Negatives:
* The movie
appears to confuse Mercantilism (the buying and selling of goods and services)
with Capitalism (a system under which the profits of industry go to the
investors of capital instead of to the workers.)
* Most of the examples in the movie are attacks on
corruption instead of on the theory of capitalist economics.
* Many of the examples in the movie are attacks on the
banking and finance system instead of the capitalist manufacturing system.
* The movie relies strongly on emotional appeal instead of a
logical critique of the capitalist system
* The film doesn’t so much develop a coherent argument as it
is just a collection of examples of capitalist excesses.
* The movie flirts with socialist ideas, but fails to
present any sort of socialist program as an alternative to capitalism.
Positives
* Love him or hate him, nothing Michael Moore does is ever
boring.
* The film may rely heavily on emotional appeals, but it
hits this emotional appeal very skillfully.
* The film may be a critique of the excesses of capitalism
and of corruption (instead of the underlying system), but it does a great job
of exposing the corruption in banking and in Wall Street.
The Review
In spite of
all its flaws, a very powerful film that needs to be seen. The film doesn’t quite present a coherent
critique when viewed in isolation, but it can be a great educational tool when
presented as part of a larger argument against capitalism. This film has the potential to begin a debate
that our country badly needs, and should, ideally, be seen by citizen of the
United States.
Other Things I Would
Write About If I Wasn’t Limiting Myself to 100 Word
* A list of all the really good points this movie makes.
Links:
External Links
2 comments:
A couple of years ago when Bruce Cockburn received a lifetime achievement award, his acceptance speech was, "Mercantilism sucked in the 17th Century, and it sucks now." Sums up quite a bit, I think.
I'd probably consider myself less opposed to Mercantilism than capitalism. (Part of my frustration when people conflate the two terms, as Michael Moore did in this movie). But when it comes right down to it, they can both be pretty brutal forms of societal arrangement.
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