Expert: Millennials don’t like capitalism because they haven’t really seen it

How do you explain capitalism to people whose view of the free market has been distorted? Author and business executive Steve Odland joined Wednesday’s “The Morning Blaze with Doc Thompson” to list the merits of capitalism and explain what we need to do to return to a free market.

While capitalism is the best economic system available, people in the U.S. today often don’t see real capitalism at work because of crony capitalism, which involves practices like government subsidies and regulations pushed by lobbyists, Odland explained.

Co-authored “Sustaining Capitalism: Bipartisan Solutions to Restore Trust & Prosperity” with Joe Minarik, Odland is part of the Committee for Economic Development, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group that has been influencing economic issues since 1942. He asserted that our country has always relied on business leaders to influence policy.

Activists are fighting for policies that are good for a company’s shareholders in the short term but ultimately damage the market, Odland explained, calling this practice an “eat the seed corn mentality.”

Business leaders have a responsibility to end crony capitalism and to educate people on how the free market really works.

“We have a fragile system,” Odland said. “Words matter.”

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