Five NYC students enter a lottery for acceptance to a local charter school, their only hope of escaping a government school system otherwise fully in the self-serving grip of the teachers union…but not all will win their ticket out of the education-industrial complex. [ The Lottery credits: Dir: Madeleine Sackler/ 81 min/ Documentary/ Government schools, Incompetent government/ … [Read more...]
Work & Happiness: The Human Cost Of Welfare | Film Review
An examination of the US welfare system reveals that whatever good it does in terms of providing subsistence, it does so at a terrible cost in human happiness. [ Work & Happiness: The Human Cost of Welfare credits: Dir: Erin Mae Miller/ Narrator: Johan Norberg/ 60 min/ Documentary/ Anti-Socialism/ 2017] The US spends about a trillion dollars a year on its … [Read more...]
Sweden: Lessons for America? | Film Review
Sweden’s “socialist” success story is closely examined, only to reveal that it’s actually a capitalist success story. [ Sweden: Lessons for America credits: Dir: James Tusty, Maureen Castle Tusty / Narrator: Johan Norberg/ 60 min/ Documentary/ Econ 101, Anti-Socialism, Pro-Capitalism/ 2018] What if Sweden isn’t an argument for socialism – but an argument for capitalism? … [Read more...]
How Jack Became Black | Film Review
A father forced by the public school system to categorize his multiracial children by "primary race" explores the silliness of racial identity. [ How Jack Became Black credits: Dir: Eli Steele/ 96 min/ Documentary/ Equality & Law, Individualism/ 2018] The centuries-old concept of race (or tribe, or caste, etc.) was always intended, from the outset, to divide people. … [Read more...]
Poverty, Inc. | Film Review
WINNER: ANTHEM FILM FESTIVAL, GRAND PRIZE WINNER: TEMPLETON FREEDOM AWARD Poverty Inc. examines the unintended consequences of efforts by the West to alleviate poverty in less-developed countries, suggesting that free markets would do more good than charity. [ Dir: Michael Matheson Miller/ 94 min/ Documentary/ Econ 101, Pro-capitalism/ 2014] Institutions inescapably … [Read more...]
The Price of Peace | Film Review
A documentary examination of how best to avoid war reveals that maintaining a strong defense, costly though it may be, is inescapably the price of peace. Credits: [Dir: Kip Perry, Elan Bentov/ Johan Norberg/ 60 min/ Documentary/ Anti-war/ 2018] War is indeed the health of the State -- pretty much every war ends up stimulating a permanent expansion of government. So … [Read more...]
What Happened in Vegas | Film Review
GRAND PRIZE WINNER: ANTHEM FILM FESTIVAL Filmmaker Ramsey Denison investigates the Las Vegas police department for corruption -- and finds plenty. [ What Happened in Vegas credits: Dir: Ramsey Denison/ 90 min/ Documentary/ Abuse of power, Corrupt government/ 2017] In 2013, Ramsey Denison was vacationing in Las Vegas when he witnessed police abusing a handcuffed suspect. … [Read more...]
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City | Film Review
A journalist discovers spontaneous order in city development -- and takes on City Hall to fight its vision of a bulldozed, centrally-planned urban landscape. [ Citizen Jane: Battle for the City credits: Dir: Matt Tyrnauer/ 92 min/ Documentary/ Eminent Domain, Libertarian Heroes/ 2017] “Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and … [Read more...]
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail | Film Review
Abacus Federal Savings Bank, a family-owned community bank, suffers the full wrath of regulatory authorities as it (curiously) becomes the only financial institution to face criminal charges related to the subprime mortgage crisis. [ Abacus: Small Enough to Jail credits: Dir: Steve James/ 88 min/ Documentary/ Anti-Regulation, Creator-As-Hero/ 2017] Out of nearly 7,000 … [Read more...]
Trailblazers: The New Zealand Story (2017)
The story of New Zealand's fall and rise, as the country -- once bankrupted by decades of socialism -- fought its way back to prosperity through radical free market reforms. [ Trailblazers: The New Zealand Story credits: Dir: James Tusty & Maureen Castle Tusty/ Narrator: Johan Norberg/ 60 min/ Documentary/ Econ 101, Anti-Socialism, Pro-Capitalism] Imagine living in a … [Read more...]