American Gullibility

Reviews the film, Capitalism: A love story by Michael Moore (2009). Seemingly in dialogue with the followers of Ayn Rand (1957/1992), Moore uses this film to argue that capitalism and morality are so conflated in the minds of most Americans that we passively accept the view that wealthy people are somehow more deserving of their privilege than are nonwealthy people. Offering a wide variety of ways in which hardworking citizens and national heroes are underpaid and underappreciated in capitalist America, Moore uses a number of persuasive strategies to help viewers understand that capitalism is grounded in principles of objectivism and self-interest rather than in altruism. We can see three means by which Capitalism: A Love Story offers a persuasive documentation of an American gullibility and implicit acceptance of Rand’s objectivism. Moore asserts a strong political argument, uses humor to capture viewers’ attention, and interprets patterns in such a way that viewers are asked to change their attitudes. In Capitalism: A Love Story, we learn how to disentangle capitalism and morality and use our moral compass to identify the harm caused by this economic system. Moore helps us see benefits from imagining new ways to facilitate liberty and justice for all, rather than simply for the wealthy few. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)