His his TGIF column Sheldon Richman takes a look at Michael Moore and his new movie. In the movie, Moore rails against a lot of things that really should be railed against. The trouble is that Moore thinks they’re part of capitalism (e.g., the Wall Street bailouts) when in fact they’re antithetical to capitalism. They’re instead part of state capitalism or corporativism. Unfortunately, the corruption of the language prevents Moore from grasping the difference. With most politicians and commentators babbling that the US is a capitalist country, shallow thinkers are easily misled into concluding that the ugly and ethically repulsive crony capitalism we behold is the real thing.
As Richman suggests, Moore might be an ally if only he learned something about economics. I suggest inviting him to a seminar at FEE.
But is Moore interested in learning? His capitalist-bashing shtick is lining his pockets wonderfully. Is he just a clever businessman who realizes that it’s lucrative to get leftists to turn over some of their money to him?
