Sunday’s New York Times profile of filmmaker Michael Moore, whose “Capitalism: A Love Story” opens nationwide Oct. 2, asked readers to view Moore as a modern-day embodiment of Charlie Chaplin:
… (In) films like “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Bowling for Columbine” and “Sicko,” his hulking figure shambling toward company executives and bewildered security guards has become the postindustrial version of Chaplin’s Little Tramp.
But Moore is also a Roman Catholic, of one sort or another. So does this make him an incarnation of Dorothy Day? Writer Bruce Headlam told me less than I wanted to know about Moore’s Catholicism or his theology of social justice:
As much as Mr. Moore sometimes plays a comic-book version of class warrior—Left-Thing vs. the Republic of Fear!—his politics are not grounded in class as much as in Roman Catholicism. Growing up in Michigan, he attended parochial school and intended to go into the seminary, inspired by the priests and nuns who, at least until Pope John Paul II, inherited a long tradition of social justice and activism in the American church.
“The nuns always made a point to take us to the Jewish temple for Passover seders,” he said. “They wanted to make it clear that the Jews had nothing to do with putting Jesus up on the cross.”
Along with a moral imperative, Catholicism also gave a method. Mr. Moore idolized the Berrigan brothers, the radical priests who introduced street theater into their activism, for example, mixing their own napalm to burn government draft records. Their actions were a form of political spectacle that, conceptually, is Marxist—workers seizing means of production and all that—and it influenced some of Mr. Moore’s best-remembered stunts.
Trolling the web, one finds that Moore describes himself as both a recovering and practicing Catholic. In 2007 he told The Seattle Times:
I’m actually a fairly conservative person. I live a very conservative lifestyle. I try to go to church most Sundays. I was raised Catholic, so I’m Catholic—sometimes a recovering Catholic. I’ve been with the same woman for the past 26 years.
On Moore’s own site, one finds articles praising the Catholic Worker movement. And in “Jesus w. Christ,” a chapter in his 2003 book, Dude, Where’s My Country?, Moore skewers conservatives’ faith that they best understand God’s plan for our world.
Some of my evangelical friends say, “Moore may be a good Catholic but he’s not a true Christian.” Many of these folks would be equally dismissive of Catholic social teaching on capitalism and social justice for the poor.
I still don’t know the theology, if any, behind Moore’s critique of capitalism. Perhaps there’s an enterprising reporter out there who can explore that angle in depth with Moore during his press blitz for “Capitalism: A Love Story.” Can we have some factual details about Moore and his current life in the church?
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September 23, 2009, at 12:48 pm
Books by and about Dorothy Day are available. So are the social encyclicals of the popes since the time of Leo XIII. Reporters might want to check on them before questioning Michael Moore. They might discover Michael ain’t so mad after all.
September 23, 2009, at 2:30 pm
I smiled as I read that.
I KNOW that some people are thinking “but what about life issues?” Personally I don’t think that issue has to be part of every news story, important as it is.
September 23, 2009, at 2:33 pm
Michael Moore’s “Capitalism” Opens in Los Angeles: An Inconvenient Review
With his media mogul producer and capitalist-friendly marketing Moore is receiving “more” reviews than he bargained for.
Michael Moore’s new movie “Capitalism: A Love Story” is being criticized for using capitalism and the media to promote “anti-capitalism” ideals. Moore’s movie is being co-financed and distributed domestically by Overture Films, which is part of John Malone’s Liberty Media. Liberty, reports Joe Flint of the Los Angeles Times, also owns satellite broadcaster DirecTV, and recently took a stake in Sirius XM.
If the idea that Michael Moore has teamed up with a media magnate weren’t ironic enough, Malone’s company Sirius XM was the subject of the financial documentary “Stock Shock” which highlights the company as one of the most manipulated stocks in the market. Investors in Sirius XM lost over 95% of the value of their shares in the company when it nearly went bankrupt earlier this year due to alleged illegal naked short selling, and some contend, internal corporate greed. John Malone was touted as the satellite company’s white knight for saving it from ruin at the 11th hour with a loan of several hundred million dollars, but not everyone agrees.
“Stock Shock” interviewed disgruntled investors like Michael Hartleib, founder of SaveSirius.org, who insist that Malone virtually swindled the company away from shareholders when he was awarded a 40% stake in the billion dollar company for the last minute loan. Hartleib asks, “How was this management team able to steal forty percent of our company without we, the true owners of this company, having a vote or a seat at the table? How was Mr. Malone given forty percent of our company for free?” Many journalists are asking, “is this the producer Michael Moore hand picked?” Newsday’s John Anderson comments that Moore provides “enough convenient logic to bury the Federal Reserve.”
“Stock Shock” is a new release on DVD and is available at Amazon.com or stockshockmovie.com.
September 23, 2009, at 2:40 pm
I’m confused by this sentence, “Growing up in Michigan, he attended parochial school and intended to go into the seminary, inspired by the priests and nuns who, at least until Pope John Paul II, inherited a long tradition of social justice and activism in the American church.” What does “at least until Pope John Paul II” mean? Does the author mean to say that upon John Paul II’s election to the pontificate, American Catholics no longer engaged in social justice and activism? I don’t see how a claim such as that could be substantiated. Anyone who knows even a moderate amount about John Paul’s theology, his social teaching, and his papacy would be puzzled by this statement.
September 23, 2009, at 4:01 pm
I was thinking the same thing, Christina. That’s an awful and wholly unsubstantiated claim.
September 23, 2009, at 4:06 pm
I believe in capitalism. I have been Catholic for almost 11 years. Why are the two antithetical? Socialism is an idealistic fiscal plan, capitalism is realistic. “Trickle-down” works because it sure doesn’t trickle UP. No fat cat CEO is going to give up $40,000 to be able to hire an extra worker. Human nature doesn’t self-sacrifice that easily. Sad but true.
