Lifting the Veil
This film explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the graveyard of social movements, the massive influence of corporate finance in elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States, the continuity and escalation of neocon policies under Obama, the insufficiency of mere voting as a path to reform, and differing conceptions of democracy itself.
Lifting the Veil is the long overdue film that powerfully, definitively, and finally exposes the deadly 21st century hypocrisy of U.S. internal and external policies, even as it imbues the viewer with a sense of urgency and an actualized hope to bring about real systemic change while there is yet time for humanity and this planet.
Noble is brilliantly pioneering the new film-making - incisive analysis, compelling sound and footage, fearless and independent reporting, and the aggregation of the best information out there into powerful, educational and free online feature films – all on a shoestring budget.
Viewer discretion advised - Video contains images depicting the reality and horror of war.
Corporations see politicians as just another little cog in their big machine, because to them a politician is just an opportunist with a job that does their bidding. An who are they to question this mighty corporation that employs thousands, uses vast quantities of raw materials, meets with other high level business owners around the world and touches the lives of countless people , these corporations are the movers and shakers and they expect a clear smooth road because they're traveling at high speeds and have no time to even notice the people they run over. No these giants run the world and they use politicians as con men to sooth the population so that they continue to keep their heads down and do as they're told.
Socialism does not work. Really. Just as people fail to control their government, they also fail to control the economy. But the economy, unlike the government, can be private. A guaranteed minimal income, a strong middle class of entrepreneurs is the best solution. It is verified practically. A strong public economy only increases the abusive power of the government over its citizens. (1:18)
The Democratic party is PURE EVIL. The film is spot on. Our future depends on shutting this sellout party down and opening up space for a radical, independent, anti-war 3rd party for poor workers and the oppressed.
Great perspective. Thanks!
Excellent. This documentary is a clear lens and a bright light shining on systemic injustice, global plutocracy, and driving forces of darkness.
Loved this guy 46:57-48:51 nobody says it better then a pissed off irishman
Scott Noble should be given Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
Bring back real patriotism! Those of you who flag wave for our current leaders are waving it for their corporatism flag!
The government has been infiltrated by the corporate elite who own the Banks, profit from war, and want to rule the world. Plain and simple, our government is opperated like a legal Mafia!
Bring back sanity! Save our constitution! Stop voting for the polititions that our leaders and media endorse. They have tag teamed us long enough.
Why do you think they hide so much in the name of National Security? They don't want us to know the evil things they endorse behind closed doors.
Ron Paul is the only man who speaks wisely, and with the heart of a true patriot. I believe he only ran as Rep, was because it's the kiss of death to try and run independent!
Lets show them better! Vote for Ron Paul and we may get the changes that the mainstream politicians promise, but never give.
cant there be a smaller limit on the amount you can post. Its hard to sift through the novels people like to write on this site
obama may just be one of the most dangerous world leaders in history....a sort of wolf in sheeps clothing, or the iron fist in a velvet glove! the blatant lies and sheer arrogance of carrying them out in the manner in which he does it is worrying! to talk about the blame of wall street pre election and then to fill his cabinet of wall street lobbyists after is just obscene.
its time to limit governments to the minimum and let the people take responsibility.....embrace your liberty and freedom and rid this world of war loving, power hungry parasites now!
Oh yes, sorry for double posting, but I have to get this out.
You CAN change things, don't be pessimists people. I always say this: "The only acceptable pessimism, is that which regards to the present".
But the future on the other hand, CAN be optimistic, it CAN be better, and it WILL be better, if we just TRY! It's the people who criticize idealism that are the problem, idealism is GOOD! YES, be an idealist! Formulate some ideas, and put them into action! Don't sit there and complain about the state of things, DO something, I figured that out recently. You might as well too people.
Oh yeah, if you wanna solve a problem, don't formulate band-aid solutions to cover up the problem, prevent it from happening in the first place. For example:
Why do people commit crime? Either A) Financial difficulty or B) There's just something inherently wrong with them(Think war mongering).
Now, considering there aren't many people with serious psychological issues, we can assume the majority of serious crimes are financially related, SO, instead of imprisoning that guy who robbed and murdered Jeff, down the street, how about we get him a god damned job? Then he doesn't have to murder for cash.
You might ask: "How the hell do we that, genius?" EASY (god this is starting to sound like an infomercial) you cut work hours to 6 hours per day, and then increase pay to balance out the lack of income due to shorter hours. DONE. Then, you might ask: "What's this going to due to employers?" I've got that covered too, (All for three easy payments of $19,95 if you call now). 10 years ago, corporate taxes were at 28%, now they're at 18%. Back when it was 28%, they survived, in fact, they GREW, I'm sure that with the lower corporate taxes we could get away with higher wages. Just saying.
