Mar 1, 2021
Saving Capitalism- my thoughts
So I’ve been watching a few documentaries on capitalism and this one is the latest addition to the list.
Going in, I felt that this documentary would highlight the problems faced in today’s version of capitalism and how to fix them. More of scratching the surface than actually digging deep.
Well, I was wrong. This documentary was based on Robert B. Reich’s Saving Capitalism which I hadn’t heard of until then. Mr Reich is a professor and a former secretary (Minister for non- Americans) of Labour under President Clinton. He talks about capitalism and how it has evolved in America (more on that later). He has also written many books with the most recent being ‘The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It’ which was released last year.
I personally believe that capitalism may not be the ideal system for humanity, it is the only one that works somewhat decently. We can actually see its results with the biggest ones being China and the US. Until we figure out a better economic model, capitalism is the way to go. But over the years, the economic system that has pulled many people out of poverty is pushing them back in to it. In a way, it is devolving by making the rich richer and the poor poorer. I belive capitalism rewards two kinds of people- The ones who work hard and the ones who profit off of other’s loss. Over the years, we can see big businesses do the latter to make more money in a lesser time. They use their economic might to influence policies in their favour.
Mr Reich talked about how business moved into Washington in the 70s and subtly changed the rules of the game which adds up over time. He also interacts with people from all over America to learn more about their financial woes and perhaps form a solution. You’ll people from different parts of the spectrum sharing their opinion on what they think is going on in the country. But the theme really centred around cronyism.
The end was very positive and really balanced the negative emotions in the film. It left me feeling that change is necessary but isn’t impossible and if everyone comes together, people can truly make a difference.
