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Private Notes
The 1st part of this epic 3 hour film begins with the history, nature, impact and possible future of the 'corporation'. It explains how 150 years ago corporations were
insignificant institutions ruled by tight government controls, but nowadays they seem to have replaced the church, monarchy and ruling political parties as the most
dominant institutions of our time. But they are also the most destructive. And in the past century and a half we have passed laws that allow a corporation to be
treated as a person. Part 1, 'The Pathology Of Commerce', examines what kind of a person the corporation is, resulting in a diagnosis of psychosis, according to the
World Health Organisation's standards.
In the 1600s, the enclosure movement fenced public grazing lands so they could be privately owned. Today, every molecule on the planet is up for grabs. This is good for corporations that lack inherent limits on what, who, or how much they might exploit. Even disasters can be profitable.
As the twin towers collapsed, gold traders doubled their clients’ money. A new target is very young children. The ad industry's 'Nag Factor' study shocked child psychiatrists when it exposed premeditated manipulation of not just kids, but infants. Corporations own the song 'Happy Birthday'; patents on plants and animals; even your next disease. When they own everything, who will stand for the public good?
'The Reckoning,' documents the corporation's indifference to democracy, over the last century, in many areas of the world. Detailed are the high stakes struggles facing grass roots movements as they battle with this dominant force of our time.
From American corporations such as IBM, General Motors, Ford and Coke working with and profiting from Nazi Germany to present day Bechtel attempting to privatize Bolivia's water system, the patterns are revealed. What is inspiring is the victories of small, persistent voices growing to a unified roar, powerful enough to stop huge corporate machines as they attempt to take away power and choices from not only individuals and communities but in fact, from governments.
Presented are some excellent examples of positive activism: the charter revocation movement took on oil giant Unocal; sweatshop activists moved labor standards; seed activists beat corporate patents; in Pennsylvania, two cities decreed that corporations can no longer carry on as a person and Bolivians defeated Bechtel corporation’s attempt to privatize their water system.
