Posted on 09/13/2009 6:29:42 AM PDT by Kaslin
Michael Moore is releasing a new movie, and I’m sooo excited about it...
More about me in a moment. First, the man who brought us Bowling For Columbine and Fahrenheit 9-11 is about to release a new film entitled Capitalism: A Love Story.
Just as “Bowling” embodied Moore’s extreme left-wing view that gun rights are bad, and “Fahrenheit” embodied (among other things) the extreme left-wing belief that Iraqis enjoyed Saddam Hussein and President Bush made their lives worse, so also does “Love Story” advance another idea that is popular among American liberals today: capitalism is evil.
“Trailers” and “promos” available at the film’s website depict Moore doing his usual shtick - - showing-up unexpectedly at select locations with a video crew, recording ambush interviews, cleverly editing video to depict targeted individuals as “stupid,” and so forth.
The website also explains Moore ’s conclusion: capitalism is “evil,” America needs something different, and that “something” is “democracy.” Perhaps Moore is unacquainted with the concept of “democratic capitalism,” or is unaware that capitalism and democracy already co-exist.
We’ve got a few weeks before the movie actually is released. In the meantime, let’s look at an editorial piece that Moore wrote back in June of this year, when General Motors met its inevitable fate of bankruptcy. He’s been grinding an axe about G.M. at least since the 1989 release of his film “Roger and Me,” but looking at his writing on the subject gives us an idea of how he thinks.
Midway through the op-ed piece, Moore states:
So here we are at the deathbed of General Motors. The company's body not yet cold, and I find myself filled with—dare I say it—joy. It is not the joy of revenge against a corporation that ruined my hometown and brought misery, divorce, alcoholism, homelessness, physical and mental debilitation, and drug addiction to the people I grew up with. Nor do I, obviously, claim any joy in knowing that 21,000 more GM workers will be told that they, too, are without a job.
Whoa, hold on! Do you realize how “loaded” this little paragraph is? General Motors “ruined” his hometown ( Flint , Michigan ). How did General Motors do that? And how did a car manufacturing company become so powerful that it “caused” all those social ills?
Moore explains that G.M. “caused” all this ugly stuff because it closed a manufacturing plant and eliminated jobs. And isn’t this ironic. The man who’s been on a journey to “trash” capitalism ignores a basic concept of capitalism: as participants in the economy, we (individuals and groups alike) all have “self interests” at stake, and we are all free to make our own choices as we seek to fulfill those interests.
Maybe GM closed plants in Moore ’s hometown because Michigan ’s taxation rates were unduly high, or the UAW was demanding wages that were beyond what the market would bare. For Moore , the reasons apparently don’t matter. Michael didn’t approve of GM’s decisions, so GM was wrong.
And notice how Moore ’s thinking dismisses the leadership of Flint – and just about everyone else - from any responsibility. Why did Flint allow itself to become reliant on one corporation for an employment base? Who cares! It’s easier to “hate on GM” than it is to think intelligibly about economics.
In truth, Moore doesn’t seem to “think” much about these things, so much as he “feels,” “emotes,” and “rages.” It’s simplistic and childlike, but it’s common: "I don’t like your economic choices, so, therefore, both you, AND Capitalism, are evil.” This mindset may get a pass on Sesame Street (or in American Universities), but it’s untenable on Wall Street or “Main Street .”
And didn’t this kind of “feeling” help drive Barack Obama to the White House? “Elect me and we’ll make business owners do what we want – better wages, lower prices, go green,” whatever. Today, our President and Congress are steeped in the Moore tradition.
So imagine if we scrutinized Michael Moore with Michael Moore economics. When Moore produces a film, does he make economic choices based on everybody else’s self interests and not his own, or does he secure the best possible film crew workers for the best possible price? Is Moore responsible for alcoholism and divorce and mental illness when it occurs among the people that work for him?
The real absurdity here is that while Moore trashes Capitalism, it is Capitalism that has enabled him to make and sell books and movies, and to become a multi-millionaire.
So why am I excited about “Capitalism: A Love Story?” After a few months of Moore ’s movie, my second book will be released next spring, entitled The Virtues Of Capitalism: Making A Moral Case For Free Markets.
