I don't necessarily think the author thought the old system was better. The author seems to think the old system was well-understood and government regulation w

I don't necessarily think the author thought the old system was better. The author seems to think the old system was well-understood and government regulation was better equipped to control it; the new system requires new thinking and possibly new policy that would have been anathema in the past (Americans have an unhealthy aversion to "resource redistribution" tax policy as a principle, in spite of how much it is practiced. In an economy where money is flowing with heavy concentration at points because audiences are no longer geographically captive, that kind of tax policy may become necessary to prevent the economy from shutting down due to lack of purchasing power---or to prevent revolt due to general anger at large wealth disparities).