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Is capitalism the engine of destruction or the engine of prosperity? On this podcast we talk about the ways capitalism is—or more often isn’t—working in our world today. Hosted by Vanity Fair contributing editor, Bethany McLean and world renowned economics professor Luigi Zingales, we explain how capitalism can go wrong, and what we can do to fix it.
If you would like to send us feedback, suggestions for guests we should bring on, or connect with Bethany and Luigi, please email: contact at capitalisnt dot com. If you like our show, we'd greatly appreciate you giving us a rating or a review. It helps other listeners find us too.
Is capitalism the engine of destruction or the engine of prosperity? On this podcast we talk about the ways capitalism is—or more often isn’t—working in our world today. Hosted by Vanity Fair contributing editor, Bethany McLean and world renowned economics professor Luigi Zingales, we explain how capitalism can go wrong, and what we can do to fix it.
If you would like to send us feedback, suggestions for guests we should bring on, or connect with Bethany and Luigi, please email: contact at capitalisnt dot com. If you like our show, we'd greatly appreciate you giving us a rating or a review. It helps other listeners find us too.
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Here's a quick summary of the last 5 episodes on Capitalisn't.
Hosts
Bethany McLean
Luigi Zingales
Previous Guests
John Morley
John Morley is the Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law at Yale University, specializing in the economics of law. He has extensive expertise in the intersection of law and economics, particularly in the context of corporate law and the implications of political pressures on legal practices.
John Morley is the Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law at Yale University, specializing in the economics of law. He has extensive expertise in the intersection of law and economics, particularly in the context of corporate law and the implications of political pressures on legal practices.
Rose Chan Loui
Rose Chan Loui is the founding executive director of the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA Law. She has a strong background in nonprofit management and philanthropy, and is known for her work in exploring the intersection of corporate governance and charitable organizations. Rose is also a co-author of the paper 'Board Control of a Charity's Subsidiaries: The Saga of OpenAI,' which discusses the complexities of nonprofit governance in the context of OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model.
Rose Chan Loui is the founding executive director of the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA Law. She has a strong background in nonprofit management and philanthropy, and is known for her work in exploring the intersection of corporate governance and charitable organizations. Rose is also a co-author of the paper 'Board Control of a Charity's Subsidiaries: The Saga of OpenAI,' which discusses the complexities of nonprofit governance in the context of OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model.
Curtis Yarvin
Curtis Yarvin is a software engineer and political theorist known for his controversial views on governance and society. He is a leading figure in the Dark Enlightenment movement, which critiques modern democracy and advocates for a return to authoritarian governance structures. Yarvin has written extensively on the subject, proposing ideas such as the breakup of the nation-state into smaller, corporate-controlled city-states. His work has gained attention in political and tech circles, particularly for its influence on figures in Silicon Valley.
Curtis Yarvin is a software engineer and political theorist known for his controversial views on governance and society. He is a leading figure in the Dark Enlightenment movement, which critiques modern democracy and advocates for a return to authoritarian governance structures. Yarvin has written extensively on the subject, proposing ideas such as the breakup of the nation-state into smaller, corporate-controlled city-states. His work has gained attention in political and tech circles, particularly for its influence on figures in Silicon Valley.
JD Vance
J.D. Vance is an American author, venture capitalist, and politician. He gained national recognition for his memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy,' which discusses his upbringing in a working-class family in Ohio. Vance has served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and is known for his views on social issues and economic policy, often advocating for the interests of the working class. His political career has been marked by a focus on the intersection of technology and traditional values.
J.D. Vance is an American author, venture capitalist, and politician. He gained national recognition for his memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy,' which discusses his upbringing in a working-class family in Ohio. Vance has served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio and is known for his views on social issues and economic policy, often advocating for the interests of the working class. His political career has been marked by a focus on the intersection of technology and traditional values.
Steve Bannon
Steve Bannon is an American political strategist, media executive, and former investment banker. He served as the chief strategist for President Donald Trump during his first year in office. Bannon is known for his role in the alt-right movement and his advocacy for populist and nationalist policies. He has been a controversial figure in American politics, often associated with the promotion of conspiracy theories and anti-establishment rhetoric.
Steve Bannon is an American political strategist, media executive, and former investment banker. He served as the chief strategist for President Donald Trump during his first year in office. Bannon is known for his role in the alt-right movement and his advocacy for populist and nationalist policies. He has been a controversial figure in American politics, often associated with the promotion of conspiracy theories and anti-establishment rhetoric.
