Acton Institute Powerblog

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Search results for "crony capitalism"
October 07, 2020

COVID-19 and crony capitalism

Who wins in the COVID-19 economy? In some cases, outright fraud allows businesses to prosper. In other cases, political connections enable businesses to collect revenue from the federal government. Crony capitalism is defined by the Mercatus Center as “an economic system in which the profitability of firms in a market economy depends on political connections.” Continue Reading...
October 12, 2018

Samuel Gregg: What is crony capitalism?

In an interview for Guatemala’s Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Samuel Gregg, the Director of Research here at the Acton Institute, answered questions about crony capitalism, mentioning how it works and his worries about this problem. Continue Reading...
December 08, 2016

The constitutional problem with crony capitalism

Recently, when asked if intervention by the White House into private enterprise was presidential, President-elect Trump responded, “I think it’s very presidential. And if it’s not presidential, that’s okay … because I actually like doing it.” Continue Reading...
March 07, 2016

Just how bad is crony capitalism?

Cronyism is ugly. It hurts the economy, it’s unjust, and corrupts the core of democracy.  “The damage that cronyism has inflicted on the economy is considerable,” Samuel Gregg writes in a new piece for Public Discourse. Continue Reading...
February 23, 2016

What is Crony Capitalism?

Here on the Acton PowerBlog we talk a lot about crony capitalism. But what exactly does the term mean? And why is it so bad? In this short video from Prager University, Jay Cost, a staff writer at The Weekly Standard, explains what it is, why it’s wrong, and proposes a solution that every society could benefit from. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2016

What Christians Should Know About Crony Capitalism

Note: This is the latest entry in the Acton blog series, “What Christians Should Know About Economics.” For other entries in the series see this post. The Term: Crony capitalism (sometimes referred to as cronyism or corporatism) What it means: Crony capitalism is a general term for the range of activities in which particular individuals or businesses in a market economy receive government-granted privileges over their customers and/or competitors. Continue Reading...
March 26, 2014

Crony Capitalism’s Favorite Trick

Many who reject capitalism in favor of some “third way” do so because they often mistake it for government-corporate cronyism, says Jonathan Witt in this week’s Acton Commentary. But in countries that have begun extending true economic freedom to the masses, capitalist activity has already lifted hundreds of millions of people out of extreme poverty. Continue Reading...