Anyways, a 6 hour work day would create an entirely new shift, which would create nearly 33% more jobs. WOW. If we have 1 million jobs, then switch to the extra shift, we would have 1 million, 3 hundred and 30 thousand jobs. That, my friends, is the equivalent of multiple average sized cities, and yes, we do have more jobs then one mill in canada, imagine the increase. (Admittedly it would have to be a gradual change to prevent economic volatility).
Oh and one more thing, Im SO sorry for how cheesy this post is, I really am...
I got quite the giggle at "Don't ask question is also good for the economy". In fact, Imma steal that one. x'D
hahahaha, yeah, it's unfortunate too that only the outlandish conspiracy theories are ever noted, gives ALL us conspiracy theorists a bad name...Ugh, HARRP.....Anyways, thought I might mention, I recently witnessed police brutality.
This guy was running from the cops, right? So eventually he gives up, and does as the cops tell him to, he gets on the ground with his hands behind his back. Clearly though, this wasn't done for the safety and well being of the cops,but rather for convenience because the cops then partook in mercilessly beating him, ALL of the cops that were there.
Yup, teach your children to trust in the police full heartedly and you'll get by just fine(assuming they don't ask you to sit in the back, take you somewhere secluded and then rape and kill you, or simply vouch for the classic beat down).
Same goes for Canada. 300 years of being told to sit down, shut up and do what you're told has culminated into a complacent society that believes the media and eagerly feeds the beast with every paycheque. Our gov. comprises our food, our land, our education and our future under the guise of "good for the economy". Pay more, get less, don't ask questions is also good for the economy. "Oh Canada --The Movie" (free to view online) explains our detrimental convoluted monetary system with facts and humour. Each and every one of us are the change.
I've been waiting 20 years for this and now I can take my never listened to self to join occupy Phoenix tomorrow. Bring back the limited charter on corporations. The OLD one. They get 10 years, or so, to run and then appear before a panel or such. There, the paper person must demonstrate benefit to the community,workers and country or else not have their charter renewed. Then give the workers an option ,probationary, to run it or something of that nature. This would put their BOTTOM line in the right place. I also believe it would gradually and automatically work magic on the government without firing one more single shot. And this would be another one heard 'round the world. I believe it!
But I really don't think that the USA citizens would make anything to free themselves from their crooks. Maybe I tend to feel that it's better that these "Internationanl" crooks are after the US middle class than here, I wouldn't tell.
Anyhow, since the USA corporates (The so-called "We the peoples" became sort of unfit to get the rest of the nations to swallow their lies: -What's left to to abuse and grab some money if they just can't justify an invasion of other peacefull nation?
Has some would say: "Home sweet home" since these coporates never had any real home otherwise known as citizenship.
Bottom line is that the USA seem to grab the best worlwide hoaxter, liars and criminals anybody could ever dream of to the detriment to other nations.
Oh! Sorry! The "Other democratic" contries that is.
But in the end, thankl to all USA citizens for harboring that sort of junk and slum.
Pierre.
I feel as though I should mention how similar Canada is. The life of a Canadian growing into adulthood is much like training a dog. 'If you do something our society doesn't permit, we will "teach" you the right way'.
It's drilled into our heads to be obedient, and patriotic of our "wonderful nation". For example: Upon my refusal to stand for the national anthem, I was suspended, they told me I was being disrespectful to other persons beliefs, they then proceeded to make me stand in the hall from then on, "So as to respect all peoples opinions including.." my own. What I'm wondering is how this is at all respecting my opinions.
Perhaps I'll give you another example? If I were to question any particular rule that I find redundant, I'm punished without any given reason, except of course a lecture on respecting authority.
Of course I should mention the school system makes no attempt at teaching critical reasoning skills, and that the "Leadership Course" is utterly fraudulent.
Eventually, when people accept their fate, I.e: Having their dreams and ambitions crushed and replaced by a degrading minimum wage job(If they're so lucky to find one), they're considered "Mature". I consider them broken machines trying their hardest to prove their worth in a petty and depressing way. Pardonne le cynicism.
And that is the process of "Growing up". Then of course there's the fact that police can unreasonably kill a man and get away with it by claiming their life was in danger, when really, given the circumstances, it wasn't. Or how about the G20 "Riots", where the only violent protesters were caught, on video, wearing the same police issue boots as the riot police who attended. After these violent "protesters" ran amok, the police suddenly started becoming violent themselves, and suddenly had an excuse for mass arresting.