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is a billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. He co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook. Thiel is known for his libertarian views and has been a vocal supporter of various controversial political movements. He has also been involved in several tech startups and is recognized for his influence in Silicon Valley, particularly in discussions around technology's role in society and governance.
Peter Thiel is a billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. He co-founded PayPal and was an early investor in Facebook. Thiel is known for his libertarian views and has been a vocal supporter of various controversial political movements. He has also been involved in several tech startups and is recognized for his influence in Silicon Valley, particularly in discussions around technology's role in society and governance.
Marc Andreessen
Marc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer, best known for co-founding Netscape, one of the first web browsers. He is a prominent figure in Silicon Valley and a co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen has been influential in the tech industry and is known for his insights on technology, innovation, and the future of the internet. He has also engaged in discussions about the intersection of technology and politics.
Marc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer, best known for co-founding Netscape, one of the first web browsers. He is a prominent figure in Silicon Valley and a co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen has been influential in the tech industry and is known for his insights on technology, innovation, and the future of the internet. He has also engaged in discussions about the intersection of technology and politics.
Sam Peltzman
Sam Peltzman is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is recognized as perhaps the leading living expert on the economics of regulation. Peltzman has also served as the director emeritus of the Stigler Center, which is named after his mentor, Nobel-Prize laureate George Stigler. His work focuses on the implications of regulation and deregulation in various sectors, including health care and finance.
Sam Peltzman is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. He is recognized as perhaps the leading living expert on the economics of regulation. Peltzman has also served as the director emeritus of the Stigler Center, which is named after his mentor, Nobel-Prize laureate George Stigler. His work focuses on the implications of regulation and deregulation in various sectors, including health care and finance.
Nicholas Dirks
Nicholas Dirks is an academic leader and former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, serving from 2013 to 2017. He is known for his deep experience in higher education debates and has authored the book 'City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.' His work often focuses on the challenges facing modern universities, including issues of governance, funding, and the impact of political actions on higher education.
Nicholas Dirks is an academic leader and former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, serving from 2013 to 2017. He is known for his deep experience in higher education debates and has authored the book 'City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University.' His work often focuses on the challenges facing modern universities, including issues of governance, funding, and the impact of political actions on higher education.
Topics Discussed
rule of law
liberal democracy
capitalism
law firms
executive orders
diversity
equity
inclusion
political adversaries
pro bono services
business models
political attacks
collective-action response
nonprofits
OpenAI
AI for humanity
profit vs purpose
corporate governance
philanthropy
Sam Altman
Elon Musk
lawsuit
Silicon Valley
Dark Enlightenment
Donald Trump
political philosophy
authoritarian city-states
accelerationism
artificial intelligence
Freedom Cities
deregulation
laissez-faire capitalism
economics of regulation
COVID-19 vaccine
cryptocurrencies
Silicon Valley Bank
climate change
Trump's war on universities
research funding
higher education
free speech
diversity initiatives
university governance
fundraising
Nobel laureate George J. Stigler founded the Center for the Study of the Economy and the State at the University of Chicago in 1977. From its inception, the Center has been a joint enterprise of economists and legal scholars. We organize events, run a podcast (Capitalisn't), a publication (ProMarket), and engage with academics, policymakers, and the public at large.
The rule of law is essential to the flourishing of liberal democracy and capitalism. Yet, it is now under pressure in the United States, and corporate law firms are in the eye of the storm. Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders against several prominent law firms that represented his political adversaries and promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Some of these law firms have caved into the administration’s demands to end such practices and provide pro bono services to the government, whereas others are fighting back.
To discuss the financial reasons why some firms have capitulated while others have held out, and what the consequences are for the survival of the rule of law, Bethany and Luigi speak to John Morley, Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law at Yale University and an expert on the economics of law. Are Trump’s orders unconstitutional, and if so, why have so many law firms reached a deal with him? How have changes to law firms’ business models left them particularly vulnerable to a moment like this? Why are some firms more vulnerable to political attacks than others? Together, the three discuss the firms’ reciprocal agreements with the administration, the possibilities for a collective-action response, and how this moment may profoundly reshape the future of law, democracy, and capitalism in America.
Show Notes:
Watch a recording of the panel “Antitrust and the 1st Amendment” from the 2025 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference, featuring Greg Day, Eleanor Fox, and Matt Stoller, and moderated by Maciej Bernatt. The panel highlights how antitrust may stand in the way of collective action, competitive markets, and free speech.
