Come salvare il capitalismo

'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?

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.

11/24/17. This is the pundit everyone should listen to. Really. There are too many talking heads spewing hot air, but Reich is the modern day Citizen Renaissance Man. He's got the economy covered like the way it should be covered. Just like the fear of math holds back many people from better paying jobs, the fear of economics holds back most people from admitting their ignorance and thus lure them into losing their nest eggs to unscrupulous money managers, financial planners, etc. And, don't forget who is pulling back on regulating these people from unethical practices. Sad to say, Reich is the modern day Cassandra warning of impending doom while people are ignoring his insight as political propaganda. It is not. It is straight talk. Entities that make the money do not need to be bailed out. While they are being bailed out, it is the working people who suffer the most. Do you really think that when corporations get a tax break that the money they save from having to pay taxes will be plowed back into their companies so more jobs will be created? Think again. AI and robots are just around the corner to take over jobs that can be easily automated. That's where the money is going to go, if it goes back to the company and their workers at all. When the working people start to realize this, then perhaps we can realistically address the inequities and inequalities that are continually supported by people who make all the money and want to keep it that way.

The documentation really highlights how coperate america has taken over the politcal system in the last 20 years. However, it is sometimes rather superficial. For example, there are no case examples on how the lobbying is done and his solution: what we need is active citizens is certainly true, but he could have pointed how it would be best to get involded. For anyone who doubts that the system is borken, this movie is a must.