00:53:18,591 It is about taking responsibility. 1063 00:53:20,647 --> 00:53:23,239 Taking responsibility for what you believe, 1064 00:53:24,003 --> 00:53:25,529 your views, your... 1065 00:53:26,653 --> 00:53:27,653 Citizenship. 1066 00:53:28,405 --> 00:53:30,700 And that is what teaching is all about, 1067 00:53:31,324 --> 00:53:34,096 what learning is all about: It's taking responsibility. 1068 00:53:35,328 --> 00:53:37,055 Democracy is not a spectator sport. 1069 00:53:37,497 --> 00:53:38,970 Learning is not a spectator sport. 1070 00:53:40,333 --> 00:53:41,333 It's active! 1071 00:53:42,711 --> 00:53:45,111 [Robert] The thing that's so important to understand is that 1072 00:53:45,171 --> 00:53:46,382 these fights don't end. 1073 00:53:49,843 --> 00:53:51,899 There is no point where you can relax and say, 1074 00:53:52,262 --> 00:53:53,262 "oh, yes! 1075 00:53:54,097 --> 00:53:58,297 The gap between our ideal and reality has already been 1076 00:53:58,518 --> 00:53:59,518 overcome." 1077 00:54:02,562 --> 00:54:05,973 And so, to make changes... to make the world better... 1078 00:54:07,277 --> 00:54:08,277 we need leadership! 1079 00:54:12,115 --> 00:54:14,659 But let me be very clear, because I have spent... 1080 00:54:18,288 --> 00:54:19,691 Over 60 years... 1081 00:54:21,916 --> 00:54:24,783 With people who were leaders... some of them formal leaders, 1082 00:54:25,044 --> 00:54:26,334 some of them informal leaders... 1083 00:54:27,984 --> 00:54:29,575 they were not born that way. 1084 00:54:32,218 --> 00:54:34,128 There is not a leadership gene. 1085 00:54:37,724 --> 00:54:39,124 There are not natural-born leaders. 1086 00:54:41,311 --> 00:54:43,320 Leadership comes from... 1087 00:54:44,606 --> 00:54:45,606 Somewhere else. 1088 00:54:47,233 --> 00:54:48,633 [Robert VO] In my formal education, 1089 00:54:48,902 --> 00:54:49,902 I was blessed. 1090 00:54:51,112 --> 00:54:54,559 I went to a tiny public grade school and high school, 1091 00:54:55,742 --> 00:54:59,586 and many of my teachers were very, very dedicated. 1092 00:55:00,954 --> 00:55:03,268 They were curious, and funny, and... 1093 00:55:04,374 --> 00:55:05,960 Thoughtful. 1094 00:55:05,980 --> 00:55:08,072 And they gave everything of themselves. 1095 00:55:10,924 --> 00:55:13,324 [Robert] And then, there's also the leadership myth that you 1096 00:55:13,426 --> 00:55:15,051 have to have formal authority. 1097 00:55:16,135 --> 00:55:19,672 You've got to be a president, or you've got to be a member of 1098 00:55:19,933 --> 00:55:23,791 congress, or whatever drapes you in authority. 1099 00:55:24,354 --> 00:55:25,565 Well... 1100 00:55:25,605 --> 00:55:26,605 Stop right there. 1101 00:55:28,858 --> 00:55:31,011 Some of the most... 1102 00:55:31,152 --> 00:55:33,998 Important leaders in world history... 1103 00:55:37,784 --> 00:55:40,732 Have had no formal authority at all. 1104 00:55:45,792 --> 00:55:48,360 Mahatma Gandhi comes to mind immediately. 1105 00:55:51,172 --> 00:55:52,172 Martin Luther King... 1106 00:55:52,340 --> 00:55:54,460 [Robert VO] When I think back, I was a very insecure, 1107 00:55:55,635 --> 00:55:57,738 quiet, intimidated... 