Ethos Movie Study Guide Part I

The movie looks at the flaws in our system clearly from a progressive viewpoint that allow catastrophes to happen laying blame on consumerism and ultimately proposing a solution. Keep an open mind but question everything. I. 1 problem is Politics a. Perception Politicians respond to public opinion. REALITY Media drives public opinion b. Politicians are similar because; i. Most people are centrist politicians seek the center ground to gain suppor. ii. More sinister explanation is Money. 1. Big donors get rewards by being on panels, committees, ambassadors 2. Money flows in for a reason and that reason is not good government! nd 2 problem is the kind of democracy we have a. Actual power resides in the hands of those who Madison called the wealth of the nation the responsible class of men, the real power is exercised by those we do not elect. b. No one in power really wants democracy because it would challenge existing power structure. rd 3 problem is corporations and MONEY a. Governments balance the needs of the WHOLE society including big business based on ethics and morality b. Statute requires Corporations to place the monetary welfare of their owners above all other considerations. See ROBERT
CLARK, CORPORATE LAW 17-19, 688, 690 (1986); Macey, An Economic Analysis of the Various Rationales for Making Shareholders the Exclusive Beneficiaries of Corporate Fiduciary Duties, 21 STETSON L. REV.23, 23 (1991).
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i. Monsanto use of antibiotics in cows --- knowing it was harmful. Lying by denying use! ii. USE resulted in monetary gain MONSANTO weighed cost it was cheaper to break the law and lie. a. Corporations are powerful enough to ignore governmental controls particularly iii. Where capitalism is sacralized - displacing politics as the new high priest. iv. Internationally where multi-nationals transcend boundaries to dwarf govt. b. Corporations ignore environmental destruction. c. Corporate expansion is the cause of much war and conflict. d. Corporation--- growth = using more resources+ more pollution+ more demand =profits. e. Corporations need to supply innovations that help address the issues we face. th 4 Problem is the Banks (This overall section detracts from the whole) a. Fed is responsible for the low wages and living paycheck to paycheck. b. Wealthy bankers are in conspiracy to control and concentrate money in the hands of wealthy. th 5 Problem is the Media a. Corporations control the media -There is no left or right wing press . Rise of Modern PR - Freuds nephew Bernays (sometimes called the father of spin) figures things out! Dictatorships or monarchies control by force, but in a democracy control exerted public relations lies. i. The public couldnt wisely choose so democracy was impossible. ii. People must be manipulated - appeal to their irrational desires. Create products to satisfy desires. Democracy moves from active citizens to passive consumers. Information doesnt drive behavior iii. Corporations recognize that war enriches them --- Oil companies push us into the Middle East and the military pushes to establish bases in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar to help control and dominate the region. th d. Government used events like Sept. 11 to create a politics of fear What does all this portend for the future? a. Intel is ubiquitous and shared among government and industry th th b. The Patriot act removes the protections of the 4 (unreasonable search and seizure) and 6 ( right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury) amendments (Bill of Rights) of our constitution. c. Corporations benefit from one world government --d. The solution to everything is to stop acquiring - of course this is an oversimplification but it is a big step in the right direction. b. c.

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Problems with the emphasis on conspiracy in this film Quotes are lifted out of context and are incorrectly attributed. Henry Ford quote (Ford notoriously opposed the Jews spoke in favor of Hitler and believed in the Protocols of Zion. He funded 500,000 copies which were distributed freely). Woodrow Wilson quote is taken from his writing The Old Order Changeth and if they had completed the quote it would have been clear that Wilson was talking about monopolies --- not Jewish Banking cabals. Here is the quote in its entirety Since I entered politics, I have chiefly had men's views confided to me privately. Some of the

