How–and Why–u.s. Capitalism Is Unlike Any Other

https://archive.today/https://www.wsj.com/economy/us-capital...

> The shameful exception to capitalist opportunity was slavery. A revisionist historical school posits that slavery was the template for American capitalism, the irreducible fount of American prosperity. It oddly mirrors the propaganda of Southern planters who overstated the dependence of the Northern states and Europe on slave-grown cotton.

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> The recurring weakness of American capitalism is inequality. During the first century of constitutional government, the disparities were muted. Cheap land offered an escape from poverty and imports exerted downward pressure on basic goods—iron, textiles and others. High tariffs after the Civil War created a protective umbrella for monopolies (known as trusts) just as railroads connected the country and the frontier escape valve disappeared. Factory workers were shunted into urban slums.

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> Inequality 2.0 is alive and well. American capitalism remains fiercely competitive, remarkably productive, resilient in the face of a thousand doomsayers—and the author of a persistent wealth gap. Inequality significantly increased in the 1980s and ’90s and it remains well above previous levels. In 1979, the top 1% of earners took home 10% of the pie; today it is higher than 20%. Taxes and social transfers level it but only a bit; in 2022, the affluent 1% collected 22% of total income and 19% after taxes. Clearly, the market for talent is more skewed than before.

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> One caveat. American capitalism doesn’t produce for those at the bottom. An American at the 10th percentile earns only $19,000 a year. In Europe, at least, poverty is mitigated by a richer array of social goods. For example, not only is life expectancy greater, but the poor experience less of a gap in life expectancy than the poor in America.

More on the author:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Lowenstein