I heard about Capitalism: A Love Story by watching Jay Leno’s new show on NBC. Leno interviewed Moore for about 8 minutes. It looked like this: two really rich guys, talking about how much capitalism is sucking for some other group of people. It is amazing because Moore actually calls capitalism “evil“ in his film. Of course it is an evil that he is trying to gain from by promoting his film on a program hosted by a guy who owns over 80 cars. (Now that is must see comedy. Way to go NBC.)
You now have two options. If you do not want to learn from Michael Moore’s latest film, then take the previous paragraph as your basis for writing it off. You also have the choice to learn from a hypocrite. This is the same choice you have every time you learn anything from anyone. It’s just that it is more obvious with Moore on this topic. So, if you are willing to learn from an unlikely teacher, here is your other (better) option:
Let’s begin with what should be able to go unsaid, but probably cannot: Calling yourself "well informed" on any issue after watching a Michael Moore film is just as insane as calling Fox News, "fair and balanced." But, that does not mean Moore’s latest film is not an insightful and important experience.
Here is what Moore has for us this time: Capitalism: A Love Story is Moore making the argument that democracy, not socialism, is the savior of capitalism’s demons. This is where I would invite you deeper into what Moore is saying, politics aside, because I think he is on to something and doesn’t even know it.
Is the call for democracy in his film, on some level, a call for deep, authentic, loving community? Is this kind of community the difference between democracy (at its best) and socialism? When Moore celebrates an engineering/manufacturing firm that functions as a democracy (one person = one vote), he is really just celebrating a transparent system that holds each member accountable to the rest (ie. the CEO cannot hand out pay raises that the entire company does not stand behind). It is a system that does not see all jobs as equal, but all people as equal. It is a system that would never allow one person to run away with all the power, money and influence,because this would not be good for the whole (or that person). Isn’t this what community is about? It may be harder to see when the conversation is about companies, but if you take the film as a possible read on how each American lives their life, the type of democratic process that Moore is calling for is really just another way to frame authentic community. Are you living your life in some isolated fashion that allows you to make decisions that are good for you, but not those around you? Are you willing to open yourself up to the input, guidance and “vote” of those whom you affect?
There is an Anabaptist quality to what Moore is seeking out here. He is calling our nation to live transparently, not just to be held accountable by the democratic process, but also be guided by it. Could our for-profit world learn from the Mennonite and Quaker communities, where community is the only way to live and make decisions? Whether Moore realizes it our not, he just made a film that says, “Yes.”
