No stranger to controversy — on the contrary, he courts it like a man possessed — Michael Moore has never minced words in his tirades against targets, including the NRA and America’s private health care providers.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Michigan-born documentarian, 55, is equally blunt in his assessment of America’s free-market system in his latest offering, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which opened Friday.
“Something is seriously wrong with the economic situation in America,” he says. “When I say that capitalism should be eliminated, I’m not talking about eliminating someone trying to open up a business, trying to sell shoes and working hard to make a living.
“To me, capitalism is a system of legalized greed. It’s a Ponzi scheme that guarantees the few people at the top of the pyramid are going to earn most of the money, and everybody else becomes their slaves.”
Moore’s thesis — that the free-market system must go if this divide is to be narrowed — will be greeted with skepticism in some quarters and scornful laughter in others. But that hasn’t stopped him from making his argument to anyone who will listen.
Moore has spent much of the last year creating “Capitalism,” and witnessing firsthand the devastation wrought by the current financial crisis.
As one might expect, “Love Story” documents some of corporate America’s gravest offenses, including the subprime loan scandal and the subsequent $700 billion bailout pushed on Congress by financial players like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.
Yet, despite his belief that America’s leaders are beholden to big business, Moore argues that capitalism as he defines it can be eliminated if ordinary Americans simply exercise their right to vote. As proof that big change can happen, he cites last year’s presidential election.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see Nelson Mandela released from prison,” he says. “And if you’d told me a few years ago that America was going to elect the black guy, I’d have thought you were crazy.
“I wouldn’t be out here yelling for change if I didn’t think it was possible. I love being an American, and I know we can do better than this.”
By: Rossiter Drake – sfexaminer.com
2 Responses
Capitalism has to go but it won’t go on its own. It has to be demolished by common people who have been suffering for the past three centuries. Marxism too is not the solution as it has collapsed for doing injustice to the people who have their own aspirations. Marxism was also a state capitalism. Gorbachev had to bring down Marxist economy within two years after climbing himself to the top position. Similar attempts have to be made to bring down capitalism. The alternative system has to have true free market (not present day monopoly market), allow each individual to retain his/her own earning (surplus value as named by Marx) fully in his/ her hands and not to share it with others as happens in wage-employment in capitalism and also in Marxian socialism, the state has to provide necessary infrastructure support, finance at zero rate of interest as seed-money to all needy entrepreneurs, technology sharing without costs or with nominal cost, large undertaking as ‘essential monopolistic enterprises’ should be with the state for social needs, working entrepreneurs’ own cooperatives and sharing partnerships for undertaking large volumes to meet demands, democratic government in power all the time, state to ensure no one takes advantage in fixing market prices or supplies of goods and services, market prices have to be decided in the market place and not in factories as being done today,there should be a large number of sellers and buyers in the market to avoid any cartels or monopolies, etc.
This is an ideal economic system and would be eternal. This economics takes into account all the people of the economy and not selected ones (wage-earning employees) as in capitalist and Marxian economics. This system ensure zero unemployment, zero inflation as the competition would bring down prices lower in future period as a trend, poverty elimination, stagflation-free, fully ensuring ecological balance, true scientific socialism of people, totally decentralization of economic activities, smaller units of production activities, no wage-labor as every one can become entrepreneur and therefore no economic exploitation, lower prices would bring down interest charges and over time the same would be eliminated as an element of distribution economics, lower taxes as the cost of administration would be lesser due to competition, taxes can be eliminated over time by planning to finance the budgets with deficit finance instrument with no fear of inflation, narrowing the gap between rich and poor citizens of any economy, total economic equality in the economy, etc etc.
Economic system fully supported by all the required economic theories has been developed by an Indian economist (Dr. M G Bokare, former Vice-Chancellor of an Indian university) in 1993 with the title as “Hindu-economics” as it is based on most natural laws and blessings of god and Hindu ethos carried forward for thousands of years. The second edition of this treatise has just been out in the market through http://www.pothi.com. This new economic model is applicable to any democratic country with required minor modification to their constitution. This supports Mahatma Gandhi’s vision about man-centric and totally decentralized and holistic economic system and free of violence.
