What we think of as 'capitalism', in many ways is more akin to mercantilism or oligarchy. Corruption is basically codified as 'lobbying', and governments enact

What we think of as 'capitalism', in many ways is more akin to mercantilism or oligarchy. Corruption is basically codified as 'lobbying', and governments enact all sorts of stupid laws to the benefit of large, incumbent corporations, preventing the free market from actually functioning. And of course, these unnatural barriers to competition allow inefficiencies, concentration of wealth, and so on. The 'free market' is somewhat of a myth. The west has never truly had 'free markets', in the past monopolies have been bought, wealthy merchants, nobility and corporations have patronized governments and monarchs, and tariffs and subsidies have been ever-present. The current arguments for free markets have to do with price discovery, personal freedom and 'fairness', however we need to realize that these sacred cows are myths, and that if we want to build a better society, it may be time to rethink exactly how we distribute resources.