Inequality for All

When we see the contrast between the values we share and the realities we live in, that is the fundamental foundation for social change.

If you have a shaky grasp of economics and want to better understand the growing problem of income inequality in the U.S., you probably can’t do much better than Inequality for All, an exhibition of the collected insights of former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. Reich’s affable oratory and knack for economic pattern recognition make a wealth of complex data surprisingly approachable, aided in no small part by some stellar visuals. As the primary talking head of a film that doubles to some degree as his biography, Reich occasionally veers into self-aggrandizement, but whatever ego surfaces is easily overwhelmed by the strength of his charisma and intellect.

As an explainer, Inequality for All is top-notch, but its activist turn in the final act falls short, offering customary power-to-the-people platitudes but no real concrete starting points for taking action. Regardless, the presentation that precedes it is compelling enough to make even the most complacent viewers consider what part they might play in making a more equitable society.