In his thought-provoking column, Mark Barnes notes that it is "practically common cause that capitalism has failed to deal with economic inequality ..." (Imagine an autonomous council presiding over the fulfillment of economic ambitions, September 26). I have two observations on this statement. Capitalism exists largely in the environment of democratically elected governments, particularly in Europe and North America but also in Africa and South America. It is those governments that set the ground rules, tax structures, et al. It is governments that have allowed themselves to be duped by the very clever special pleadings of the wealthy into allowing excessive accumulation of wealth by the few to the detriment of the many who are the voting public. In thinking about the issues, I suggest one must distinguish between the conceptual economic and legal model that creates prosperity and the individuals who are able to capture large portions of wealth so created for themselves. The recent...
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