Smoking is another good one. D.N.A responsible for any cell or part in the body can be found in any cell or part of the body. In other words, in my lung tissue, I have genes responsible for giving my eyes a hazel color. So I have to wonder, if smoking deteriorates D.N.A, why is it just D.N.A regarding the lungs? Do these anti-smoking activists know how cancer functions? At all? Equally interesting is how enormously taxed cigarettes have become, and also, why the government is so adamant about keeping people away from reservation cigarettes(Due to the taking of native land, and the unrest natives have had over it, the government doesn't tax them, therefore, buying rez smokes are far cheaper).
There was a situation in England, where the government had come close to bankruptcy, as a result, the government decided to over- tax tea, a very popular commodity at the time. Because the government did so with out any justified reason, the people soon figured out that it was a con for making a quick buck, they boycotted tea thereafter. I believe the cancer propaganda regarding smoking is merely a way to keep people from boycotting again, it has been explicitly stated that the over-taxation is to "Prevent smoking, for peoples health". Needless to say, this is bullshit. It is such an enormous bullshit, and I am pissed off.
P.s, Canada has the same wealth distribution as the U.S. , only the rich can run for government.
Oh yeah, the government is putting traffic light cameras everywhere, and we also have cameras in every other part of our lives to begin with, we're constantly watched. They also want to incorporate internet monitoring, and already have phone tapping, furthermore, these ever so cheap and wonderful new cell phones just so happen to have GPS, which police can in fact use to locate exactly where your phone is, which most likely means: in your pocket.
This could be my favorite documentary I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of documentaries.
I have to ask. Is this the REAL Neil D Tyson? The Great Astrophysicist? Are you the real brother? Come on, be honest.... I am a HUGE fan of N.D. Tyson.
you've been in a few as well
Anyone else having audio glitches 13 minutes in?
sorry messed up oppression
when you look at it our fore fathers fought and died fore less optrssion. I'm afraid its to late to do anything they have the FEMA camps ready. saying there for displaced people yet the barbwire is facing in.
I'm in love with the potty-mouthed Irish guy 48 minutes in.
Ok! That is what the whole problem is about. Other democratic or social-democrats may simply be hidden. But what can be done when someone has sunk in this to his neck? I think it'll remain like this for a heck of a long time.
It take generation & generation B-4 peoples change.
All considered, peoples also have to eat...
Pierre.
Wow this documentary is slow and boring. Watch "Capitalism A love story".
Capitalism: a Love Story is the biggest crook of s*** MM has ever produced, and that is saying something. He can't read graphs, he lies about nine distinct points, perpetuates a lie about the nature of communism, and then tries to guilt trip people out of capitalism with Jesus, all while such a poor understanding of Capitalism that a 1 year economy student would laugh him out of the worst college in the world. He actually believes that what we have now, that bailouts and subsidies, are capitalist ideas. Anyone that actually puts stock in what M. Moore says is dumber than the people that believe in creationism.
@ Zachary Griffith
"He actually believes that what we have now, that bailouts and subsidies, are capitalist ideas."
I could not agree with you more!
I do not know why Moore even made the film. Corporate socialism is hardly capitalism. I am an old man, and I know that we Americans have not lived in a capitalist society since I was a kid.
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power."
~ Benito Mussolini
0z
Actually, the U.S. and Western capitalist systems have rooted their policies mostly in the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, who was a capitalist ideologue. His theories were not designed to lead towards socialism, but to save capitalism. The capitalist economy was in a severe depression beginning in 1929. Mostly this was caused by the overaccumulation of capital, the establishment of monopolies in industry, the lack of reinvestment in material production, and the underconsumption of the working class. Keynes argued that in order for capitalism, that is, for capitalists, to be able to survive these contradictions, the government must intervene in the economy to stimulate aggregate demand and thus stimulate economic growth. This has nothing to do with socialism. Socialism is when the working class is organized to overthrow the government, arrest and punish (reeducation or execution) the capitalists, socialize the means of production (which can be done with or without a state), and then establish a planned economy based on democratic participation by all producers and consumers.
Watching this makes me laugh so hard at all the gullible people who got suckered into the Obama "Hope" propaganda.
How about instead of laughing at the ignorant and uneducated you start to explain and educate these people. For after all every single American has been betrayed and suppressed by our education system don't let them turn eachother against the other as they seek to accomplish but instead uplift your brothers and sisters regardless of race or backround. If we do not solve this issue of extreme greed all of our other world issues will be insignificant and infact cease to matter
How about instead of laughing at the ignorant and uneducated you start to explain and educate these people. For after all every single American has been betrayed and suppressed by our education system don't let them turn eachother against the other as they seek to accomplish but instead uplift your brothers and sisters regardless of race or backround. If we do not solve this issue of extreme greed all of our other world issues will be insignificant and infact cease to matter
I have to agree with you. Americans ARE gullible. In 2016 nearly 63 million American citizens got suckered into voting for a racist grifter named Trump.