The rule of law is essential to the flourishing of liberal democracy and capitalism. Yet, it is now under pressure in the United States, and corporate law firms are in the eye of the storm. Over the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders against several prominent law firms that represented his political adversaries and promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Some of these law firms have caved into the administration’s demands to end such practices and provide pro bono services to the government, whereas others are fighting back.
To discuss the financial reasons why some firms have capitulated while others have held out, and what the consequences are for the survival of the rule of law, Bethany and Luigi speak to John Morley, Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law at Yale University and an expert on the economics of law. Are Trump’s orders unconstitutional, and if so, why have so many law firms reached a deal with him? How have changes to law firms’ business models left them particularly vulnerable to a moment like this? Why are some firms more vulnerable to political attacks than others? Together, the three discuss the firms’ reciprocal agreements with the administration, the possibilities for a collective-action response, and how this moment may profoundly reshape the future of law, democracy, and capitalism in America.
Show Notes:
Watch a recording of the panel “Antitrust and the 1st Amendment” from the 2025 Stigler Center Antitrust and Competition Conference, featuring Greg Day, Eleanor Fox, and Matt Stoller, and moderated by Maciej Bernatt. The panel highlights how antitrust may stand in the way of collective action, competitive markets, and free speech.
0:0047:35
Profit or Purpose? OpenAI's $300 Billion Question, with Rose Chan Loui
Hosts
Hosts of this podcast episode
Bethany McLeanLuigi Zingales
Guests
Guests of this podcast episode
Rose Chan Loui
Keywords
Keywords of this podcast episode
capitalismnonprofitsOpenAIAI for humanityprofit vs purposecorporate governancephilanthropySam AltmanElon Musklawsuit
All too often, capitalism is identified with the for-profit sector. However, one organizational form whose importance is often overlooked is nonprofits. Roughly 4% of the American economy, including most universities and hospital systems, are nonprofit.
One prominent nonprofit currently at the center of a raging debate is OpenAI, the $300 billion American artificial intelligence research organization best known for developing ChatGPT. Founded in 2015 as a donation-based nonprofit with a mission to build AI for humanity, it created a complex “hybrid capped profit” governance structure in 2019. Then, after a dramatic firing and re-hiring of CEO Sam Altman in 2023 (covered on an earlier episode of Capitalisn’t: “Who Controls AI?”), a new board of directors announced that achieving OpenAI’s mission would require far more capital than philanthropic donations could provide and initiated a process to transition to a for-profit public benefit corporation. This process has been fraught with corporate drama, including one early OpenAI investor, Elon Musk, filing a lawsuit to stop the process and launching a $97.4 billion unsolicited bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm.
Beyond the staggering valuation numbers at stake here–not to mention OpenAI’s open pursuit of profits over the public good–are complicated legal and philosophical questions. Namely, what happens when corporate leaders violate the founding purpose of a firm? To discuss, Luigi and Bethany are joined by Rose Chan Loui, the founding executive director of the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA Law and co-author of the paper "Board Control of a Charity’s Subsidiaries: The Saga of OpenAI.” Is OpenAI a “textbook case of altruism vs. greed,” as the judge overseeing the case declared? Is AI for everyone, or only for investors? Together, they discuss how money can distort purpose and philanthropy, precedents for this case, where it might go next, and how it may shape the future of capitalism itself.
Show Notes:
Read extensive coverage of the Musk-OpenAI lawsuit on ProMarket, including Luigi’s article from March 2024: “Why Musk Is Right About OpenAI.”
Guest Disclosure (provided to The Conversation for an op-ed on the case): The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article. They have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
All too often, capitalism is identified with the for-profit sector. However, one organizational form whose importance is often overlooked is nonprofits. Roughly 4% of the American economy, including most universities and hospital systems, are nonprofit.
One prominent nonprofit currently at the center of a raging debate is OpenAI, the $300 billion American artificial intelligence research organization best known for developing ChatGPT. Founded in 2015 as a donation-based nonprofit with a mission to build AI for humanity, it created a complex “hybrid capped profit” governance structure in 2019. Then, after a dramatic firing and re-hiring of CEO Sam Altman in 2023 (covered on an earlier episode of Capitalisn’t: “Who Controls AI?”), a new board of directors announced that achieving OpenAI’s mission would require far more capital than philanthropic donations could provide and initiated a process to transition to a for-profit public benefit corporation. This process has been fraught with corporate drama, including one early OpenAI investor, Elon Musk, filing a lawsuit to stop the process and launching a $97.4 billion unsolicited bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm.
