 "Photo: Image courtesy of Overture Films")
Moore’s last theatrical release, “Sicko”, looked at the U.S. healthcare system compared to other industrialized nations. In “Capitalism: A Love Story,” Moore takes a jab at the relationship between the U.S. economic system and the U.S. federal government.
In the documentary, Moore proposes that the problem with the economy is that Wall Street is defining policy in Washington, D.C.
Surprisingly, instead of recommending a more socialist economic system, Moore decided to take a different approach and prescribed a large dose of democracy to economic policy.
In the documentary, Michael Moore showed the tragedies that are allowed to happen under the current economic system. Families are thrown out of their homes.
Businesses do not pay the workers what they deserve. Companies are able to profit from the deaths of their employees.
Real estate vultures are able to take advantage of the poor. Wall Street moguls are put into powerful government positions. Basically, the rich get richer and the poor only get poorer in this economy.
“Capitalism: A Love Story” did take an interesting turn about halfway through and invoked a moral argument against capitalism. Moore suggested that capitalism is not only immoral, but an actual evil.
Moore interviewed two priests and the archdiocese of Detroit. All were in agreement that capitalism is not good and takes advantage of people.
In the film, Michael Moore also worked to expose the powerful Wall Street CEOs who wiggled their way into Washington. He showed that most of Bush’s economic policy advisors came from Merrill Lynch. He also attacked the current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner as a Wall Street crony who says only what people want to hear.
Just following this scene is a portrayal of President Barack Obama. He shows President Obama as the representative of the people’s disgust with Wall Street and corporate control. What Moore neglected to say here is that President Obama put in Geithner and others that Moore had just attacked as corporate elites.
Moore also went on a tirade against former President Reagan and his policies. During this sequence Mr. Moore never exactly elaborated on what former President Reagan did to cause the problems, but just went on a tirade about him.
The film does not just criticize the current system it offers an alternative. Moore shows two companies that run as co-ops. This means that the employees of the company make the decisions and make equal pay dependent on how many hours they work.This way, employees can get an equal share in the companies they are a part of.
Unfortunately, “Capitalism: A Love Story” has the same errors as Moore’s other films. They are not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the truth. Compared to other documentaries, Moore’s new film is easy to watch and more enjoyable than others within the same genre. Overall, this documentary is an intriguing one, but it must be watched with a critical eye.
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