As if my subject matter isn’t already sufficiently interesting, Moore ’s movie will, I’m sure, drive more interest in my book and help generate more sales.
Thanks, Michael. We’re both freely making economic choices. Welcome to “democratic capitalism.”
Quite interesting. GM failed largely, although not exclusively (there were plenty of purely business bad decisions), because unions and government cooperated to keep it from adapting to a changing market.
So when a corporation fails due to Michael’s preferred union and government policies, we’ll blame it on capitalism. The solution is of course more government and union intrusion on business decisions.
After 200 years of monumental success (still with all the liberal socialistic gov't intrution) capitalism has afforded America, doofuses like Moore capitalize off a system they denegrate!
I mean there is no other words to describe, idiocy and savvy other than, SOS opportunist!
Newsweek isn’t making any money - so they’ve come up with the idea of selling their lame product for MORE money. So liberal economics is effecting everything. My suggestion to Newsweek is make it $500.00 an issue - then their writers can be rich too!
Exactly
If capitalism is evil, why is Moore charging money to see his movie?
Apparently it is ‘Charlie Rangel economics’ that is driving DC now
After a few months of Moore ’s movie, .................. LOL, months??? I’m sure the lines will be around the block to see it. sarc/ It should go directly to DVD. The capitalists with jobs and money to spend won’t be spending it on this movie, if they don’t only the elite liberals will, Bottom line, it will bomb like the others but come award night they’ll give him an Oscar for his BS.
I attended the huge March for Freedom yesterday in Washington D.C. The crowds were enormous but at one location where the crowd thinned out a bit a clean cut and well mannered young man drew my attention. He was standing in front of a common everyday grocery cart selling very large beautifully browned salted pretzels.
What caught my eye was his sign casually placed in the bottom of the cart. It read... "I Love Capitalism"
I don’t know who these people were, but there were a bunch of local pretzel entrepreneurs at the march yesterday. They were a godsend! They also sold water, and their water and pretzels were about all there was to buy all day. Find a need and fill it...
The size of the crowds was vastly underestimated. Far more important than pretzels and water were toilet facilities.
Thousands of people were in line to the hundreds of portable toilets and thousands more lined up to go through the museum's metal detectors to get to the museum's toilets.
I met some people who had gone to one of the museums and they said the guard was overwhelmed because he had been told to expect only 6 or 7,000 people for the Tea Party! LOL!
That's it really. And his fans will eat it up.
I wonder if he'll follow Obama's campaign suggestion and share his wealth with his ailing homestate?
They do look delish! I applaud that young entrepreneur.
This approach never fails to amaze me. Here in FL it is generally agreed that the home insurer with the highest prices and lowest quality service it Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort.
Yet the assumption in all discussions of the insurance problem is that the solution is for the state to get more involved.
Isn't that the truth! Of course, we can't discount that the mantra of the left is that more state control is always the answer. From the big things like insurance to the inane. It's really alarming when you hear those on the left (as my state, PA, hasn't passed it's budget yet) defend having their taxes raised or paying high tax rates because 'we have to expect to pay more for the services we get'. That's a quote from a friend.
Danny Elfman and Oingo Boingo said it better than I ever could:
There’s nothing wrong with Capitalism
There’s nothing wrong with free enterprise
Don’t try to make me feel guilty
I’m so tired of hearing you cry
There’s nothing wrong with making some profit
If you ask me I’ll say it’s just fine
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live nice
I’m so tired of hearing you whine
About the revolution
Bringin’ down the rich
When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby!
If it ain’t one thing
Then it’s the other
Any cause that crosses your path
Your heart bleeds for anyone’s brother
I’ve got to tell you you’re a pain in the ass
You criticize with plenty of vigor
You rationalize everything that you do
With catchy phrases and heavy quotations
And everybody is crazy but you
You’re just a middle class, socialist brat
From a suburban family and you never really had to work
And you tell me that we’ve got to get back
To the struggling masses (whoever they are)
You talk, talk, talk about suffering and pain
Your mouth is bigger than your entire brain
What the hell do you know about suffering and pain . . .
(Repeat first verse)
(Repeat chorus)
There’s nothing wrong with Capitalism
There’s nothing wrong with Capitalism
There’s nothing wrong with Capitalism
There’s nothing wrong with Capitalism
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