In some respects, filmmaker Michael Moore is a curious fellow. He has made millions denouncing capitalism. At the same time, he ignores the fact that capitalism is the only political/economic system that provides him such freedom.
Like many progressives, Moore’s view of capitalism is flawed. And underlying his viewpoint is evasion on a massive scale.
In a recent blog post, he wrote:
Capitalism is a system, a pyramid scheme of sorts, that exploits the vast majority so that the few at the top can enrich themselves more. I make my money the old school, honest way by making things.
My cats make something comparable to Moore’s movies everyday in their litter box, but unfortunately, they don’t make a lot of money doing so.
Contrary to what Moore believes, capitalism is a system that recognizes and protects individual rights. Which means, capitalism protects an individual’s freedom to act as he deems best. Moore’s rights prohibit others from interfering with his actions, just as their rights prohibit him from interfering with their actions.
Of course, America is not a capitalist society today. America attempts to combine elements of capitalism with elements of government controls and regulations. And when things go wrong, and they always go wrong when government intervenes, it is capitalism that Moore and his cronies blame.
Capitalism–or at least the elements of it that remain in America–provides Moore with the freedom to make the types of “movies” that he wants. He doesn’t need to obtain permission from the government or make movies that are approved by the Bureau of Good Taste. Moore evades the fact that if he denounced Nazism in Hitler’s Germany, or communism in Soviet Russia, or Islam in modern Iran, he would not achieve fame and wealth. He would wind up with a bullet in the head.