(Disclaimer: I'm a GDI who does not vote for duopoly candidates)
I have to agree with you. Americans ARE gullible, so much so that in 2016 nearly 63 million of them got suckered into voting for a racist grifter, Trump.
(Disclaimer: I'm a G.D.I. who does not for duopoly candidates)
Warning, this is a very long documentary. But well worth it.
(last speaker) The words of a true American patriot...
who was the guy speaking at the ending this just before the credits? he is an amazing speaker.
His name is Chris Hedges. He has been a war correspondent for several mainstream publications and has written several books about the subject.
How good is the section with Rage in the background... made me want to go do to the Bank and punch someone right in the face... Right in the Face
How good is the section with Rage in the background... made me want to go do to the Bank and punch someone right in the face... Right in the Face
An amazing documentary. All of the speakers were great but Richard Wolff's indignant remarks really hit home. Thank you (whoever you are) for the upload.
What a great doc. I still have HOPE.
and i got the change, about 65 cents worth xD
You got suckered by the media creation of OBAMA. Wow your St#@*&.
It's all a massive deception,.. for shame on all us slaves for letting it continue.
"What better way to enslave a man than to give him the vote and tell him he’s free". Albert Camus
08:01 - When I promise that I.....we will..............
At least Dubya was a dumbass who was obvious choice for a puppet, Barak strikes me as a volunteer for the role. As a black man who is aware of racial politics I knew it was just too easy for him, especially against a war veteran. That was before he started promising the socialist agenda which never happened but is bought by simpleton American citizens on both sides. How easy it is to fool so many.
Can you spare some change we can believe in sir? I'm awfully hungry.
a very humane, wide-ranging collection of incisive thoughts & images.
maybe some eyes will be opened. mine were, wider.
Excellent. John Pilger and Chris Hedges are super communicators. Wish everyone could see this.
Few are powerful because other have given up their power knowingly or unknowingly . Strategy to power has changed from Fear -> Capitalism -> Democracy -> Liberal , over time . We have given power by unknowing agreeing with the powerful. It is the job of the powerful to find the common ground of agreement , to get more power from rest.
Who is the Terroreist ????
Corporate America is the Terrorist.
The Russian Time, always giving America the best news lol, im serious... You gotta love them Ruskies.
I agree Russia Today has a great news service, its a shame America doesn't have such a free press. They rarely let ANY voice of dissent on the air, American is worse than China when its comes to civil liberties.
It's not that Russian news services are that great, it's just that any news service can't look that bad when placed alongside Corporate-America nooooooooooooooooz.
I have lived in many places on this planet and I know that no one, but no one, takes American nooooooooooooooooz seriously, excepting innocent Americans who can't know any better since they are constantly being told by Corporate-America just how lucky they are to have the most unbiased news reporting in the world.
ROTFLMFAO!
P.S.: Petar, not to change the subject entirely, but do you really look as hot in real life as you do in your Facebook pic?
P.P.S: My father was from Yugoslavia, too. Tito murdered my uncle.
See what You want to!
I wish I could.
I am happy for you that you seem able to.
EVERYONE needs to see this film please share this with others.
All Hail and Bow before the mighty US/Petro Dollar!
jawohl mein fuhrer !
Its all so simple, just de-peg and allow countries to buy oil in their own currencies ....why are the rich so money crazy now, grabbing all the cash they can? cause they know ultimately all their money is as good as toilet paper,
When the world starts to rebel and dump the USD ....
USD is good for trade? Good for trade my ASS
Its good cause it can buy OIL! thats why all countries are keeping it
The day will come when oil will peak and it will push the USD on to unimaginable inflation ....i m a Cina Beng *redneck from tiny Singapore and i can see why the world is so F up by this USD imperialistic, fascist, war mongering, Polyarchy society? so why cant the Americans?
PS
i think my country is a fine example of not going the other way too...
Its a Disneyland prison complex with the death penalty :(
You're a smart guy, Joey. You see the big picture. Bravo!
1 $ = 1 vote
Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.
~ Benito Mussolini
Very good and clear documentary about the money and power system we're all victims of. Eyeopener.
Looks like Senator Obama died when President Obama was born. Sickening how you have all of these promises broken ON FILM and still no impeachment.
This was a very well made and while some of the footage was disturbing, I can see why it was included to help show the atrocious tragedies being
committed. American's need to start rebelling before it's too late! I am almost willing to drive down to America just to protest (the only thing stopping me is my fear of being labeled a terrorist)
George Carlin's quote was hilariously true as well: "They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it!"