September 23, 2009, at 4:06 pm
[…] Get Religion wants to know. […]
September 23, 2009, at 4:18 pm
I also am concerned about the “at least until John Paul II” quote. He was at least as concerned as any other pontiff with issues of social justice, human rights, etc. I don’t quite get what the article was trying to say there.
Secondly, while I am certain to be skewered for this, I think it is useful to ask the causation question: Does Moore’s Catholic background lead him to particular political viewpoints, or do his viewpoints lead him to Catholicism because that faith appears to affirm them? It is certainly not unheard of for someone (anyone) to latch onto a faith or philosophical system that confirms their a priori beliefs. I don’t pretend to know what is in Michael Moore’s head, but I know that when I was younger, and held the requisite ultra-liberal viewpoints of a college-student activist, I sought out a version of the Christian faith that affirmed those values and viewpoints. Perhaps Moore has done the same.
September 23, 2009, at 7:42 pm
Not to mention the fact that many people, Catholic and not, see abortion (and other critical life issues) as the great social justice and human rights issue(s) of our time.
September 23, 2009, at 8:53 pm
For many Catholics, in particular people like Dorothy Day and her Catholic Worker movement, opposition to abortion, opposition to economic and social injustices, and opposition to the kind of war the US initiated against Iraq, are all tied together, and they appeal to Papal teachings on those matters, including the encyclicals of John Paul II. The reporter who wrote the phrase “at least until Pope John Paul II” only highlighted his ignorance.
September 23, 2009, at 9:49 pm
I’m watching Michael Moore’s interview with Larry King and I’m impressed with his conservative viewpoints.
September 23, 2009, at 11:03 pm
It is not who says a thing that makes it true, but what is actually said that matters. I am open to Moore’s views, even though I think he is a pretty wacky guy who does not have the promotion of the Gospel as a primary objective. However, I know many who think capitalism has been blessed by the Church as the best possible financial system. What the Church has said is that capitalism is fraught with dangers, but itself is neither good nor bad, unlike socialism, which is evil because of the way it treats the individual. Certainly giving big business free rein does little to promote solidarity, the right of the worker to a just wage, the common good, just business practices, etc. There is much to criticize with capitalism, just read B XVI’s new encyclical. So, I remain interested, mostly because there are so few willing to be critical of capitalism these days.
September 24, 2009, at 1:04 pm
I keep wondering if many people who defend “capitalism” are actually in favor of “free enterprise.” It’s one thing to think that a man should enjoy the (honest) fruits of his (honest) labor, either in the form of the actual production of his labor or in the form of income in exchange for his labor. Capitalism, while heavily reliant on a system of free enterprise, attaches increased importance to the imperative of gaining a return on an investment. Is that specifically what we favor in favoring capitalism?
September 24, 2009, at 1:40 pm
A couple of things, that are related to each other and this post:
Prior to John Paul II, priests focused on justice and peace in extremely unorthodox ways: they emphasized the concept that we (the people in the Church) can reform society, and ignored the consistent teaching of the Church that only Christ and His Grace can change society. Thus, speaking from experience, many nuns and priests embraced the heresy that the government should provide for justice and peace…and thus embraced socialism and socialist ideas (hence liberation theology). Priests formed during John Paul II’s pontificate, by and large, balance the need for justice and peace with a steady dose of orthodoxy. Most understand that it is the Grace of God that changes people’s hearts, not laws, not regulations, and certainly not government intervention.
In Centesimus Annus, John Paul lays a pretty solid groundwork for Catholic support of the free-market which focuses on the natural needs and wants of a population. I believe that both communism and socialism were explicitly condemned by Leo XIII (I could be wrong). John Paul refers to the consistent Catholic principle of subsidiarity, and prefers that local groups of private citizens be the primary groups concerned with the poor, and needy. In light of the teachings of Leo XIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II, Catholic tradition embraces the free-market and condemns socialism and statism.
However considering how many clerics and religious formed in the late 50s, 60s, and early 70s eschewed orthodoxy in favor of peace and justice and material comfort, it comes as no surprise when we read of Catholics in Europe, Latin America, or the United States who embrace statism or socialism. Thus, Moore can be said to have both embraced those elements of Catholicism he likes (peace and justice) and reject those he does (free-market and subsidiarity)…he is a cafeteria Catholic. He is not alone in that: Sean Hannity, Joe Biden, and millions of others are in the same boat.
September 24, 2009, at 4:14 pm
We’ve moved deeply into “Godless Capitalism”, and actions that should have been taken to “bell” the big cats afflicted with excessive greed & need for power
back in the robber baron era obviously were’nt done or were undone.
Mike Moore provokes thought. Hopefully things will be done soon to again try to do something.
September 24, 2009, at 6:21 pm
I think the “at least until Pope John Paul II” refers to the impression that JPII was somewhat more favorable to capitalism than Paul VI had been (especially in Paul’s encyclical “Populorum Progressio). This apparently had the lefty Catholics ticked off, and they added this to their list of grievances against JPII. Not that there’s much chance any of them had really read JPII’s social encyclicals. I think the impression is a false one.
So there’s no mystery about which side of the fence this reporter is getting his /her information from.
September 24, 2009, at 8:14 pm
Tonight on CNN, Wolf Blitzer asked Moore if he was a Socialist and he said, “No, I’m a Christian.” A bit confusing, because I always thought one is a religion and one is an economic system.
Oh, and the 20+ year old picture of him here was EXTREMELY generous and kind.
September 28, 2009, at 12:29 pm
I wonder if Moore would consider himself a “distributist”? ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributism )