What Went Wrong With Capitalism

A radical examination by a leading financial analyst, commentator and investor of the ills of capitalism and how they can be fixed

What went wrong with capitalism? Ruchir Sharma¿s explanation is unlike any you have heard before. Progressives are partly right when they mock modern capitalism as ¿socialism for the rich,¿ but what really happened in recent decades is that government in developed nations expanded in just about every measurable dimension, from spending and regulation to the sheer scale of its rescues each time the economy wobbled. The result, Sharma says, is ¿socialized risk,¿ expensive government guarantees, for everyone¿welfare for the poor, entitlements for the middle class, and bailouts for the rich.


Voters say they are disillusioned with capitalism, but a system so distorted by government interventions is a dysfunctional version of free market ideals. As a result, productivity and economic growth have slowed sharply, shrinking the pie for ev