Capitalism <i>always was</i> cronyism (so was feudalism, but with a different favored class.)<p>It hasn’t been replaced, some people are just realizing the things that have been pointed out since critics of capitalism coined the name “capitalism”, refelecting its favored-class orientation, for it.
<i>However, no more. Modern-day capitalism in America is to flatten the risk curve for people who already have money by borrowing from future generations with debt-fueled bailouts for companies. We have consciously decided to reduce the downside for the wealthy, thereby limiting the upside for future generations.</i><p>That's modern-day America (and western countries in general), but massive government taxation and borrowing, and spending on bloated, inefficient, and corrupt programs to buy votes and scratch backs won't get more love from "capitalists" than it will from anybody else.<p>It's not capitalism that is going bad, it is government.
It’s really more this current iteration of capitalism.<p>It’s not so much the cronyism itself but just how large of a chunk of the pie they took this time. See salary vs house price trends. The remainder is so small that basic structures of society are starting to collapse (can’t afford education, house, kids, healthcare etc)<p>Had it not been turned up to 11 this could keep going.
<i>This was capitalism, a beacon of hope for people who are smart, hardworking, and comfortable with risk, promising a greater share of the spoils to them than to those who are not.</i><p>Wrong. That’s not what capitalism is or means. Capitalism is an economic system in which private investors run the economy in search of personal profit, while those who lack capital rely on wage labor to survive. You can debate whether this is a good or moral system, but it’s important to get terminology right.
"Cronyism" is the long-term result of capitalism. It will always result in this type of corruption, it's the nature of an economic system that rewards greed.<p>Cronyism is just another way to say "Late Stage Capitalism."
As an American I charge by the hour to service commercial and residential properties. My clients are mostly quite happy with my service. How is it that this is "cryonyism"?