1108 00:55:59,180 --> 00:56:00,180 Little boy. 1109 00:56:04,018 --> 00:56:05,178 And some of those teachers... 1110 00:56:09,649 --> 00:56:12,041 Reassured me that I was... 1111 00:56:13,820 --> 00:56:15,124 Not a freak, 1112 00:56:18,908 --> 00:56:21,597 that despite my height and despite my... 1113 00:56:23,243 --> 00:56:24,243 You know, being... 1114 00:56:25,999 --> 00:56:27,489 A klutz in sports, 1115 00:56:28,918 --> 00:56:31,023 that I was not wrong, 1116 00:56:34,048 --> 00:56:35,048 or weird. 1117 00:56:39,345 --> 00:56:42,958 They enabled me to accept myself. 1118 00:56:46,601 --> 00:56:48,982 [Robert] The purpose of this class... 1119 00:56:49,022 --> 00:56:53,466 Is to both face the reality that we have been talking about 1120 00:56:54,569 --> 00:56:55,569 this semester... 1121 00:56:57,091 --> 00:56:59,827 the realities of widening inequality of income... 1122 00:57:01,761 --> 00:57:02,761 And wealth. 1123 00:57:04,037 --> 00:57:07,226 But do it in a way that reality needs to be faced... 1124 00:57:07,707 --> 00:57:11,058 that is, not with great fear, not with negativism, 1125 00:57:11,419 --> 00:57:13,802 not with a sense of defeatism... 1126 00:57:15,632 --> 00:57:17,688 But, really, with a sense of optimism, 1127 00:57:18,635 --> 00:57:19,635 inspiration, 1128 00:57:21,240 --> 00:57:22,240 commitment. 1129 00:57:24,474 --> 00:57:25,714 And so, I want you to remember: 1130 00:57:27,560 --> 00:57:31,045 A true leader helps people overcome 1131 00:57:32,106 --> 00:57:33,106 cynicism, 1132 00:57:33,983 --> 00:57:35,146 and do the hard work 1133 00:57:36,089 --> 00:57:38,355 of making positive social change. 1134 00:57:42,075 --> 00:57:44,583 And so, as I've suggested to you this semester, 1135 00:57:45,827 --> 00:57:47,336 hopefully at least some of you... 1136 00:57:49,622 --> 00:57:52,314 Are going to devote some of your attention... 1137 00:57:53,962 --> 00:57:56,742 And some of your time... 1138 00:57:56,923 --> 00:57:58,007 And some of your life... 1139 00:58:00,301 --> 00:58:01,301 To making... 1140 00:58:02,428 --> 00:58:03,428 The world better. 1141 00:58:06,015 --> 00:58:07,527 I believe in your capacities. 1142 00:58:11,104 --> 00:58:13,687 I believe in your commitment. 1143 00:58:18,444 --> 00:58:19,444 I believe in you. 1144 00:58:23,926 --> 00:58:26,232 [Robert VO] Tomorrow is my last class. 1145 00:58:28,162 --> 00:58:29,162 But, let's face it: 1146 00:58:29,475 --> 00:58:32,896 A teacher only has a certain amount of time with students, 1147 00:58:33,479 --> 00:58:34,479 and then, they go. 1148 00:58:37,754 --> 00:58:40,068 And so, tomorrow, at the end of class, 1149 00:58:41,175 --> 00:58:42,676 there will be... 1150 00:58:42,677 --> 00:58:43,677 These guys, 1151 00:58:44,804 --> 00:58:45,804 who will leave, 1152 00:58:47,849 --> 00:58:48,849 go on with their lives. 1153 00:58:51,853 --> 00:58:54,373 [Elliot] When we first started talking to you on the Eve of the 1154 00:58:54,397 --> 00:58:57,444 first class, and now, here we are at the final one, 1155 00:58:59,068 --> 00:59:01,914 do you have a sense as far as thinking about tomorrow? 