biggest men in the United States, in the field of commerce and manufacture, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something. They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it. (follows what is missing)They know that America is not a place of which it can be said, as it used to be, that a man may choose his own calling and pursue it just as far as his abilities enable him to pursue it; because to-day, if he enters certain fields, there are organizations which will use means against him that will prevent his building up a business which they do not want to have built up; organizations that will see to it that the ground is cut from under him and the markets shut against him. For if he begins to sell to certain retail dealers, to any retail dealers, the monopoly will refuse to sell to those dealers, and those dealers, afraid, will not buy the new man's wares.
Edward Griffin, Conspiracy theorist and film producer oft quoted on Glenn Beck and Fox, is the learned person who explains the federal reserve --please use these links and check him out! A more nuanced and accurate account of some of the problems with the Fed is in this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/26/fedlending-helped-wall-street_n_853884.html Any profit of the federal reserve must go back to the Federal Govt. The reserve is allowed to keep 6%. A good source for general information on varying levels is http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/about-the-fed/history/ A 2nd Wilson quote is out of context and time.. It comes before the formation of the federal reserve(1912) so it could not have been his writing years later in regret please read http://other.skepticproject.com/articles/quotes/view/17/woodrow-wilson-regrets-the-federal-reserve/ The Federal Reserve System (also known as the Federal Reserve, and informally as the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. Created December 23, 1913, in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907. (Cause of Panic of 1907 an article on this can be found at http://www.cepr.org/meets/wkcn/1/1730/papers/MoenFinal.pdf explains JP Morgans role in crash ) The Congress established three key objectives for monetary policymaximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates in the Federal Reserve Act. Its duties include conducting the nation's monetary policy, supervising and regulating banking institutions, maintaining the stability of the financial system and providing financial services to depository institutions. The Fed has a great deal of independence but its authority is derived from statutes and it is subject to congressional oversight. The members of the Board of Governors, including its chairman and vice-chairman, are chosen by advise and consent of Senate. The Government receives all of the system's annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks' capital investment is paid. Quote is not by Paul Warhburg but by James Paul Warhburg (his son delivered in1950 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/James_Warburg_before_the_Subcommittee_on_Revision_of_the_United_Nations_Charter#We_shall_have_world_ government The history of corporate personhood in Supreme Court decisions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood People in the movie Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Professor Robert Jansen (U. Tex), Sen. John McCain, Scott Ritter (former UN weapons inspector author), Karen Kwiatkowski former Lt. Col worked at Pentagon and is a critic of these wars, Howard Zinn History professor who wrote the controversial History of the American People, Justin Lewis who is Professor of Communication and Head of the Cardiff School of Journalism, Rt Hon Tony Benn British Parliament, Michael Moore, Ray Anderson Greenest CEO(Interface) in America, Dr. Samuel Epstein professor emeritus of environmental and occupational health at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Jane Akre, Robert AG Monks Capitalism works best with active owners, Sam Gibara, CEO Goodyear, Ira Jackson,Kennedy School of Business a@Harvard,Rep. Ron Paul, Libertarian, Sen. Robert Byrd, Norman Solomon Institute for Public Accuracy, Stan Goff ret. Special forces, Chalmers Johnson, Benjamin Barber, Mark Danner, Marc Berry,

Questions Generated by Ethos 1. Do you agree that politicians are equally beholden to the corporations? 2. How has the Citizens United Decision of the Supreme Court impacted this? 3. What effect will corporations that are more powerful than governments have on us? 4. Do you agree that the real power is exercised by people we do not elect? 5. Are democracy and capitalism inextricably linked? 6. Do you believe there is a free press? 7. How does this quote strike you?
The manufacture of consent is a revolution in the practice of democracy. What it amounts to is a technique of control which was useful and necessary because the common interests and general concerns of all people elude the public the public just isnt up to dealing with them and they must be the domain of the specialized class.

8. Do you believe that information drives decision making and behavior? 9. When war becomes highly profitable, you will see more of it. Do you think this is a valid statement? 10. Do you agree that Investigative reporting no longer exists as reports are bought and paid for by corporate, moneyed interests. If so who is paying for the news that is consumed on the web, broadcast media, news outlets? 11. We are expected to support the wars but how is information manipulated so that we also get a certain vicarious pleasure from war? 12. After the beginning of the Iraq War 77 companies got contracts to support the war. What do names like Haliburton & Carlisle Group mean? What is the impact of privatization of such things as intelligence, armies, prisons? To whom are they accountable? 13. It is an interesting concept that engaged citizens who have meaningful tasks to do are not afraid. Do you agree that fear robs us of our civil liberties and multi-cultural ideals? 14. List all the things we could make choices about right now to have impact on the waste stream. 15. What are other things that are needed in order to get people to change their behavior?