State of Affairs

We find ourselves in the era of consequences. The Western empire is showing signs of wear and tear, and the time has come for a thorough and close examination of neo-capitalism. Rather than condemning bankers, politicians, or the media, this film puts the entire system up for discussion. In a little over 90 minutes, 23 of the world's most important thinkers share their opinions on contemporary capitalism. We encounter a surprisingly large number of puzzling issues along the way. How can it be, for example, that half of the world is suffering from obesity while the other half is dying of hunger? And why are banks allowed to create money out of thin air, while normal citizens performing the same act would be guilty of counterfeiting? Taking the Bible story as his analogy, the filmmaker wonders who the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are. The voice-over makes connections between the thinkers and guides the viewer through subjects such as welfare, inequality, consumerism, and progress, and a wide range of highly effective archive footage and clarifying animations support the case being made. The documentary draws to a close with surprisingly simple solutions for reversing the deplorable state of our world; as the ecologist Satish Kumar says, 'What is created by humans, can be changed by humans.'