1156 00:59:04,798 --> 00:59:06,920 ♪ Tender light jazz ♪ 1157 00:59:27,889 --> 00:59:31,818 I had my regular doctor's appointment last week and I... 1158 00:59:32,018 --> 00:59:33,543 My doctor is... 1159 00:59:35,188 --> 00:59:39,077 Young, and she's not that much older than many of my graduate 1160 00:59:39,378 --> 00:59:40,723 students, my teaching assistants. 1161 00:59:42,028 --> 00:59:43,428 And, at the end of the appointment, 1162 00:59:43,529 --> 00:59:45,459 she, um... she looked at me and she said, 1163 00:59:45,760 --> 00:59:46,599 "is everything fine? 1164 00:59:46,783 --> 00:59:47,943 Everything good in your life? 1165 00:59:48,282 --> 00:59:49,535 Everything..." [chuckles] 1166 00:59:50,045 --> 00:59:50,269 And I... 1167 00:59:50,493 --> 00:59:52,137 And I said, "yes, i'm... I'm retiring! 1168 00:59:52,538 --> 00:59:53,778 In fact, this is my last week." 1169 00:59:55,249 --> 00:59:57,241 And she said, uh, "well, congratulations! 1170 00:59:57,543 --> 00:59:59,213 How does it feel?" 1171 00:59:59,273 --> 01:00:00,273 I just... 1172 01:00:01,714 --> 01:00:02,714 I started crying. 1173 01:00:03,883 --> 01:00:04,883 I was embarrassed. 1174 01:00:05,106 --> 01:00:06,106 [Laughs] I mean... 1175 01:00:07,136 --> 01:00:08,136 Poor... 1176 01:00:10,139 --> 01:00:11,764 Young woman, she didn't know what to do. 1177 01:00:12,489 --> 01:00:13,625 I mean, she... 1178 01:00:13,726 --> 01:00:14,726 She was very kind. 1179 01:00:16,229 --> 01:00:18,009 She put her hand on my arm and she said, 1180 01:00:18,413 --> 01:00:18,976 "I understand." 1181 01:00:19,398 --> 01:00:20,998 Well, she didn't understand; She's only, 1182 01:00:21,748 --> 01:00:22,754 you know, 34 years old. 1183 01:00:24,685 --> 01:00:25,685 ♪♪♪ 1184 01:00:42,421 --> 01:00:45,724 Quite honestly, the feelings about retiring... about no 1185 01:00:45,925 --> 01:00:48,694 longer teaching, about no longer having my students, 1186 01:00:49,135 --> 01:00:52,008 my classes... are closely aligned... 1187 01:00:53,494 --> 01:00:55,637 To feelings that come with being... 1188 01:00:57,019 --> 01:00:58,019 An older person. 1189 01:01:01,023 --> 01:01:04,129 Unlike the first 10 or 20 or 30 years of your life, 1190 01:01:05,111 --> 01:01:07,048 where it's all gain... or, if you're lucky, 1191 01:01:07,633 --> 01:01:09,003 you're just... you're growing... 1192 01:01:11,467 --> 01:01:14,277 the last 10 or 20 years are about... 1193 01:01:15,621 --> 01:01:18,490 Accommodating what is obviously an ending. 1194 01:01:22,503 --> 01:01:26,835 And so, retiring from teaching... ending my teaching career 1195 01:01:27,216 --> 01:01:28,827 that has been so critically... 1196 01:01:30,136 --> 01:01:32,490 Important to me, a calling for me... 1197 01:01:39,312 --> 01:01:40,312 Is a real loss. 1198 01:01:44,831 --> 01:01:45,831 ♪♪♪ 1199 01:02:04,670 --> 01:02:05,500 -[Nicki] How are you feeling? 1200 01:02:05,521 --> 01:02:06,027 -[Robert] Good! 1201 01:02:06,310 --> 01:02:06,613 Yeah? 1202 01:02:06,714 --> 01:02:08,150 [Robert, chuckling] You look worried. 1203 01:02:08,174 --> 01:02:09,447 No, it's just your last one! 1204 01:02:09,651 --> 01:02:10,551 [Robert] I know... 1205 01:02:10,591 --> 01:02:11,942 Do you need anything? 