Saturday 30 January 2010

Michael Moore's Naivety

'Capitalism is evil … you have to eliminate it', says Michael Moore in an interview published in today's Guardian, and goes on to explain:
"What I'm asking for is a new economic order. I don't know how to construct that. I'm not an economist. All I ask is that it have two organizing principles. Number one, that the economy is run democratically. In other words, the people have a say in how its run, not just the 1%. And number two, that it has an ethical and moral core to it. That nothing is done without considering the ethical nature, no business decision is made without first asking the question, is this for the common good?"
I'm quite astonished at how naive Michael Moore reveals himself to be here, given his fame, although I guess he is pretty typical of the political left.
It is the naive left's equivalent of naive aristocracy's , "Let them eat cake".
What Michael Moore is doing (without realizing it, of course), is claiming the "moral high ground" for himself, and all the advantages (e.g. self-satisfaction, social status, financial gain?) that go with it.
He is as dependent on the socioeconomic status quo (which he describes as evil) as anyone else, and has, in fact, done rather well for himself in.

Thus, he has no real interest in the deeper (human-evolutionary) understanding of the situation, necessary for any genuinely radical and fundamental change, because that would undermine his own privileged niche in the status quo.

Capitalism isn't "evil", but a product of man's (including mine and Michael Moore's) perverted Darwinian nature. This is what we urgently need to recognise and develop an understanding of, if we want our civilization to survive and prosper.


I don't want to be too critical of Michael Moore, because like the French princess who suggested that the people eat cake, if they lack bread, I'm sure he means well.

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