Why does the MSM not report these empty campaign promises. I, for one am a 66 year old voter who probably will never vote again, even should I live long enough, due to my total disillusion with what used to be my country. In the 60s I was in the Army in Germany for 2 years and thought I was defending democracy even though I wasn't even old enough to vote back then. Now, I have to decide every month whether to get all of my medication or eat, after almost 40 years of working. And yet I feel truly blessed to have a roof over my head. {I know some senior vets who don't]. Please, you young people WATCH THIS VIDEO and thanks Vlatko!
And they blame everything on muslims
@ 01bad2dbone,
"And they blame everything on Muslims."
I do not know if you are Muslim, or not; and I do not know who "they" are; nor do I know what you mean by "everything."
I live in a neighborhood which I share with several Muslim families. I have no Muslim friends. I do, however, have many Muslim acquaintances. To a person, my Muslim neighbors are decent, friendly people and, judging from the restaurants in our neighborhood, the best cooks this side of the moon!
Islam is a different matter, altogether.
Christianity(and I do not refer to individual Christians) has caused more death and suffering than that of any religion I know. Were Judaism not so very old, I might find that Judaism tops all; but I do not know that. During the Middle Ages(Dark Ages) Christianity DIRECTLY caused outright horror both politically as well as in the hearts and minds of individual people.
That was then. This is now.
The United States is not, nor ever has been, a 'Christian' nation. Despite American Christians' futile attempts to deny the fact, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America were either deists, or outright atheists. Today's imperialist foreign policies of the United States are not motivated by Christianity but by greed and an unquenchable thirst for more and ever more power, just as has been the case with every other stinking imperialist power in the history of humanity.
And the degree to which Americans enjoy 'freedom' is inversely proportional to the number of times American politicians use the word 'freedom'. In fact, the VAST majority of ALL Americans suffer as a DIRECT consequence of Corporate America's imperialist foreign policies, whether or not they have been successfully brainwashed into supporting such policies.
The problem I have with Islam(and I speak only for myself) is exactly the same problem I would have had with the Catholic Church, with Christianity, during its reign of power. The Catholic Church, which was all of Christianity at that time(REPEAT: 'which was all of Christianity at that time'), tortured people in unimaginable ways.
The Catholic Church, Christianity, disemboweled people, severed men's genitals, burnt people ALIVE, buried people ALIVE, crushed people to death; committed unspeakable atrocities against the peoples of the 'New World'; pursued unjust, destructive and culturally devastating foreign wars such as the Crusades; and enslaved the hearts, minds, and labor, of an entire civilization, for hundreds of years.
Had I lived back then, and had I been in a position to do anything about it, I would have fought the Church, Christianity, tooth and nail; and that is just what I do now, with Islam. Some would argue that Islam is none of my business. Human rights are every human's business!
Every time I have focused on this problem, here at SeeUat Videos, Muslims at this site have made excuses; pointed a finger at other Muslims, at Shiites; questioned aren't you just as bad; denied the undeniable.
What no Muslim here at SeeUat Videos has ever confided in me is: I agree, Islam is a big problem.
What no Muslim here at SeeUat Videos has ever expressed to me is grief: grief over what was done to Salman Rushdie; grief over the atrocities being committed against other Muslim apostates; grief over the atrocities being committed against women in general and against lesbians in particular; grief over the atrocities being committed against gay men; grief over the atrocities being committed against those citizens of Northern Europe who dare to exercise their rights of free speech; and, finally, grief over the FACT that Muslims everywhere are NOT out in the millions, peacefully protesting against the excesses of Islam.
Instead of grief, I get statements like:
"And they blame everything on Muslims."
I do not know if you are Muslim, or not; either way, you now know the problem we, all of us, have with Islam and with the deafening silence of Muslims throughout the Muslim world.
During the Middle Ages, I would have fought the Catholic Church, Christianity. Now, in the 21st Century, I fight Islam.
I hope someday you'll join me.
Thanks for posting with such haste, I do believe this is an important documentary for the people to see, especially those liberals who still tightly cling to Obama's ball sack. This is the REAL Obama deception, something I think all Obama supporters should watch with an open mind. If you have any human decency left in you, you will most likely never vote for another Democrat or Republican politician again as long as you live.
Well, our culture wanted a free enterprise system. Like it, hate it, or love it, this is how capitalism works. I admit that it is disgusting how money influences politics. But, it isn't a new thing. Read your history, it's always been this way. It doesn't mean there can't be social change because of it though.
This isn't the first documentary or expose about this political phenomenon.
I agree with Jack1952, the primary function of a corp (or business) is to accrue profit (it would be kinda ludicrous to own a business with the sole aim to lose money:) The problem that I have is that so many in the business community have little or no ethics.
