A crash course in America's f-ed up distribution of wealth

Love him or hate him, Michael Moore is the king of documentary filmmaking. The proof is in the pudding: Three of his films (“Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Sicko,” “Bowling for Columbine”) are in the top six- highest grossing documentaries of all time, and his most recent effort will likely join this prestigious group.

“Capitalism: A Love Story” is Moore’s critique of the American economic system and its skewed distribution of wealth in which the top one percent of the population makes more than the bottom 95 percent combined. From the opening sequence of robberies caught on security tape, Moore paints a picture of capitalism that reveals the awful truth that people either have it all or have nothing, and capitalism trumps democracy.

A master of human interest stories, Moore focuses sympathy on people who have been crippled by capitalism: a family forced out of their 22-year-old home after bank foreclosure, a group of fired assembly line workers and several teenagers detained in privately owned juvenile detention centers.

Moore exposes greedy financial practices that are shocking. Companies use what is termed “dead peasant insurance” in which they purchase life insurance policies for employees without informing the employees.

In the event that an employee dies, the company collects the insurance payout. Moore then seeks to understand what Wall Street cronies call “derivatives,” yet not even the smartest financial minds can explain the practice.

In classic Michael Moore fashion, he heads to Wall Street with a bullhorn and a roll of caution tape to fight the power – calling for a citizen’s arrest of the heads of corporate America. With his trademark ball cap, loose jeans and portly physique, it’s hard to take him seriously, but moments like this give the film a humorous edge.

For its informative value, “Capitalism” is a must-see. It reminds us of what we as a society already know but never really address – that the rich run the country and get richer because capitalism makes illegal activity legit.

But there are ways to fight it, Moore believes: the almighty vote, writing congressman to oppose the bailout and gathering workers to protest for equitable treatment. Shortly before his death, Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a second Bill of Rights that would have guaranteed housing, health care and jobs for all Americans. Sadly it never passed.

If greed is a bastardized form of love, then “Capitalism: A Love Story” is aptly titled.