In Defense of Capitalism: a True Love Story
by ilene - October 6th, 2009 4:58 pm
Vitaliy writes a heartfelt essay on Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. I didn’t see the movie but trust his impressions are accurate. Even so, I disagree with part of his argument. Vitaliy states that: "the fact that corruption and bribery are the rare exception in the US, not the rule (as in Russia), is never mentioned." I think we have a sort of capitalism laced with crime, and a system that cannot rid itself of corruption, to me, does not make for a true love story. – Ilene
Now that I’ve tossed in my two cents, here’s Vitaliy N. Katsenelson introduction.
My writing is a byproduct of my investment process, I think through writing. I don’t do movie reviews and don’t watch Michael Moore’s movies. But when a Denver Post reporter invited me to a private showing of Moore’s latest flick last Monday Capitalism: A Love Story, I decided to check it out since it had to do with Capitalism. It stirred up a lot of memories and I recently finished reading Atlas Shrugged which had a great impact on me. A combination of all those things motivated me to write this. I hope you enjoy it.
In Defense of Capitalism: a True Love Story
Courtesy of Vitaliy N. Katsenelson at Contrarian Edge
In the 1980s, in Soviet Russia, a few times a year, my class walked to a movie theater, where we were shown a documentary. Attendance was mandatory. The documentaries were different but the themes were the same: to the accompaniment of patriotic music, we learned about the righteousness of socialism, the greatness of Mother Russia, and the intelligence and foresight of our great leaders. To demonstrate how good we had it, we were shown images of “decaying” American capitalism. Of course, capitalism did not get the benefit of patriotic music as we were shown the poverty-stricken homeless, the KKK burning crosses and lynching blacks, and Russia-hating capitalists being poisoned by hamburgers (of course, later I learned this part about hamburgers was not a complete lie).
Past weekend Americans voluntarily spent a few million dollars to see a documentary by Michael Moore – Capitalism: the Love Story. But don’t kid yourself, this piece of work is not a documentary, it lacks objectivity and has no intention of seeking the truth. It is anti-American and anti-capitalist propaganda. Mr. Moore is a talented propagandist; in…