With Democrats becoming more assertive in their embrace of socialists such as Bernie Sanders and Zohran Mamdani, the abundance and prosperity we enjoy in a free-market economy are under threat.
But free market capitalism is also threatened by the corporate embrace of unscrupulous business practices. There is a disturbing modern management philosophy that seeks to financialize all aspects of a business’s operations by mining every possible dollar from each customer engagement. This may produce short-term gains, but it destroys long-term brand equity, and more importantly, it erodes consumer trust. By treating customers as prey, unethical executives are providing ammunition to the enemies of free markets.
