by Paul Rosenfeld
“How does your society rate on the “respect scale” and the “power scale”? This archival film from Encyclopedia Britannica explains how to place a society on a spectrum from democratic to despotic. The video highlights several of the most important factors in determining where your community falls, including concentration of power, mutual shared respect, economic distribution, and freedom of information. The video uses strong visuals of burning crosses, Nazi swastikas and the shadow of a body hanging from a noose, to warn against fascism, racism, and anti-Semitism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmxUE8Qmc0A
“Made prior to the Red Scare, the film takes a socialistic stance on many issues including wealth distribution and taxation. It’s possible that some of the film’s content would not have been so openly espoused in the McCarthyism of the next decade. Seventy years later, however, some of the film’s warning signs still seem prudent.”
Visit the Prelinger Archive for more archival videos.
SOURCE: The Atlantic
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