1206 01:02:13,512 --> 01:02:15,013 [Sasha] For you, Bob. 1207 01:02:15,014 --> 01:02:16,014 The final donning of... 1208 01:02:17,350 --> 01:02:19,237 -The final... -[Sasha] Your speaker. 1209 01:02:20,957 --> 01:02:23,343 Good afternoon, wealth and poverty! 1210 01:02:23,564 --> 01:02:25,713 This is our final class; You've made it! 1211 01:02:26,275 --> 01:02:27,419 Congratulations! 1212 01:02:29,400 --> 01:02:29,542 Woo! 1213 01:02:30,292 --> 01:02:32,572 This is great opportunity to move into the middle of your 1214 01:02:33,187 --> 01:02:33,771 row. 1215 01:02:34,153 --> 01:02:35,153 ♪ Come ♪ 1216 01:02:36,342 --> 01:02:39,506 ♪ and talk about the things we did today ♪ 1217 01:02:41,616 --> 01:02:42,616 ♪ here ♪ 1218 01:02:43,933 --> 01:02:47,203 ♪ and laugh about our funny little ways ♪ 1219 01:02:49,448 --> 01:02:53,492 ♪ while we have a few minutes to breathe ♪ 1220 01:02:53,833 --> 01:02:57,590 ♪ then I know that it's time you must leave... ♪ 1221 01:02:59,934 --> 01:03:01,974 [Robert VO] You know, as I think about my students, 1222 01:03:03,102 --> 01:03:04,170 they are in transition... 1223 01:03:05,519 --> 01:03:07,027 most of them 21, 22 years old. 1224 01:03:09,318 --> 01:03:11,611 Do you remember how you felt at the age of 21, 22? 1225 01:03:13,301 --> 01:03:15,227 [Chuckling] I mean... 1226 01:03:15,770 --> 01:03:16,770 ♪♪♪ 1227 01:03:19,452 --> 01:03:21,960 For them, it's not ending, it's beginning, 1228 01:03:23,706 --> 01:03:25,405 and this is the connection, really, 1229 01:03:25,668 --> 01:03:26,991 between teachers and students. 1230 01:03:29,088 --> 01:03:30,395 It's about the passage of time, 1231 01:03:32,546 --> 01:03:33,546 and, at a deeper level, 1232 01:03:35,136 --> 01:03:36,136 the arc of one's life. 1233 01:03:40,579 --> 01:03:44,603 ♪ And I see that the time spent confused ♪ 1234 01:03:44,623 --> 01:03:47,766 ♪ was the time that I'd spent without you ♪ 1235 01:03:50,469 --> 01:03:53,932 ♪ and I feel myself in bloom ♪ 1236 01:03:58,159 --> 01:04:00,828 ♪ so, darling, be home soon ♪ 1237 01:04:01,349 --> 01:04:05,172 ♪ I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled ♪ 1238 01:04:06,914 --> 01:04:08,380 ♪ my darling, be home soon ♪ 1239 01:04:10,911 --> 01:04:12,231 ♪ it's not just these few hours ♪ 1240 01:04:12,626 --> 01:04:15,154 ♪ but I've been waiting since I toddled ♪ 1241 01:04:16,357 --> 01:04:19,821 ♪ for the great relief of having you to talk to ♪ 1242 01:04:21,707 --> 01:04:23,329 [Cheers and applause] 1243 01:04:35,431 --> 01:04:36,431 ♪♪♪ 1244 01:04:43,472 --> 01:04:44,472 ♪ So, darling ♪ 1245 01:04:45,851 --> 01:04:49,083 ♪ my darling, be home soon ♪ 1246 01:04:50,146 --> 01:04:54,089 ♪ I couldn't bear to wait an extra minute if you dawdled ♪ 1247 01:04:56,196 --> 01:04:59,185 ♪ my darling, be home soon ♪ 1248 01:04:59,547 --> 01:05:01,101 ♪ it's not just these few hours ♪ 1249 01:05:01,643 --> 01:05:04,653 ♪ but I've been waiting since I toddled ♪ 1250 01:05:05,035 --> 01:05:07,615 ♪ for the great relief of having you... ♪ 1251 01:05:07,957 --> 01:05:09,957 [Elliot] Bob, it's okay if we film you doing this? 1252 01:05:10,584 --> 01:05:11,690 [Robert] Of course! 