Saving Capitalism

The premise is that capitalism needs saving. Tends to highlight the problems fairly well. Yet it continually fails to understand where the problem lies. It is not capitalism that needs the saving, it is our political system. For example: Argues a major problem is corporations buying political influence; fails to understand that politicians must sell political influence for it to be bought.

If valid and rational narrative is a must, look elsewhere; if you can look beyond the intended narrative, it isn't a horrible documentary.

How our government and our economy work have a profound impact on every American family. Over the past 40 years, we've gone from being a society in which our gains were broadly shared, to being one in which a few privileged elites get the lion's share of any progress we make.

We're producing twice as much wealth -- PER PERSON -- as we were in the mid 1970's. Sadly, much of this wealth has been hijacked and redirected to the wealthiest and most powerful among us. In this film, Robert Reich explains, pretty clearly, how and why this has happened.

If you don't understand exactly what's happened -- and what's CONTINUING to happen -- then you need to see this film.

Yes, it's a documentary. Documentaries aren't as exciting as the latest big box-office smash hit. But even if you need to watch it in pieces, watch it. Because our very future is at stake, and understanding where we are at is key to preserving or regaining it.

Others have rightly noted that Reich doesn't present a lot of solutions here. "Get involved" is a bit simplistic, but still, it's the first step. And a very necessary one.

One step forward that I would recommend would be to connect with an organization called "Represent Us" (you can find them on the web.)

In spite of the lack of "action steps," I give this a 10 out of 10 for the importance of raising people's awareness of how our system is rigged. We can't move forward if we don't know what the game is.

'SAVING CAPITALISM': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A documentary about capitalism in modern society, starring liberal politician Robert Reich. It was released by Netflix, through their streaming site, and it was directed by Sari Gilman and Jacob Kornbluth. The film title is also the name of Reich's new book, which he discusses continuously throughout the movie. I found the doc to be decently made, and somewhat informative.

Reich speaks in front of multiple audiences (of all kinds of different people), about his book, and interviews several different individuals as well. He also speaks to several other politicians, addressing the major issues with capitalism today. He informs the viewers, through narration, about many of the corrupt ways our government does business too. The film also goes into Reich's history as a politician, professor and commentator. He served in President Gerald Ford's administration, as well as Jimmy Carter's, and he was also Secretary of Labor for Bill Clinton (from 1993 to 1997). So the guy is definitely an experienced politician.

I usually agree with what Reich has to say, politically speaking, and I agree with most of what he says in this film. There are times I don't agree with him though, and I have a hard time respecting him after knowing how close he is to the Clintons. Still I think his views are mostly true, and seemingly come from passion and commitment to making the world a better place. So I did like this movie. It's a little like a Michael Moore film, but less funny, and not quite as effective or well made. You have to be a Robert Reich fan to enjoy it though, obviously.

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On the whole, I enjoyed this. It was thought provoking in parts but over simplified the issues and totally agree with a previous reviewer that it left you hanging with no solutions. Its an opportunity missed to have been part of a solution going forward and sweepingly stating there needs to be more political activism /awareness in our younger generations, for me, misses the spot. The shift thats needed in the political powerhouse, isn't going to come from students on the street (theyve been doing that for decades). Id be interested in Mr Reichs views on blockchain. Will the ability through blockchain to cut out the layers of governance and bureucracy indeed resolve many of these 21st century corporate governance issues highlighted here?

I would think that the people in the system are the ones that need saving - but that is more or less what the maker of this is suggesting anyway. It's not about saving "money" or just generally the system. It's about how people suffer under the current system. Now you could argue that this is politically motivated, even propaganda. It's a fair point to make. The good thing is, you can make up your mind and maybe have a couple more view points on certain things that are happening in your economy.

It's interesting but it might not be the most thorough. It still is an interesting documentary and it does work as an insight look in what works or rather does not work at times. If it's an interesting subject to you, you will find something to hold onto and be excited about