Let me offer up a short, personal anecdote: I decided to take enroll in a business management program in college (kind of a crash course(s) in business for liberal arts majors). We spent one day on business ethics in which the professor gave us a problem... here it is:
You're walking down the street when you come across a piece of paper crumpled up. You pick it up and open it to find that it contains the secrets of your business competition. You have a choice. You can use this information and destroy your competition or not. Would you or would you not?
....At this point, before I raised my hand, I thought 'I don't want to ruin the lives of the other workers: they would lose their pay, their jobs, etc. How would that impact their families and their lives?'
When the professor asked the class of 60 people to vote, I was the ONLY person who didn't not raise a hand in favor of using the information.
«I agree with Jack1952, the primary function of a corp (or business) is to accrue profit (it would be kinda ludicrous to own a business with the sole aim to lose money:)»
You do not seem to realize there is something between positive and negative numbers... :-)
What you're saying basically is: people should try to eat more and more because if they aimed at eating less and less they would die quicker. Could there be a third option?
Profit is the primary goal of corporations just because their economic environment has been designed this way. There is nothing natural in that.
Accepting profit as the core of an economics-driven society means electing cupidity as its top value. Believing good arises out of cupidity is as dumb as can be.
Think about it for yourself, think about the best things you've ever done, things you're the most proud of: did you do them pursuing profit?
Nothing great has ever been done for profit, although profit may sometimes arise as a result of doing great things...
Olivier, you're very quick to draw conclusions and gumming a bunch of words together to put into my mouth.
Read my comment again. I was being slightly ironic. There is much I disagree with you about your statements, but I just wanted to clear that particular issue up. The larger point I was making pertained to business ethics.
um.. profit is the goal of all creation and production.. if there is no gain over your expenses.. you are not producing anything.. production requires profit.. profit is not the problem with corporations or anything else.. profit simply means getting out more than u put in.
the problem we as a society face is the use of violence by governments to push political or any agenda..
and again .. just in case you haven't noticed.. there is no free market or capitalism.. a free market means no government control.. and billion dollar bail outs, 50% taxation and interest rate manipulation are not part of any free market. we're far from any semblance to a free market
Profit is the prime directive of the business. It is not the responsibility to employees, or the community, or the state. It is profit and profit equals survival. The reason you use the information is to eliminate the competition that threatens your survival. If you don't survive, you are no good to your employees or the community. When the business entity is given the same rights as the citizens of a country it will take on human qualities. As it accrues wealth and resources it will use them against other businesses and citizens because it feels forced to take a Darwinian approach to business. The average citizen finds himself in a no-win situation because survival is usually not the motivator. Each citizen has his own agenda and those agendas can be as many as there are citizens. The business has only one. This can only end in an uneven playing field. It should be the responsibility of government to guarantee that human rights are never subservient to corporate rights. Corporations will fight tooth and nail to protect what it has. That is what it does. It can do no other.
A terrific documentary. A little high on rhetoric and histrionics at times but that is to be expected.
@bbga: I consciously derailed from your business ethics point (and i apologize for that), because i believe there was wider point to make -- i'll come to it later.
Business ethics in the current system is an oxymoron like, say, religious science: business is neither moral or immoral, it's a-moral. It's specifically designed to not care about anything else but profit.
Think of it as a jungle you're trekking in, and you encounter a hungry tiger (ie a corporation). Business ethics your way is like telling the tiger: «be nice kitty, be nice…». It just does not work. What works is riding an elephant and carrying a big loaded gun. I'll let you work out what the elephant and the big guns are. ;-)
Now, you should not be surprised about being the only one not raising your hand, as princeton explained: either you play the game and you raise your hand, or you don't and you should not be in the game to begin with.
Moreover, you should not be worried about it, for even if there was only one hand raised, this hand would have an economical hedge that would ultimately result in beating the crap out of all the others, as a logical result of competition and game theory.
The human race isn't perfect, and there will always be at least one sucker of this kind somewhere. If your system is designed so that an event with a 100% probability will bring it down, your design is just flawed. Don't blame it on the human kind.
@princeton:
You missed my point: profit is not bad in itself, pursuing profit for itself is bad.
Profit can only be "good" as a mean to achieve higher goals. You wrote it yourself: your delivery boy looking for a profit (mean) in order to feed his family (goal), that is honorable. Feeding his family (mean) so that he could somehow make a profit out of it (goal) would not be. Can you tell the difference? ;-)
« profit is the goal of all creation and production. »
No it's not: you've just created and produced a few comments that earned you nothing. Or would you argue you have not created nor produced them? :-)
« just in case you haven't noticed.. there is no free market or capitalism.. a free market means no government control. »
I've noticed it, as much as i've noticed that there has never been any. It should not come as a surprise, for a free market is an overly simplistic model that could not (and should not) be applied in reality.
