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Capitalism

4 min read

Part of Markets and money.

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Every episode (6)

Who argued it

Williamson M. Evers · Mike Munger · Benjamin Powell · Jayant Bhandari · Skipper Young · Tom G. Palmer

Economics · Cronyism · Free Markets · Morality · Government Regulation · Public Choice Theory · Socialism · Economic Freedom

Background

Moral foundations

In an episode broadcast days before an election, Bob Zadek framed the contest as a referendum on capitalism itself, saying the subtext was a referendum on big government and that capitalism was, in effect, running for office. His guest, Tom G. Palmer of the Cato Institute, discussed the moral foundations of capitalism; the episode’s summary states that they explored how free markets rely on mutual respect and property rights, contrasting capitalism with the cronyism and survival-based selfishness found in statist and socialist systems. The Morality of Capitalism (2012)

Inclusive capitalism

Bob Zadek introduced Sean McElwee of Demos, describing Demos as a progressive think tank in Manhattan, to debate inclusive capitalism, sometimes called middle-class capitalism. Bob quoted a conference website’s description of a London gathering of leaders from business and finance to discuss making the economic system more equitable, sustainable and inclusive, and said Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker. Bob characterized the attendees as plotting to change a system that had served for over 200 years, and asked what is wrong with capitalism and what goals its proponents seek. Inclusive Capitalism: Economic Savior or Socialism in Disguise? (2015)

Cronyism and sustainability

Mike Munger, identified as a professor of political science, economics and public policy at Duke University, was asked whether capitalism is sustainable. Bob questioned the label “crony capitalism,” arguing it should be called crony socialism because it involves government interference in the capitalist system, which he described as individuals entering into mutually advantageous bargains. Munger agreed that markets are essential but not inevitable, distinguishing markets from capitalism, which he said requires open private ownership and liquid capital—the ability to sell shares of equity in a company’s future prosperity. He cited Venezuela, a developed nation that elected Hugo Chavez and reverted to developing status, and Argentina, wealthy in 1900, as examples of substituting central planning and price controls for markets. He also cited China’s move to markets, with its poverty rate falling from 70% to less than 10%. Mike Munger is Taking Public Choice Seriously (2019)

Bob argued that markets are inevitable because black markets spring up in centrally planned economies, and that a black market is a capitalist system within a planned economy. He compared suppressing markets to prohibition. Munger responded that capitalism is not inevitable, citing Democratic candidates who want representatives on corporate boards. Mike Munger is Taking Public Choice Seriously (2019)

Capitalism and racism

Williamson M. Evers discussed California’s ethnic studies model curriculum, which he said teaches that capitalism is a way of exploiting people, capturing surplus labor value and particularly oppressing racial minorities—a theory he traced to Marx. Bob argued that Jim Crow laws fought capitalism because capitalism would allow blacks to purchase goods and open stores. Evers cited Walter Williams, a retired economist at George Mason University, and Jennifer Roback Morse on how segregation laws prevented striving blacks from competing against entrenched white interests. Evers compared Jim Crow’s outlawing of immigrant labor contractors to California’s AB 5, the anti-gig worker law, describing both as stopping the productive middleman to keep racial privilege in place. Bob said occupational licensing laws are anti-capitalist and prevent lower-income people from entering gainful employment, and argued the marketplace punishes racist behavior. California’s Ethnic Studies Curriculum vs. Trump’s Patriotic Education (2020)

Across episodes

The same question—what capitalism is and what threatens it—runs through all four episodes. Palmer grounds it in morality and property rights, McElwee debates reform through social insurance and wealth transfer, Munger locates the threat in cronyism and public choice, and Evers confronts the charge that capitalism is racist. The later episodes shift from defending capitalism’s morality to diagnosing its political vulnerabilities, but the episodes show no resolution of the disagreement.

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