Beyond the staggering valuation numbers at stake here–not to mention OpenAI’s open pursuit of profits over the public good–are complicated legal and philosophical questions. Namely, what happens when corporate leaders violate the founding purpose of a firm? To discuss, Luigi and Bethany are joined by Rose Chan Loui, the founding executive director of the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA Law and co-author of the paper "Board Control of a Charity’s Subsidiaries: The Saga of OpenAI.” Is OpenAI a “textbook case of altruism vs. greed,” as the judge overseeing the case declared? Is AI for everyone, or only for investors? Together, they discuss how money can distort purpose and philanthropy, precedents for this case, where it might go next, and how it may shape the future of capitalism itself.
Show Notes:
Read extensive coverage of the Musk-OpenAI lawsuit on ProMarket, including Luigi’s article from March 2024: “Why Musk Is Right About OpenAI.”
Guest Disclosure (provided to The Conversation for an op-ed on the case): The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article. They have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Silicon Valley’s traditionally Democratic tech leaders are turning toward President Donald Trump, but are the reasons as straightforward as lower taxes and favorable regulations? Perhaps not, if we consider the influence of a convoluted political philosophy called the “Dark Enlightenment.” Washington and Silicon Valley power players, including Vice President JD Vance, Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen, have all cited the philosophy’s ideas and one of its leading developers, Curtis Yarvin. Yarvin was reportedly present at Trump’s inaugural gala as an informal guest of honor.
In a nutshell, Dark Enlightenment rejects liberal democracy as an outdated software system incompatible with freedom and progress. Instead, it argues for breaking up the nation-state into smaller authoritarian city-states, which Yarvin calls “patchworks.” These patchworks will be controlled by tech corporations and run by CEOs. The theory is attached to another idea called accelerationism, which harnesses capitalism and technology to induce radical social change. In fact, Yarvin proposed a plan he called “RAGE”—or “Retire All Government Employees”—as far back as 2012.
So, how did this obscure and oxymoronically named philosophy reach the highest echelons of business and political power? Bethany and Luigi trace the theory from its origins to its practical manifestations in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Silicon Valley’s race to develop artificial intelligence, and the growing push for “Freedom Cities” unfettered from federal regulations. Are the people embracing Dark Enlightenment espousing its ideas because they genuinely believe it is the way forward for humanity? Or do they believe it because it's a way for them to make money? What does it mean for capitalism and democracy if the administration runs the federal government like a tech company?
Silicon Valley’s traditionally Democratic tech leaders are turning toward President Donald Trump, but are the reasons as straightforward as lower taxes and favorable regulations? Perhaps not, if we consider the influence of a convoluted political philosophy called the “Dark Enlightenment.” Washington and Silicon Valley power players, including Vice President JD Vance, Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel, and Marc Andreessen, have all cited the philosophy’s ideas and one of its leading developers, Curtis Yarvin. Yarvin was reportedly present at Trump’s inaugural gala as an informal guest of honor.
In a nutshell, Dark Enlightenment rejects liberal democracy as an outdated software system incompatible with freedom and progress. Instead, it argues for breaking up the nation-state into smaller authoritarian city-states, which Yarvin calls “patchworks.” These patchworks will be controlled by tech corporations and run by CEOs. The theory is attached to another idea called accelerationism, which harnesses capitalism and technology to induce radical social change. In fact, Yarvin proposed a plan he called “RAGE”—or “Retire All Government Employees”—as far back as 2012.
So, how did this obscure and oxymoronically named philosophy reach the highest echelons of business and political power? Bethany and Luigi trace the theory from its origins to its practical manifestations in Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Silicon Valley’s race to develop artificial intelligence, and the growing push for “Freedom Cities” unfettered from federal regulations. Are the people embracing Dark Enlightenment espousing its ideas because they genuinely believe it is the way forward for humanity? Or do they believe it because it's a way for them to make money? What does it mean for capitalism and democracy if the administration runs the federal government like a tech company?
