I’ve been hearing about this documentary for a while now but I’ve only had the chance to watch it recently. According to the blurb in Renegade Economist’s You Tube Channel, Four Horsemen “…is an award winning independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works.” Talking heads include Noam Chomsky, Herman Daly, Joseph Stiglitz, John Perkins, Gillian Tett and others.
The film is beautifully shot and edited and does a fine job of explaining the shortcomings of the predominant model, but it seems to say that the solution is to go back to a “kinder, gentler” kind of of capitalism (with much emphasis on returning to the gold standard). The film takes great pains to assure the viewer that its solutions for “…how to establish a moral and just society” are not, in any way, communistic. At this point, some of the interviewees such as Max Keiser and some bullion experts get more screen time, insisting they they are in fact capitalists, while Chomsky mysteriously disappears from the film.
Sure, while this kinder, gentler, pre-Friedman capitalism would be preferable to what we’re currently living through, what’s to prevent that from spiraling into a replay of the present situation, but without a second planet to spare? For contrast, I’d like to link to Richard White’s stunning critique of the Steady State Economy proposals put forth by Daly, Jackson et al.
I still think the film is worth watching, and specially for sharing with people who may not be aware of the issues underlying social inequality and environmental degradation. But I would accompany that recommendation with a little discussion on the taboo that accompanies any mention of the word “capitalism” in a critical context.
The movie has a goldbug agenda.