1253 01:05:11,891 --> 01:05:13,904 I've, uh, been filmed a few times before. 1254 01:05:16,862 --> 01:05:20,373 [Man VO] From CBS news Washington... 1255 01:05:20,533 --> 01:05:23,025 A spontaneous and unrehearsed news interview 1256 01:05:23,909 --> 01:05:25,040 on face the nation. 1257 01:05:26,872 --> 01:05:30,178 With Robert reich, who teaches business and public policy at 1258 01:05:30,418 --> 01:05:33,009 Harvard university's John F. Kennedy school of government. 1259 01:05:33,712 --> 01:05:35,392 Joining us now, live in our Boston bureau, 1260 01:05:35,589 --> 01:05:36,589 is Robert reich. 1261 01:05:36,630 --> 01:05:38,091 [Woman] From Boston, Robert reich. 1262 01:05:38,092 --> 01:05:40,172 [Man] Professor Robert reich, the Harvard economist. 1263 01:05:40,428 --> 01:05:44,066 Robert reich, whose book, 'the next American frontier, ' 1264 01:05:44,890 --> 01:05:47,923 has engaged the attention of a number of democrats looking for 1265 01:05:48,184 --> 01:05:49,307 interesting things to say. 1266 01:05:50,229 --> 01:05:53,067 The question you have to ask is what the rules of the game 1267 01:05:53,107 --> 01:05:53,473 ought to be. 1268 01:05:53,899 --> 01:05:58,032 We are now facing a circumstance in which the old ways of doing 1269 01:05:58,412 --> 01:06:01,537 things simply will not maintain our standard of living, 1270 01:06:01,657 --> 01:06:03,617 and the choice before us, I think, is very stark. 1271 01:06:04,357 --> 01:06:06,744 ♪ Lively funky music ♪ 1272 01:06:08,330 --> 01:06:09,165 [Robert VO] Good morning! 1273 01:06:09,166 --> 01:06:12,190 It's a new day, a new year, and a new future! 1274 01:06:12,751 --> 01:06:13,751 Here we are in 1989. 1275 01:06:15,397 --> 01:06:18,154 I'm talking about issues and concerns that most Americans 1276 01:06:18,215 --> 01:06:18,499 have: 1277 01:06:19,008 --> 01:06:21,288 The quality of education, the quality of the environment, 1278 01:06:21,717 --> 01:06:22,997 rebuilding the infrastructure... 1279 01:06:24,553 --> 01:06:27,139 [Larry VO] In steps secretary of labor Robert reich. 1280 01:06:27,600 --> 01:06:29,598 The plan revealed by the president when he addresses 1281 01:06:29,622 --> 01:06:32,984 congress next Wednesday will have this man's fingerprints all 1282 01:06:33,105 --> 01:06:33,390 over it. 1283 01:06:33,939 --> 01:06:35,927 This plan gets control over that budget deficit. 1284 01:06:36,128 --> 01:06:38,288 Becoming lean and mean, getting down to the bone. 1285 01:06:38,611 --> 01:06:41,246 Investing in the future, with regard to education and training 1286 01:06:41,447 --> 01:06:42,303 and infrastructure. 1287 01:06:42,364 --> 01:06:44,676 Roads, Bridges, all the things that American business needs. 1288 01:06:44,700 --> 01:06:46,636 Everybody in Washington is a little bit itchy because 1289 01:06:46,660 --> 01:06:49,208 Washington doesn't like change, but the public out there seems 1290 01:06:49,308 --> 01:06:50,308 to be very happy, indeed. 