Today the world is facing all kinds of problems including a threat to mankind’s survival due to heavy pollution of air, water, land, food, global warming, crimes, warfares, nuclear war threats, increasing poverty even in developed countries, slavery conditions in industrial and other sectors. The economists are getting mental shocks as to how to handle the present situation. The Economist of London, said a few years ago that the economists had no solutions for collapsing economy of Japan since 1990s.
Marxist economists propagating as an option of Marxian socialism after the collapse of capitalism. However, they have yet to find out the reasons for collapse of Marxian economics. They have now started investigating it after the collapse. On the other hand, capitalist economists were already aware of the weaknesses in capitalism and were also predicting that capitalism could not be an eternal economic system. Even J M Keynes had said that his economic solutions were for arresting Great Depression and thereby saving capitalism. As such these solutions were not of permanent nature. Technology would bring abundance (in place of present day’s scarcity as required for the survival of capitalism), and thereby capitalist economic system would collapse. We are now experiencing this today. Professor J Pen of Denmark an a sincere follower of JM Keynes said in “Modern Economics” (page 237), “If the deflation is allowed to continue, the modern architecture which we have assiduously built after the industrial revolution in England, will soon vanish”. He is right. It, however, does not connote the disappearance of elements in the economy. They will get reorganised. This is how we know the first law of thermodynamics. ‘Hindu- economics’ generates forces of economic variables, which engender downward moving prices as a trend. This paradigm cannot sustain Western industrial system, its culture and also some of its associated organizations in business. New forms of economic organizations would emanate and will be promoted by the state. Pigou recanted because he became aware of the destabilization of capitalism in his Pigou-effect. He could not envision a new economy beyond classical capitalism.
Posted on October 6th, 2009 at 10:35 am
I watched the last 30 years, and you do not have to be a Einstein, to see what is going on. There are many factors that caused this to happen. Greed is one thing, parent hood is a other, schools
ask yourself how everybody is passing, workathic what you need a Einstein when he never shows up, Sales Sales 50% off no 75 % off no more price what ever one day up one day dwn, 99c store
next is 55c store mabe a 25c store and than? Saleries are not distriebuted fairly, consumer index is climing not saleries from low income workers, Russia had a revolution and the zaar was overthron. I even think is a calculated colaps. When u see the payout for some in the million
and the other have not enough to pay the bills, retiered people have to work and pay taxes. Is not only here in England and Switzerland the same. SBG failed investment with Countrywide and CEO got 50 Millon bonus.
Look back see what rep. president Nixon did with taking gold value of the dollar. Dollar today is same as a Swiss Frank and almost half to the euro. How the try to fix that when u depend of chep goods from China. Thats way 99c store sale 75% 80 % . City of Houston buys suvailence Camera from a Amercan Gentlemen, who let them make in China , he is 35 years old and a
multy millionair and the Tax payer payes for the cameras.
Telecheck and first data is the biggest credit card payment provaider layed off Americans
and send jobs oversea to India. I had a business to close and bayed telecheck fees.
Is not washingthon or City of houston is every where .
If you do not live by rules u will destroy yourself.
they are many more points I can point out.
coladeral for loans, productivity ,Values etc.
4 trillons dept? NO 300 Trillions is more likely.
Enron was a hot air ballon and there are 2000 more companies like them , tanks deregulations, by democratic president Cater, Texas Labor law is non existing is a joke, why we have to pay saleries to a labor department if they do nothing for the people?
No accountabillity no budgeting never mind in what lavel of goverment.
Mr moor is right.
In Switzerland the people do not vote the president, the parlament those it.
Put the people have the last word.
direct Democratie. The Department have to work with a budget if it is over the budget they have to bring it to the people, and they decide yes or no.
What is when u can vote for a president and after that u have nothing to say.
Homebuilder association is after the goverment the second largest employer in the US.
Never mind if republican or democrats they allways get what they whant.
I could writte more down.
Like in the 80′s people got layed off , people with experiance got replace by unexperienced workers, motto was save save save. That was one of the problems we still pay today, Imigration
laws etc.
Enrico Gaggioni
Posted on October 7th, 2009 at 12:29 am
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