A worldwide exploration of the notions of economics and politics with the leaders of our time.
Written, directed and produced by Emmanuel Itier, “We the People” explores issues that – rather than trickle-down – will more likely bubble up in the coming years and decades from growing numbers of disenfranchised citizens. Narrated by Gary Quinn, the documentary’s key themes include the nature of unbridled corporate power, steered by the one percent, all the while governments become puppets on a string. Notable celebrities and social critics include executive producer Sharon Stone, together with Robert Reich, Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, Mark Wahlberg, and many others who seek to frame an alternative debate about the future of humanity.
If economic theory were indeed as valid as many claim, economic inequality should be decreasing. Yet economic disparity in the U.S. has now surpassed that of the Gilded Age as the one percent seal themselves off from the rest of society inside gated compounds, private jets, and expansive yachts.
Robert Reich rightly points out that the rules of the game systematically favor those who can influence public policy with regard to issues such as taxes, subsidies, bailouts, and those allowed to use bankruptcy. Donald Trump, for example, went bankrupt frequently throughout his business career, yet statutes prohibit students from discharging their debt by exercising the same option.
More importantly, Reich asks what defines a good society, given the interaction between politics and economics. Co-opted by great wealth, the system does not reflect humanity’s shared values. In fact, society glorifies wealth for its own sake, regardless of merit. CEOs that loot corporations and lay off workers in order to plump their incentive packages enjoy the same celebrity as genuine innovators and entrepreneurs.
According to recent work by Thomas Piketty, returns to capital – such as corporations, investment bankers and hedge fund managers – have far exceeded returns to labor or working folks since the 1970s. Free trade and neoliberalism dismantled the mechanisms that constrained the unchecked appetites of the ruling class. Further, corporations now displace governments at the top of the global hierarchy to deleterious effects.
Statistics suggest that somewhere between 50 to 80% of Americans live in economic distress, literally paycheck to paycheck. The recent government shutdown demonstrated this issue poignantly in two ways. First, real-life interviews with government workers during the 35-day shutdown highlighted the palpable fear of losing their homes barely more than a month into the event. Secondly, at the same time, 81-year-old Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross seemed befuddled at the plight of those individuals – a clear indication of how out of touch the well-off have become relative to the larger society.
The underlying foundation of so much conflict stems from growing economic insecurity. As the anxiety increases, people retreat into religious fundamentalism, ideology, superstition, myth and, eventually, indiscriminate antagonism. As Itier observes, the illusion of political parties in the United States steadily descends into visual cues of red versus blue, with inflammatory shorthand labels on both sides. The reality, however, remains far more nuanced. Capitalism versus socialism, for example, is a false choice. All political systems are hybrids – the real question instead becomes one of degree. High marginal tax rates during the Eisenhower administrations and the introduction of Social Security during the Roosevelt era contain elements of socialism, but so did Wall Street bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis, despite opposition from a majority of Americans. Along a different tack, the recent Trump tax cuts will add another trillion dollars to the deficit over the next ten years, presumably paid for by our children. Perhaps capitalism is less at risk than democracy and democratic institutions.
Sharon Stone notes how manipulation of the economic and political system protects those who have the biggest piles of money or gold or whatever store of value reigns. Ingrained into this system is the concept of scarcity, a time-honored – albeit questionable – business and economic theory that puts humans in competition with each other. However, as Stone remarks, there is food and water enough for everyone on the planet. As such, we don’t have scarcity, we have selfishness.
The promotion of conflict seeps into the unconscious, implicitly spreading fear, doubt, and worry. These phobias manifest themselves in development of weapons that may eventually cause our own extinction. Defense spending in the U.S. is greater than the next ten countries combined – devouring over 50% of the federal budget. More pernicious and again unspoken is that the economics of the military industrial complex – now essentially an institution unto itself – are highly lucrative. In order to understand the incentives involved, bear in mind that a single launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile generates nearly $2 million in revenue for Raytheon – in a wanton act that degrades both humanity and the planet.
“We the People” undertakes a formidable challenge in attempting to peel back many layers of a complicated story. For example, the United States maintains a long history of military dominance systematically thwarting democratic movements after World War II in order to gain control of resources. Looking ahead at what looms on the horizon, oil-rich Venezuela and Iran figure prominently as potential targets.
Along similar lines, John Perkins indicates that U.S. economic development aid to other countries goes largely to infrastructure projects that benefit not the average citizen, but rather, wealthy elites. Rail and port project design abets the efficient transfer of in-country resources to the U.S. and other developed economies. Taken against this backdrop, the idea of a wall on the southern U.S. border becomes a truly chilling symbol of arrogant truculence demonizing others that want in on the deal. Paraphrasing an observation by Chris Hedges, “We in the developed world have everything and if you try to take it from us, we will kill you.”
What Itier’s “We the People” clearly demonstrates is that each day, rampant global inequality becomes more visible to the remaining 99% of us. The interviewees in the film certainly seek to strike a note of optimism, though whether their buoyancy is justified remains unclear. Despite the fact that our entire metaphorical ship is sinking, those near the top and still above water fail to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Very soon, however, the crisis in the form of disintegrating societies and ecosystems will begin to affect even the most affluent. By then, either the great mass of people will impose positive change on governmental leadership and policy, or else the wealthy will retreat into their fortified compounds leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves.
Available to stream now on Amazon Prime