1291 01:06:51,016 --> 01:06:52,016 ♪♪♪ 1292 01:06:55,669 --> 01:06:57,309 People talk about government being too... 1293 01:06:57,379 --> 01:06:57,864 -Too big. 1294 01:06:57,884 --> 01:06:58,268 -[Jay] Mm-hm. 1295 01:06:58,671 --> 01:06:59,671 I ask you: 1296 01:06:59,798 --> 01:07:00,998 Do I look like big government? 1297 01:07:01,193 --> 01:07:02,193 [Laughter and applause] 1298 01:07:02,801 --> 01:07:03,801 Is this big government? 1299 01:07:03,969 --> 01:07:06,358 You will hear members of congress talk about making 1300 01:07:06,639 --> 01:07:09,747 government smaller, and more efficient. 1301 01:07:10,329 --> 01:07:15,194 I defy anybody... anybody... to find a smaller and more 1302 01:07:15,564 --> 01:07:17,368 efficient labor secretary than me. 1303 01:07:18,190 --> 01:07:19,215 [Laughter and applause] 1304 01:07:19,235 --> 01:07:20,635 In the interest of full disclosure, 1305 01:07:20,839 --> 01:07:22,437 I am not taller than Cheryl tiegs. 1306 01:07:23,124 --> 01:07:23,648 [Laughter] 1307 01:07:24,031 --> 01:07:25,301 [Laughing] Ah, the secret! 1308 01:07:25,906 --> 01:07:27,734 I keep telling him he should be a male model. 1309 01:07:28,257 --> 01:07:29,257 [Laughter] 1310 01:07:29,529 --> 01:07:30,529 ♪♪♪ 1311 01:07:32,766 --> 01:07:33,998 [Robert VO] The economy is good. 1312 01:07:33,999 --> 01:07:37,443 The one unfinished agenda is the very, very 1313 01:07:37,543 --> 01:07:39,541 wide inequality we have in this country. 1314 01:07:40,005 --> 01:07:41,854 A widening gap between the rich and poor. 1315 01:07:42,216 --> 01:07:44,496 A wide Gulf between people at the top and everybody else. 1316 01:07:44,800 --> 01:07:46,488 Rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. 1317 01:07:46,512 --> 01:07:49,610 The wage issue is something this whole society 1318 01:07:49,932 --> 01:07:50,932 has got to focus on. 1319 01:07:51,183 --> 01:07:53,314 My friends, we are on the way to becoming 1320 01:07:53,435 --> 01:07:56,145 a two-tiered society, 1321 01:07:57,189 --> 01:07:58,454 composed of a few winners, 1322 01:07:59,900 --> 01:08:02,411 and a larger group of Americans left behind, 1323 01:08:03,195 --> 01:08:05,924 whose anger and whose disillusionment 1324 01:08:06,365 --> 01:08:08,332 is easily manipulated. 1325 01:08:09,275 --> 01:08:10,275 ♪♪♪ 1326 01:08:12,288 --> 01:08:13,765 [Robert VO] I'm former labor secretary Robert reich, 1327 01:08:13,789 --> 01:08:15,559 filling in for Bill O'Reilly, who's on vacation. 1328 01:08:15,583 --> 01:08:17,416 But never fear, factor fans! 1329 01:08:18,000 --> 01:08:19,680 I have the same ideology as Bill O'Reilly. 1330 01:08:19,878 --> 01:08:21,326 Bill will be back on Monday! 1331 01:08:22,131 --> 01:08:24,419 You know, I do television once or twice a week. 1332 01:08:25,001 --> 01:08:27,692 The problem with television is I'm usually on these yelling 1333 01:08:28,297 --> 01:08:28,541 shows. 1334 01:08:28,927 --> 01:08:30,967 I mean, I just yell, and somebody yells back at me. 1335 01:08:31,056 --> 01:08:32,056 [Overlapping yelling] 1336 01:08:41,147 --> 01:08:41,914 -You're being hypocritical! 1337 01:08:41,934 --> 01:08:42,822 -Wait, let me... 1338 01:08:42,943 --> 01:08:45,763 Let me be the first person to finish a sentence on the history 1339 01:08:45,904 --> 01:08:46,904 of this program. 