The Irony of Capitalism's justification: My reaction to Capitalism : A Love Story: Extra credit blog

 In the documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, is about Michael Moore, and his friend, and actor, Wallace Shawn, walking us through this comedic, sarcastic, and raw documentary about the dark side of the United States: Capitalism. The film being made back in 2009, it captured the events leading up to the Obama election, and even described how him winning the election would've benefited the people and hopefully help end Capitalism itself back then. 

  Capitalism, was described as something like this in the video: Capitalism is a street full of shops, and the person with the best shop, gets the most customers, and makes the most money. Pretty good deal right? Unfortunately, here is where the middle, and lower classes come in to play. The shopkeepers with the most customers, and money (banks, and multi-million dollar companies) don't want to let any of their money go anywhere else regardless: even if it comes at the lower class and middle class expense. Below are just some of the ways those multi-million dollar companies, such as, insurance, banks, and healthcare, scam everyone else.

 The first one that will be mentioned is the dead peasant policy used by insurance companies. Although it's a pretty horrible name, it's a pretty fitting name concerning the policy helps insurance companies make money off of someone dying young. An example shared in the movie would be a grieving widow that shared her story of how she lost her husband, from a very young age, the death leaving her to have to care for their son. What she didn't know was that the insurance company made money off of her husbands death, through them purchasing policies and paying premiums, behind her back. Or another example would be another family described in the video that lived in Peoria, Illinois.

 Misfortune had fallen upon their family and they had been evicted by a mortgage company after refinancing their house. Initially they were told thirty days, but were given a twenty four hour notice from the police, by them rudely coming to their house and forcing them out. The family not only had to spend their entire day cleaning out and packing up their home that had been in there family for several generations, but ended up having to burn their own furniture just to abide by the law. At first glance, it may seem that what happened to them was fair, but that doesn't mean it's right.

  There was another time in world history just like this, the French Revolution, where the 1% of the population, the richest class, had all of the power, and were leeching off of the poorer classes out of their own greed. Unlike the French, the Americans do have something in their corner: a voice.

 Unlike the French who had to revolt against their country, so the poorer classes could rise up, the United States rebelled against a dream that had backfired on everyone, except the rich. The film ended with people protesting by sitting in at their jobs, a Wisconsin sheriff refusing to foreclose peoples homes, and even the people taking their previously foreclosed home back.

The documentary was amazing, all in all, and I'd utmost recommend giving it a listen, if one would like to learn more about the darker side of the United States.

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