Capitalism in America

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Recommended: 2008 capitalism a love story essay

In today’s world class is considered one of the most important issue in the United States. Class affects people no matter who the person is and the perspective view of class is mostly controlled by the media. In the book Rereading America, there are two essays, Class in America: Gregory Mantsios, Framing Class vicarious living and Conscious Consumption: Diana Kendall, and, the film Capitalism: A Love story: Michael Moore. Capitalism is an economic system that promotes free trade and private enterprise and that depends upon the hierarchical class structure, shapes, how others see us in various ways, including class avoidance. Mantsios, Kendall, and Moore all address this. Mantsios believes that people in the United States do not like to talk about classes, whether it is upper class, middle class, or lower class. Kendall also addresses the issue of class avoidance, but in a broader way, by explaining how our perspective of class is controlled more by the media. Moore’s film demonstrates how the capitalist economic system shapes our lives.

Some of the highlights from the people interviewed in Moore’s film on Capitalism are: “Everybody is taking advantage of others misfortune”. “Capitalism lets you get away with anything while making a profit out of it”. In the film employers are taking out “Dead Peasants” insurances from dead employees. “Capitalism is a system of taking and giving, mostly taking”. “If you have things, you can easily get more things”. American capitalism-time is money, lots of money”.

An example of class avoidance that Mantsios talks about is how poor people do not refer themselves to lower class. He states “There are few among the poor who speak of themselves as a lower class: instead they refer to their race...

... middle of paper ...

...ss affects people no matter who the person is and the perspective view of class is mostly controlled by the media. What was learnt from reading these two essays by Mantsios, Kendall, and watching the film by Moore, was that most people do not like talking about class and have class avoidance. Also In capitalism people take advantage of other peoples misfortune.

It was also learnt that capitalism is profoundly tied to a hierarchical class structure, from working class to bourgeoisie to upper class.

Works Cited

Capitalism: A Love Story. Dir. Michael Moore. Perf. Michael Moore. Overture Films (US), Paramount Vantage (international), 2009. Videocassette.

Kendall, Diana. Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing Bedford/ St Martin’s 2010. 330-346

Mantsios, Gregory. Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing Bedford/ St Martin’s

2007. 304-320

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