53 minutes / Color
Release: 2015
Copyright: 2014
The CAPITALISM series consists of six (6) episodes on three (3) DVDs that are packaged and sold together as one unit.
"Paradoxically, we can't really learn that much about socialism or communism or the future from Marx. We can learn a great deal about how capital works."—Marx historian David Harvey
"The fourth episode, about Karl Marx and his legacy, is spellbinding... It's a dazzling summary of how the Industrial Age has affected mankind, and every sequence is worth committing to memory."—The DVD Laser Disk Newsletter
When the communist systems of the 20th century crumbled, many thought that was the end for Karl Marx as a serious thinker too. But the last few years have seen a reawakening of interest in Marx's work - in particular for his analysis of the nature of capital and the forces it unleashes.
Concentrating on commodification, alienation, and the fetishization of money and credit, WHAT IF MARX WAS RIGHT argues that Marx is more relevant now than he has been in nearly a century. Have we gotten Marx wrong by focusing on the Communist Manifesto instead of on his still-cogent critique of how capitalism works?
Featuring former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, small farm activist Vandana Shiva, economist Thomas Piketty and Marx experts Mary Gabriel and David Harvey, among others. View the complete list of storytellers.
Six-part series. How much do we understand about how capitalism originated, and what makes it work?
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 318 minutes | Color | English | Closed Captioned
Capitalism is much more complex than the vision Adam Smith laid out in The Wealth of Nations. Indeed, it predates Smith by centuries and took root in the practices of colonialism and the slave trade.
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 53 minutes | Color | English
Adam Smith was both economist and moral philosopher. But his work on morality is largely forgotten, leading to tragic distortions that have shaped our global economic system.
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 53 minutes | Color | English
The roots of today's global trade agreements lie in the work of stockbroker David Ricardo and demographer Thomas Malthus. Together, they would restructure society in the image of the market.
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 53 minutes | Color | English
The ideological divide between the philosophies of John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek has dominated economics for nearly a century. Is it time for the pendulum to swing back to Keynes? Or do we need a whole new approach that goes beyond this dualism?
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 53 minutes | Color | English
An exploration of the life and work of Karl Polanyi, who sought to reintegrate society and economy. Could the commodification of labour and money ultimately be as disastrous as floods, drought and earthquakes?
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 53 minutes | Color | English
Information on all the main speakers, academic consultants, and additional interviewees featured in Capitalism.
Ilan Ziv | 2015 | 320 minutes | Color | English
