American Capitalism Isn’t Working.

Of the oft repeated stupidities this is perhaps the most potentially dangerous. I refer to the idea that capitalism is failing because business people have the wrong attitude, the wrong intentions. Nothing speaks to the ignorance of the essence of capitalism so much as this fallacy. It is the first lesson of capitalism - that it does not depend on the 'good' (aka, not greedy) intentions of the profit earner in order to benefit the customer.

This opinion piece in the nations premiere daily makes two elementary fatal errors. 1. that capitalism isn't working and 2. that this is because people have the wrong attitudes. 1. is wrong because it is not capitalism that is not working, it is the attempt to improve on capitalism, aka, free markets, that is not working and 2. it has nothing to do with the bad attitudes or intentions of business people as such. These attitudes have not changes. It is the institutional structure that has allowed business people (and others) to co-opt regulatory and financial government power that is the problem.

Look not to a reform of business. Look to restricting and downsizing government. Memo to the author, David Leonhardt: stop whining, things are not so bad.

Oh, and by the way, beware Elizabeth Warren - she is the devil.