A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity

Such privileges and guarantees stoke the public anger that generated the populist backlash in the first place by confirming the sense that government and large-market players are cooperating at the expense of the taxpayers and the small investors. Then, to avoid being linked in the public mind with the companies they are trying to help, politicians

the most competent are also the least objective, because the most competent tend to be the most specialized, with a small potential set of employers they are afraid to alienate. This problem creates a detachment between ordinary people and experts, which fuels mistrust.

The system is reminiscent of sales taxes in Europe, which are embedded in the final price of goods. In the United States, by contrast, sales taxes are added to the price when the consumer buys a product, which helps keep the tax burden visible and, since people can more easily object to increases, sales taxes low. Why shouldn’t the same rule apply

most at odds with the company’s. It is much easier for a firm

inevitable. The only question is: Which form? Most populist movements have been characterized by some desire for wealth redistribution. Yet populism really becomes a threat to the survival of the free-enterprise system when markets lose legitimacy as a way of allocating rewards—in other words, when the system looks unfair to growing numbers of peop

If one were to enumerate the key factors that are predictive of populist movements, income inequality, a struggling middle class, and distrust of elites would top the list.

The fewer potential employers are present in an area of expertise, the less free and independent the specialized technicians are.

This pressure will find support among many American businesses. As competition intensifies and globalizes, the importance of political connections increases, and foreign competitors are at a natural disadvantage in lobbying efforts. Already, businesses that are closer to the government have suffered less than others from foreign competition. In fac

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