How Crony Capitalism Creates Inequality, Inflation, and Unemployment
There is a kind of capitalism that built America: gritty, inventive, fearless, and open to anyone with an idea and the will to fight for it. And then there is the capitalism we are living under today—a distorted, corrupted version where the rules are written not by the people, but by the powerful.
Crony capitalism is not the capitalism that built railroads, created breakthroughs in science, or lifted millions into the middle class. It is a system where connections matter more than creativity, and where wealth is accumulated not by solving problems, but by manipulating the system.
For too long, crony capitalism has been treated as an unfortunate side effect of modern life. It is not a side effect. It is a deliberate architecture—a structure built through lobbyists, closed-door meetings, and a revolving door between government and industry.
And the consequences of this system are not abstract. They show up in people’s lives every day, in three devastating ways:
