Anti-capitalism at CNBC

It is always interesting to see what themes pre-occupy people in media appearances or public meetings where I am speaking. On this morning’s CNBC television appearance it was anti-capitalism.

It was not a subject I hand intended to focus on. I must have mentioned it in passing. But somehow it was picked up by the panel interviewing me.

I tried to emphasise that I was talking about romantic anti-capitalism rather than old-style socialism. I used the example of George Soros, a billionaire hedge fund manager, as an example of an elite figure who wanted capitalism restrained. He certainly is not pressing for a transformation to a socialist society.

Free marketeers (using the term loosely) tend to assume there is a covert left wing conspiracy behind contemporary criticisms of prosperity. They have not grasped the character of growth scepticism.