Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few

“The threat to capitalism is no longer communism or fascism but a steady undermining of the trust modern societies need for growth and stability.”

In his Introduction, Reich points out the sharp decline of confidence in the economic system, which stems from the fact that many think the economic and political systems seem rigged to favor those at the top. He explains that when people stop believing that they have a fair chance, the tacit social contract begins to unravel.

“Few ideas have more profoundly poisoned the minds of more people than the notion of a ‘free market’ existing somewhere in the universe, into which government ‘intrudes.’”

Reich is alluding to the common arguments that the free market is better at doing something than the government and that what one is paid is simply a measure of what one is worth in the market. He argues that with this view, any inequality and insecurity that the market generates is natural and inevitable.

“A market—any market—requires that government make and enforce the rules of the game.”

This passage encapsulates a key point that Reich makes throughout Saving Capitalism: that there can be no free market without government because the rules that govern the market are human made. These rules, in modern democracies, come from legislatures, courts, and administrative agencies.