As the workplace is not democratic, and hiring someone means being able to tell him what he'll do, wealth is a de facto political power over others less wealthy. If there was no government to somewhat level the playing field, there would only be econo-centric political power, that is even more crony capitalism and even less free market than what you have today.
It is no coincidence that the vast de-regulatory reforms that happened in the last 30 years have achieved just that. :-)
actually i disagree with you here.. I mean, no sane person would expect a society to run on the hopeful fact that people just won't use shortcuts to beat competition.. especially when money, food and livelihood are at stake.. lol.. i thought i was utopian..
you see, the problem is not businesses.. we need those and trade is always a good thing. Point Blank Period.
the true problem is that businesses now instead of competing with each other through voluntary means, focus on bribing governments.. why u might ask?
because governments are allowed to use guns to kill people who disagree or to kidnap competitors. This is the real problem, the violence and coercion. as a business person.. u virtually have no choice but to get involved in bribing politicians or your competitor will pull out that gun and use so called "regulations" to simply corner the market.
again.. people have to trade.. but i am not trading anything unless i get something worth my time effort and investment in return. it takes a twisted government molested mind to think that generating a profit is the problem with our violence infected society.. lol..
oh wait a sec.. kidnapping leaf smokers, jailing milk growers and stealing half of everyone's income at gun point, just to debase it by counterfeit is Ay Ok.. but my delivery boi charging me $3 more than his actual gas expense to deliver my food as compensation so he can provide for his family or whatever, thats the problem.. he's making a profit.. he's evil and corrupt.. lol..
u people are helpless!
I reflected on that day in class for many years. I often wondered why I was the only one who didn't raise a hand. I guess I made a leap in logic that the consequences of destroying another company seemed unethical, at least for me. But, I did understand the point she, the professor, was trying to make. I just imagined that there was more at stake than us vs. the competition (in her scenario). If I were in that class again, I would suggest bribing the other company with the knowledge;)
I disagree that corporations bribing governments is a new phenomena. Take a look back at men like Cecil Rhodes, the dutch bankers during the 1700's, the East India Company (as mentioned in the doc) ...these are just a few examples...but my point is that business has always been bedfellows with government. Is it worse now? And especially after the Supreme Court ruling 'Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission'? Maybe. What I wont agree with...and VEHEMENTLY...is that President Obama is a corporate stool pigeon (as some on here try painting him). He sternly rebuked this ruling.
Am I an ardent Democrat? Call me foxy Brown:)
The problem isn't business. It's the system that gives business the same rights as humans. As they gain wealth they can use these resources to gain influence in the government. The average person has no chance against the power of the corporation. We should have built into the constitution that no business can have greater rights than the individual citizen. They should also be prevented from having a greater influence on government policy than the voting public.
« Well, our culture wanted a free enterprise system. Like it, hate it, or love it, this is how capitalism works. »
Free enterprise and capitalism are two very different things. And free enterprise has nothing to do with the pursuit of profit either: it is about allowing anyone with a desire to do something to actually have the freedom to do it (or at least attempt to). Hence its name. :-).
Some of these enterprises yield profit, most never do. You can argue profit may help them live longer, which is true, but sustainability itself has nothing to do with free enterprise.
"Free enterprise and capitalism are two very different things"
No they are not. Anyone who has taken a university level economics course and read your statement probably laughed.
The economies of the U.S., Japan, and Canada are based on the free enterprise system. The free enterprise system provides the opportunity for any business to fail or succeed based on the market. Free enterprise is a degree of capitalism (a form of capitalism) based on private ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange characterized by the freedom of capitalists to operate or manage their property for profit in competitive conditions. Capitalism and free enterprise are often synonymous terms (I double checked by college textbook on this definition).
Furthermore, I can tell you are the type of person who just likes to be heard in spite of some really uneducated statements, so I will drop the gauntlet right here.
Have a good day.
I'm happy that i made you laugh with such boring topics. :-)
It is a common mistake to mix up free enterprise, capitalism, free markets and a bunch of other concepts as if they were one; They are not. Anyone who has taken more than one entry-level university course would (or should) know about it. :-)
If free enterprise and capitalism were the same thing, how come you can have the former without the latter, and the latter without the former?
For example, it is very common to have capitalism (privately owned means of production) without free enterprise: basically, most extreme-right dictatorships adopt this scheme, where the dictator and its relatives own most of the means of production and ordinary "citizens" are only allowed to (economically) do what they're told.
And you can have free enterprise even in the absence of ownership, thus a fortiori without capitalism, for example in most primitive tribes. You can also have such a situation in an advanced economy, for example if means of productions are collectively owned by people who work there, as long as economical initiatives come from free individuals (which, for your information, happens to exist in many different places today, in real-world, otherwise capitalist, economies). It would still be the case if the state owned the means of productions, as long as free individuals have the economical initiative, but that would require a much higher level of democracy than what we know today not to turn out bad…
You sound very confused about the whole thing and not really willing to make your ideas any clearer… Fine with me, but please don't blame it on my alleged «type of person».
