Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich meets with Americans from all walks of life as he chronicles a seismic shift in the nation's economy. Coming November 21 only on Netflix
ABOUT ''Saving Capitalism''
Reich begins by bemoaning the state of affairs for working and middle-class families in America, recalling fondly how his father’s small business was able to provide for their entire family to live comfortably in the fifties and sixties. Since the 1970’s, however, Reich argues that the market has been restructured so that the vast majority of economic benefits are going right to the top earners, leaving wages for most Americans stagnant and upward mobility more and more unsure.
The most interesting part of Reich’s argument is his firm rejection of “market-vs.-government” thinking. Anyone who’s ever debated their conservative uncle (or maybe their liberal niece-or-nephew) is familiar with this problem: which is more efficient, the government, or the free market?
Reich contends that the free market vs. government debate is a purposeful distraction meant to obscure the reality of who is reaping economic gains. The market is inherently dependent on a system of controls in regards to five “building blocks,” which Reich identifies as property, monopolies, contracts, bankruptcy, and enforcement. In essence, since a free market depends on the existence of these five building blocks, and since these building blocks require the existence of a system of external controls to ensure they are maintained, the issue is not about government vs. the free market, but about how the free market is organized by and through government, and who has the most influence over those decisions. MORE
HERE are a few things he left out of the movie:
What is going to save our society and our world? A Resource-Based Economy. This economic system is a way of life for all human beings to live abundantly. A system in which all goods and services are available without the use of any system of debt or servitude like money, credits or barter. All resources become the common heritage of all living people, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.
Further money is only important in a society when certain resources for survival must be rationed and the people accept money as an exchange medium for the scarce resources. Money is a social convention, an agreement if you will. It is neither a natural resource nor does it represent one. It is not necessary for survival unless we have been conditioned to accept it as such.
The Truth Shall Set you Free,
But First It will Piss You Off!
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