MovieChat Forums > It's a Wonderful Life (1947) Discussion > Capitalism saves the day!

Capitalism saves the day!

posted 2 years ago by ManToTrust (1648)
11 replies | jump to latest

Only through the power of individual choices does the town rally behind George. There’s no state body forcing anyone’s hand.

Communism closes hearts. It passes the buck, literally, to one governing body to look after the vulnerable. Therefore everyone adopts a “not my problem” attitude.

But not this. Not It’s a Wonderful Life. IAWL shows the generosity that occurs only when individuals are allowed to donate.

A true triumph for God, his angels, and a free society.

[–] trevorh321 (5495) 2 years ago

Yes and in the same way AOC wants all Americans to freely and generously pay for her student loan debt.

[–] ManToTrust (1648) 2 years ago

If AOC is elevated to power she will be an Godless tyrant.

[–] Martoto (4085) 2 years ago

There would be no need for a building and loans, no deposit to be lost by Uncle Billy, no story.

George Bailey wasn't required to give up his honeymoon so that the B&L could honour withdrawals. He did it because he knew that, thanks to capitalism, it was some people's only chance of having an affordable roof over their heads. Without capitalism there would have been no run on the banks at all.

Shut up.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8289) a year ago

If the means to own a home we're not provided by organizations like the Building and Loan then everyone would live in government housing. And that would suck.

[–] Keelai (31802) 2 years ago

You have it reversed. Potter represents capitalism. Greedy, mean and selfish.

All the community pooled their limited resources (collectivism and solidarity), aka:socialism, to save George.

Also, both George and his father never worked for profit, aka capitalism. Instead, he worked for the good of his community by allowing them to have very low cost loans.

FUN FACT: The FBI considered the movie to be communist propaganda.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/its-a-wonderful-life-communist-fbi-propaganda-christmas-film-frank-capra-james-stewart-george-bailey-a8123016.html

"It caught the attention of both the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee. They did not like the fact that the movie portrayed the capitalist Henry F. Potter so negatively."
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/04/its-a-wonderful-socialist-life

[–] ManToTrust (1648) 2 years ago

Potter exists in every ideology, not just capitalism. Greedy, mean and selfish men are everywhere.

Capitalism is the only environment that elevates the little people though. Without it, George Bailey wouldn’t have been able to build a business to compete with Potter. You’d just be left with a tyrant who rules everything.

[–] Keelai (31802) 2 years ago

Besides being communist propaganda, the FBI agent was upset that the movie “represented a rather obvious attempt to discredit bankers” and “deliberately maligned the upper class, attempting to show the people who had money were mean and despicable characters.” I never thought about its ideology until you brought it up, but it is very anti-Capitalist.

George Bailey's father created the business in which he used to help people in the community. George very reluctantly took the business over to continue helping people. His main objective is one of altruism, not business competition against Potter.

"Capitalism is the only environment that elevates the little people though.'

I disagree. A few become very rich while the majority are exploited with meager wages and horrible working conditions. Governments and organized dissent (unions) usually need to step in to gain living wages and safe working conditions for workers. Writer of "Sapiens" Yuval Noah Harari described slavery as what you get when capitalists are allowed free rein.

[–] stepaperry81 (46) 2 years ago

However, they are seem only ones building new and giving mortgage loans to the people like the cab driver Ernie Bishop. What were the average wages 1928, 1932, and 1945 and how much houses cost on average?

[–] Keelai (31802) 2 years ago

Exactly! Potter wanted to charge them high rents to live in his slums. George was ruining his plan by allowing them to build affordable homes with low mortgages.

It's similar to what's happening now in the U.S. after the real estate crash in 2008. The government gave incentives to investors to buy millions of houses. That kept the prices of houses artificially high and unaffordable to many Americans. Now, those Americans can't afford to buy a house and must pay high rents to these same investors.

"House prices are currently at an all-time high, but we are not in a real estate bubble — we’re in a pricing paradigm shift.

The old paradigm: A house’s price is the maximum amount that an area’s average local buyer can afford to mortgage over 25–40 years. But because wages have flatlined and purchasing parity is the same as in 1978, the only rational explanation for this current price explosion is a giant debt bubble… right?

Wrong.

The new paradigm: A house’s value is now the maximum amount of annual rental income that can be extracted from it by a global investor, multiplied by maximal institutional leverage.

It’s the biggest paradigm shift in the history of human shelter, and it’s the reason why the vast majority will never own a house in the future."
https://survivingtomorrow.org/this-real-estate-bubble-wont-pop-2f52f23709f8

https://www.fool.com/real-estate/2021/12/08/investors-buy-almost-one-fifth-of-all-houses/

Houses were more affordable in the past. House price multiplied by average yearly salary.
In the 1920s, a house costs 1.5 x average yearly salary.
1930s - a house costs 2-2.5 x average yearly salary.
1940s - a house costs 2.5 x average yearly salary.
Now - a house costs 4.5 x average yearly salary.
https://12tomatoes.com/home-ownership-cost-changed/https://12tomatoes.com/home-ownership-cost-changed/

Sadly, there is no George Bailey to help us.

[–] liscarkat (16483) a year ago

The house I live in was built in 1953, and originally sold for $11,000.00, the equivalent of about $121,000.00 today (2022). But it's currently valued at about $600,000.00, far outstripping inflation over the past seven decades. It's ridiculous.

[–] marktayloruk (2375) a year ago

Hoover was paranoid.