I found this docu to be well done and credible but I have no prior knowledge of the creators.
I have no training in economics but I have been very intersted since the credit crunch. It woukd be very interesting to hear the opinions about this docu by someone that is trained in economics.
It would in general be intersting to hear some criticism about this docu, from anybody.
I have a degree in Finance and Economics. This film is right on. We have a system that promotes and rewards inefficiency and wastefulness. Our system is simply a game. Outside of the game, real life consequences are taking place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YplXhnHXaj0
And why is society this way?
Why isn't there a better way?
It's the way the system is designed. For example, take the patent system. You invent something, you're allowed to sell the patent to anyone, it doesn't matter if the people buying intend to use the patent or bury it deep.
Another example is the way we reward people in our society. Basically, you need to provide something to get something. There's only two things that can be provided: goods and services. Individuals tend to offer services, while companies tend to provide goods. Goods have better margins, can be mass produced and mass sold. Services are normally one on one, like a doctor, a mechanic, or a consultant. So already, we prioritize goods over services.
This goes both ways though, services are, in turn, more expensive to buy. So only wealthy people can normally afford services. Things like doctors, dentists, cleaner, cook, driver, coach, personal trainer, classes, etc.
This is all part of the system our society works under. It creates a scenario where, to gain you need to provide a lot of things. The more things you can provide, the more often you provide it, and to the most people, the better. So if you are a masseuse, you already know you can only provide one massage to one person at a time, and if they take 1 hour, that's about 8 a day. If you want to gain more, you need to look for a way to provide masseuse related goods instead of services, so make a back massager vibrator thingy, and already you're on to something more rewarding. You can sell multiple back vibrators at once, to many people and you can sell them every second.
All in all, if you want to make a profit, it makes sense to try and sell more at cheaper and more often. And if you want to buy yourself something, like a massage, it make sense for you to buy something that cost less, because services are expensive, so you might favor paying for a back vibrator instead of going for a massage every week.
There's probably a better way, but it might not be so easy to predict which way will be better. It's also very slow to change a system, especially when you are inside it. This is mathematically proven, systems are slow changing. Even today, you still have leftovers from the impact of monarchy.
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