Power and Values: The Gap Between Capitalist Mindsets and Capitalism

J. Atsu Amegashie

No 12177, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: According to the economics Nobel laureate, Kenneth Arrow, “… capitalism is a flawed system. It probably has the same virtues as Churchill attributed to democracy: It’s the worst system except for any other.” Thus, capitalism is a necessary evil, but it is not inherently bad. I argue that most people have a capitalist mindset but do not have the power to be capitalists. There are different intensities of capitalist mindsets and constraints on the power of capitalists. Thus, there are different types of capitalism and, as a result, different socio-economic outcomes. I discuss the relationship between capitalism and economics and conclude that the perception that economists are cheerleaders of neoliberalism and capitalism may be wrong.

Keywords: capitalism; economists; free market; power; regulation; values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-hpe, nep-inv and nep-pke
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