MichaelMoore.com

Michael Moore's war on capitalism

By Stephanie Bunbury / The Age

OSCAR-WINNING filmmaker Michael Moore has weighed into the global financial crisis, saying the downturn has demonstrated the United States is not really a democracy.

''I think it's difficult to call anything a democracy when the economy, the thing that really drives people's lives, is anything but democratic,'' he told a press conference at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday. ''We should have democracy throughout our society and every day of our lives, not just every two to four years in the voting booth.''

Moore, whose films include the Oscar-winning Bowling for Columbine and anti-Iraq war polemic Fahrenheit 911, was in Venice to launch Capitalism: a Love Story. The film is a patchwork that includes tear-jerking stories of battlers losing their homes to the banks, a comic attempt to explain derivatives, and a potted analysis of the political clout of merchant bank Goldman Sachs. It also has typical Moore stunts, culminating in running a strip of yellow ''crime scene'' tape the length of Wall Street. It was cheered at screenings to the media, usually the toughest festival audiences.

''I know there are millions of (viewers) who would love to put crime scene tape round Wall Street or going to try to arrest some of those CEOs. I'm not the only one who feels that,'' Moore told the assembled media.

''I started this film and said to the crew: 'Let's imagine this is the last film we'll be allowed to make. Let's not be afraid of anything. Let's not pull our punches … But most of all, let's try to make a good movie. That's always my first concern, to make an entertaining film people will come out to see on a Friday night.''

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Capitalism: a Love Story is Moore's assertion capitalism is incompatible with Christianity, supported by interviews with several Catholic priests. Moore is a practising Catholic who, as a teenager, seriously considered entering the priesthood. ''I believe capitalism is immoral and goes against my ethical code, and I think it goes against most people's ethical code. It's shocking we allow it to exist. So I decided to take that risk.''

What is never clear in Capitalism: a Love Story is exactly what kind of economic system Moore wants instead. ''But nobody has really tried to create a 21st-century economic system,'' he said after the screening. ''I'm waiting for someone to do that. Maybe what that system is includes a large dose of socialism but also respects the individual right to start a business or invent something. I'm not opposed to anyone working hard, earning money and doing well. I am opposed to a system where people make money off the exploitation of others.''

Would he consider following movie stars Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger into politics? ''No. I was one of the first 18-year-olds elected to public office when 18-year-olds got the right to vote. I served four years on the local Board of Education and that was the end of my political career. But just being a citizen in a democracy means I'm involved in politics.''

Moore says he is an optimist. The election of an African-American as president proved change could come surprisingly fast. ''But one man cannot make happen everything that needs to happen,'' he said. ''Obama will rise or fall based not so much on what he does as what we do to support him. Democracy is not a spectator sport.''