0:0045:07
Why Trump Is Deregulating In The Wrong Way, with Sam Peltzman
Hosts
Hosts of this podcast episode
Bethany McLeanLuigi Zingales
Guests
Guests of this podcast episode
Sam Peltzman
Keywords
Keywords of this podcast episode
deregulationlaissez-faire capitalismeconomics of regulationCOVID-19 vaccinecryptocurrenciesSilicon Valley Bankclimate change
In President Donald Trump's recent joint address to Congress, he said, "To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every one new regulation, ten old regulations must be eliminated." Elon Musk, whom Trump has assigned to execute this vision, has argued that it is time to get rid of all regulations, or as Musk said, “regulations, basically, should be default gone.”
Joining Bethany and Luigi to discuss this intensified commitment to deregulation and laissez-faire capitalism is Sam Peltzman, perhaps the leading living expert on the economics of regulation. Peltzman is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and director emeritus of the Stigler Center, which sponsors this podcast and is named after his mentor, Nobel-Prize laureate George Stigler. Together, the three of them chart a historical perspective on regulation, from Stigler’s ideas of regulatory capture to the unintended consequences of deregulatory efforts over time to today’s “chainsaw” approach to gutting federal agencies. To understand the costs and benefits of regulation, they discuss how federal agencies have recently intervened in markets, if the private sector could not have accomplished these interventions more efficiently, and if these interventions did more harm than good. Their case studies include the funding, testing, and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the regulation of cryptocurrencies, the management of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the role of the government in addressing climate change. In the process, they answer the trillion-dollar question: Are Trump's deregulation efforts actually efficient?
Episode Notes:
Revisit our recent episode with Federico Sturzenegger, the Argentinian Minister for State Transformation and Deregulation
In President Donald Trump's recent joint address to Congress, he said, "To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every one new regulation, ten old regulations must be eliminated." Elon Musk, whom Trump has assigned to execute this vision, has argued that it is time to get rid of all regulations, or as Musk said, “regulations, basically, should be default gone.”
Joining Bethany and Luigi to discuss this intensified commitment to deregulation and laissez-faire capitalism is Sam Peltzman, perhaps the leading living expert on the economics of regulation. Peltzman is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and director emeritus of the Stigler Center, which sponsors this podcast and is named after his mentor, Nobel-Prize laureate George Stigler. Together, the three of them chart a historical perspective on regulation, from Stigler’s ideas of regulatory capture to the unintended consequences of deregulatory efforts over time to today’s “chainsaw” approach to gutting federal agencies. To understand the costs and benefits of regulation, they discuss how federal agencies have recently intervened in markets, if the private sector could not have accomplished these interventions more efficiently, and if these interventions did more harm than good. Their case studies include the funding, testing, and rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the regulation of cryptocurrencies, the management of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and the role of the government in addressing climate change. In the process, they answer the trillion-dollar question: Are Trump's deregulation efforts actually efficient?
Episode Notes:
Revisit our recent episode with Federico Sturzenegger, the Argentinian Minister for State Transformation and Deregulation
Trump's war on universitiesresearch fundinghigher educationfree speechdiversity initiativesartificial intelligenceuniversity governancefundraising
Skyrocketing costs of attendance, declining enrollment, the advent of artificial intelligence, campus debates about free speech, and a crackdown on diversity initiatives: Today's universities are in a pickle. Adding to this pickle are President Trump's threats and actions on slashing research funding — the financial lifeline of modern universities. Last month, the Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a new survey of a diverse group of university presidents who were asked if they “believe the Trump Administration is at war with higher education” — and 94% answered they strongly agree.
Luigi and Bethany speak to one academic leader with deep experience at the heart of these debates: Nicholas Dirks, former Chancellor of UC Berkeley (2013-2017) and author of the book, "City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University." Together, the three of them discuss which idea of the university is still valid in the 21st century, how fundraising changed the governance of higher education, and how universities might navigate the challenges of Trump's second administration.
Skyrocketing costs of attendance, declining enrollment, the advent of artificial intelligence, campus debates about free speech, and a crackdown on diversity initiatives: Today's universities are in a pickle. Adding to this pickle are President Trump's threats and actions on slashing research funding — the financial lifeline of modern universities. Last month, the Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted a new survey of a diverse group of university presidents who were asked if they “believe the Trump Administration is at war with higher education” — and 94% answered they strongly agree.
Luigi and Bethany speak to one academic leader with deep experience at the heart of these debates: Nicholas Dirks, former Chancellor of UC Berkeley (2013-2017) and author of the book, "City of Intellect: The Uses and Abuses of the University." Together, the three of them discuss which idea of the university is still valid in the 21st century, how fundraising changed the governance of higher education, and how universities might navigate the challenges of Trump's second administration.