Cronyism and Corporatism

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

The sure way to destroy a prosperous nation is to debase the currency. History is full of examples—from ancient Rome to the nascent French Republic to Weimar Germany. The US and the West, fiat currency regimes all, are irrevocably destined to join this sorry club.

The evolution of the US government into a powerful cartelizer of the economy required special interests persistently lobbying to reduce competitive market pressures. It required cronyism: government intervention that benefits special interests at the expense of public interest.

The prominent international commentator Saifedean Ammous

Murray Rothbard saw government as a predatory, criminal entity and the Microsoft lawsuit of 1998 proved to be a classic example of government organized crime in action.

Murray Rothbard saw government as a predatory, criminal entity and the Microsoft lawsuit of 1998 proved to be a classic example of government organized crime in action.

Elon Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire has triggered a familiar round of progressive outrage. But the imprecise focus on wealth distribution obscures the real issue: how much of modern wealth is acquired through politics rather than production.

Thanks to the Fed’s creation of asset bubbles, the US economy is producing many billionaires. However, the savvy entrepreneur is becoming increasingly scarce.

Thanks to the Fed’s creation of asset bubbles, the US economy is producing many billionaires. However, the savvy entrepreneur is becoming increasingly scarce.

The latest rage among defense contractors is the rise of the high-tech “neo-primes,” firms which supposedly will apply “smart” militarization. History and reality tell us, however, that these companies soon enough will be as bloated and corrupt as their contemporaries.