Cronyism and Corporatism

Vail recognized that market competition and “regulation and control are inconsistent with each other, and cannot be had at the same time.” Obviously, Vail favored the latter.

Trump has made his family billions by courting foreign and corporate money and accepting extravagant gifts while in office. But he didn’t bring self-enrichment to Washington, he simply made it much harder to ignore.

Politicians sell business regulation as benefiting consumers. In reality, as we saw from airline regulation, the system creates cartels that shut out consumers and benefit regulated businesses.

Dr. Patrick Newman speaks to Bob about his new book, which reviews how big business built the regulatory state, the Fed, and cartels like the AMA, all justified in the name of the "public interest."

Democrats learned the hard way that voters don’t like being told the economy is great when they’re struggling to afford everyday life. Now Republicans have chosen the same strategy.

Our history books tell us about how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. They don’t tell us that his company then successfully got the government to grant it monopoly powers, thus harming consumers and stifling technological innovation for nearly a century.

Democrats learned the hard way that voters don’t like being told the economy is great when they’re struggling to afford everyday life. Now Republicans have chosen the same strategy.

When government becomes involved in finance, interest groups abound, each one seeking wealth transfers to the detriment of others. This has been the case since the founding of this country, and AI is just a new chapter.

By convincing Congress to permit the government to take equity positions in private firms, Donald Trump has completed the transition of the economy from free markets to political capitalism.

In this week’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon reviews Cronyism: Rise of the Corporate State 1849–1929 by Patrick Newman.