Top marks to Charles H. Ferguson for producing this film and Matt Damon for narrating and bringing star attention to a project that may have been otherwise ignored. Inside Job isn’t the whole story of finance capitalism (worthless speculation and derivatives markets) and its long history of corruption and brutal impact on industrial capitalism (in which things of tangible value actually get made), but that would be too much to ask for in the space of two hours. But the film makers seem to be aware of the boundaries they’re working in and occasionally offer further hints of the larger, darker story of New York Financiers. Where this film succeedes is in its broad introduction of finance corruption to a general public who know little of such matters.
The issue of fiat currency (easily produced money based upon nothing more than consumer belief) versus precious metal backed money isn’t explored in Inside Job. So in addition to viewing Ferguson’s film I recommend the three hour documentary The Money Masters, Aaron Russo’s Freedom to Fascism, and especially Paul Grignon’s short film Money as Debt. For those seeking a more detailed antidote to the financial lies of our times I recommend Antony C. Sutton’s books The War on Gold, Gold for Survival and The Federal Reserve Conspiracy.