Capitalism: A Love Story
Michael Moore
documentary
Most people are biased in some way. Certain names immediately elicit anger and disdain. George Bush is one, Dick Cheney another, Michael Moore another.
Well, neither George Bush nor Dick Cheney have made movies lately, but Michael Moore has. Capitalism: A Love Story.
Okay, it is an ironic title. Moore actually says that capitalism must be eliminated in this country in favor of democracy. Capitalism, by his reckoning, is both an economic and a political system. Politics enters when special interests buy – er – finance candidates’ campaigns. When oil companies write energy legislation; when pharmaceutical companies influence the Food and Drug Administration.
Moore documents what we all know: That jobs are scarce and that more and more people are losing them. That more and more families are being thrown out of their houses. Not illegal immigrants, the whipping boys of the right, but home grown Americans. And not just people who bought mortgages they couldn’t afford because banks made it so easy for them, but people who have been on their land and in their houses for generations.
Do you know that the richest 1% of Americans have more combined wealth than the lowest 95%? That is the kind of capitalism we have in America. The kind that rewards greed, not initiative, according to Moore.
This is not a date movie. It is also not a movie for people who like to delude themselves about how hunky dory it is here in America. Not for you if you don’t want to challenge the idea that major corporations are looking out for your interests. Not for you if your eyes are closed and you don’t want to open them.
Sure Michael Moore takes some cheap shots; sure he emphasizes those aspects of America which are vulnerable to criticism rather than celebrate those which make America great. That is what partisans do. By entertainment standards the film is a bit too long, but Moore is not an entertainer. He is a documentarian.
Open your mind and see this 127 minute film and reflect on it. Or, spout the right wing litany that Moore is a socialist and a bad man and does not deserve the right of freedom of speech which we cherish. Deny his message at your own peril. That is what the masters of your life and your money and your livelihood would have you do.