Have a good day too. :-)
PS: You should buy a better textbook.
So paraphrasing what you said below:
in very extreme situations you can have one without the other.
How does this relate to the point the guy above you made at all? he f--ked up a word but the point he was trying to make didnt rely at all on him using the right word in the opening sentence.
Watch the movie Zietgiest. It will explain it all. The secret power behind the federal reserve are the real rulers of our planet. Before anyone calls me a "conspiracy theorist" watch the movie, learn the history of the FED, and be appauled. It;s time for revolution.
I'm pretty sure all the guys in the ol' comment box have seen Zeitgeist.(The Movie,Addendum,Refuted,Final Version)I thought it was interesting and clearly presented the self destructive concept of the fractional banking scheme.I avoid using it as an example though ,as it leans toward Jacques'rather Utopian ideaology.
Regardless of what way one thinks it "leans" it doesn't make the history go
away. The money lords own the U.S. The only thing that will change that is
if congress takes back the power for the people. It can't be one president,
because as history shows us, they aren't afraid to assassinate to protect
their power.
@ Nakor420,
I agree with misterwong. Most people have seen Zeitgeist(many times!). But there is another excellent documentary, The Century of the Self, by Adam Curtis(# 31 in the Psychology section).
Century of the Self is divided into four parts, each part lasting about
an hour:
Part 1 - Happiness Machines;
Part 2 - The Engineering of Consent;
Part 3 - There is a Policeman inside All of Our Heads, He Must
Be Destroyed; and, finally,
Part 4 - Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering.
As with Zeitgeist, Century of the Self has been around for a while, so many have already seen it, too. But for those who have not, as yet,
I recommend it highly.
Adam Curtis has made many documentaries over the years, and they are all great. One other of them is a six part documentary, Pandora’s Box
(# 140 in the Science section).
Take any college or university business program and the first thing you learn is that the primary function of any business entity is to accrue profit and to maintain a culture of profitability. To allow business access to the inner workings of government is to guarantee that business entities will use its influence to increase its profits. It cannot help but to do this. It is the core of the business mandate to look after its own interests. As the richest companies realize the potential in manipulating a government, their involvement will increase. Eventually the government for the people becomes a government for the corporate, in other words, a corporate democracy.
Fortunately, the mechanism for reform is still in place. It will take the participation of the ordinary citizen. They must insist that their government has been elected for the good of the people not corporations. There must be limits placed on the involvement of business in the electoral process. When a voter truly feels his participation in a democracy will have benefits for themselves and their families, will their be a truer democracy as outlined by the early leaders of the United States.
The USA is a young nation with a people historically in its teenagehood: childish fascination for guns, irational belief in magical beings, pathological relation to sex, etc. Unfortunately, expecting a sudden burst of wiseness seems overly optimistic.
I would so much love to be wrong...
"expecting a sudden burst of wiseness seems overly optimistic. I would so much love to be wrong.."
Hyprocite lecteur!
So you are from a more mature nation? Ok good for you but remember always that at one time your nation was the "Young childish one" Essentially every single European, and Asian nation had a period of time where they were militaristic, Religious, and they are all still obsessed with sex. So as the "adult" your idea is for everyone else to transition from birth to adulthood? Sounds reasonable.
Irrational belief in magical beings? The United States is far from alone in this. Dare to draw a cartoon poking fun at Mohamed. See where that gets you.
@StillRV:
How mature my own country is is irrelevant: it's not a matter of "mine is better than yours". And yes, the USA are not alone at this stage, there are worse cases. But none of them though is leading the world, and that's where the problem lies: if you put a «child» at the wheel, do not expect a wise journey.
@Jack1952: It's obviously true, so i suppose writing it down is reassuring to you. I just wish you chose yourself higher standards and better reference points. ;-)
@bbga: Assuming i value my being right more than the fate of the world isn't exactly wise. Would you be trying to prove my point? ;-)
Wise people of old nations are careful not to mention the name of their country while bashing others lest their own faults are open to review.
@ Jack1952
"Eventually the government for the people becomes a government for the corporate, in other words, a corporate democracy."
A "corporate democracy" is an oxymoron.
The people vote and the corporations override that vote with bribery and influence peddling. Presto, chango, the corporate democracy. We now have the illusion of the perfect system.
corporative government, i.e. corporatism is probably what is meant by corporate democracy. Democracy doesn't even exist.
The US is an unstoppable beast. Whoever gets elected is bound within the belly of the beast.
he really got me fooled to be honest