The One Percent

I highly recommend that everyone here watch all eight parts of this documentary (on Youtube). It's a terrific piece on the ongoing wealth disparity that continues to plague the United States. What's particularly interesting is the access the filmmaker has—by virtue of the fact that he's of the Johnson family (of the Johnson & Johnson company)—to prominent members of the bourgeoisie. You will see how completely delusional and callous these individuals happen to be.

Admin wrote:I highly recommend that everyone here watch all eight parts of this documentary (on Youtube). It's a terrific piece on the ongoing wealth disparity that continues to plague the United States. What's particularly interesting is the access the filmmaker has—by virtue of the fact that he's of the Johnson family (of the Johnson & Johnson company)—to prominent members of the bourgeoisie. You will see how completely delusional and callous these individuals happen to be.

Interestingly enough, I watched this film less than a week ago. Milton Friedman is quite the interesting Jew, isn't he? He exhibits the type of Jewish neurosis that is capable of comprehending yet simultaneously rejecting the validity of a viewpoint. He reminds me of the more rabid Zionist types who seem to almost utilize aspects of doublethink regarding Israeli affairs.

As for the video itself, I have found its delivery unique and informative, but I must criticize it for its reformist leanings. The film outright rejects socialism and vouches instead for a more amenable capitalism through regulation and a greater welfare state. Its exposition of the glaring wealth inequality within the United States and implicitly the world is expressed clearly and poignantly, but its proposed solutions fall far short of the mark.

Revolutionary Wolf wrote:Interestingly enough, I watched this film less than a week ago. Milton Friedman is quite the interesting Jew, isn't he? He exhibits the type of Jewish neurosis that is capable of comprehending yet simultaneously rejecting the validity of a viewpoint. He reminds me of the more rabid Zionist types who seem to almost utilize aspects of doublethink regarding Israeli affairs.

As for the video itself, I have found its delivery unique and informative, but I must criticize it for its reformist leanings. The film outright rejects socialism and vouches instead for a more amenable capitalism through regulation and a greater welfare state. Its exposition of the glaring wealth inequality within the United States and implicitly the world is expressed clearly and poignantly, but its proposed solutions fall far short of the mark.

I agree. The sociological and psychological insights provided in this documentary certainly warrant its attention; but it possess very little political merit, apart from underscoring the inherent absurdity of the libertarian (capitalist) alternative. One could easily attribute its reformist character to the fact that it's told through the perspective of an ambivalent member of the very class it seeks to critique. As such, it's capacity to entertain solutions is extremely limited—perhaps even intentionally so. I found this to be a particularly amusing quality, for the content of the film itself essentially demonstrates that reformist solutions are inherently incapable of sustaining themselves.

For instance, the 'progressive age' alluded to by Professor Reich proved to be grossly deficient in adequately disciplining the bourgeoisie (which is itself a long-term impossibility) and therefore could not retain its basis long enough to ensure that its many accomplishments were perpetually sustained for the American people. I would hope that most people who view this documentary don't come away thinking that conventional political methods have the potential to enact adequate change at this (advanced) stage of Western capitalism.