1340 01:08:47,239 --> 01:08:47,521 All right? 1341 01:08:47,501 --> 01:08:48,501 ! 1342 01:08:48,569 --> 01:08:49,569 ♪♪♪ 1343 01:08:53,515 --> 01:08:55,225 [Man VO] This summer, conan o'brien 1344 01:08:55,748 --> 01:08:57,837 and former secretary of labor Robert reich... 1345 01:08:58,601 --> 01:08:59,612 Are... 1346 01:08:59,835 --> 01:09:01,926 Detective conan o'brien... 1347 01:09:02,147 --> 01:09:04,955 And detective former secretary of labor Robert reich! 1348 01:09:06,278 --> 01:09:07,718 Okay, now how do I stand, like this? 1349 01:09:07,760 --> 01:09:10,160 Well, like this, and we just march down the street together. 1350 01:09:10,429 --> 01:09:12,096 I feel... I feel as if I'm one of you. 1351 01:09:12,097 --> 01:09:12,809 [Man] Empowered! 1352 01:09:12,931 --> 01:09:13,931 I'm now one of the gang. 1353 01:09:14,266 --> 01:09:14,869 Factories closed! 1354 01:09:14,909 --> 01:09:16,015 Unemployment will spike! 1355 01:09:16,477 --> 01:09:18,203 Here to explain it is Robert b. Reich! 1356 01:09:18,604 --> 01:09:20,785 Rampant corporate greed, wall street malfeasance, 1357 01:09:21,148 --> 01:09:23,893 and the rises of short-sighted politics all contributed to 1358 01:09:24,213 --> 01:09:25,413 increased economic inequality! 1359 01:09:25,861 --> 01:09:26,090 [Blast] 1360 01:09:26,131 --> 01:09:28,669 [Man VO] They've got 24 hours to clean up the city! 1361 01:09:29,615 --> 01:09:30,615 [Laughter] 1362 01:09:31,492 --> 01:09:32,624 I just took out the trash. 1363 01:09:34,115 --> 01:09:35,115 ♪♪♪ 1364 01:09:43,710 --> 01:09:44,837 [Robert VO] A true leader... 1365 01:09:44,838 --> 01:09:48,245 Is always trying to empower other people to be ethically 1366 01:09:48,967 --> 01:09:50,047 responsible and self-aware. 1367 01:09:51,240 --> 01:09:52,240 Not just follow, 1368 01:09:52,888 --> 01:09:54,823 but to be ethically responsible and self-aware. 1369 01:09:55,911 --> 01:09:58,681 Empowerment means to take responsibility. 1370 01:10:00,065 --> 01:10:01,065 ♪♪♪ 1371 01:10:31,864 --> 01:10:33,285 [Ambient sidewalk sounds] 1372 01:10:38,684 --> 01:10:39,289 -[Woman] Hi, professor reich! 1373 01:10:39,309 --> 01:10:39,915 -How are you? 1374 01:10:39,895 --> 01:10:39,915 ! 1375 01:10:40,016 --> 01:10:41,656 [Woman] I watched your series on YouTube! 1376 01:10:41,729 --> 01:10:42,254 -Oh, I'm so glad! 1377 01:10:42,274 --> 01:10:43,274 -[Woman] Really good! 1378 01:10:47,981 --> 01:10:49,428 [Woman] Bye, professor! 1379 01:10:49,690 --> 01:10:50,072 Thank you! 1380 01:10:50,132 --> 01:10:51,132 Thanks very much! 1381 01:10:51,363 --> 01:10:52,588 -[Woman] You have a great day! 1382 01:10:52,608 --> 01:10:53,608 -You too! 1383 01:10:53,834 --> 01:10:55,366 [Woman] I hope retirement is great! 1384 01:10:55,367 --> 01:10:55,631 Thank you! 1385 01:10:55,651 --> 01:10:56,771 I hope you have a good life! 1386 01:10:57,010 --> 01:10:58,583 [Woman] Thank you! 1387 01:11:02,416 --> 01:11:04,416 [Brandon] Does that just happen everywhere you go? 1388 01:11:06,216 --> 01:11:06,358 Yeah. 1389 01:11:06,581 --> 01:11:07,581 Yeah!