Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few

Antitrust is a field of law that seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive practices by companies. Historically, antitrust laws have been used to break up companies that were operating as monopolies. Antitrust law has changed drastically over the last century as the economy has shifted and taken on different forms of commerce. In Chapter 5, Reich suggests that antitrust law is not as effective today as it once was because enforcement “has lost sight of its original goals: preventing large aggregations of economic power from gaining too much political influence” (44).

Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people who cannot repay debts to creditors get relief. It is one of the five building blocks of capitalism Reich discusses in Saving Capitalism. In Chapter 7, Reich explains that bankruptcy was designed so that people could start over. However, these days, the only ones starting over with ease are “big corporations, wealthy moguls, and Wall Street, who have had enough political clout to shape bankruptcy law to their needs” (59).

A CEO, or Chief Executive Officer, is the primary person responsible for managing a company. Much of Reich’s discussion in Saving Capitalism concerns compensation for CEOs, which has risen steadily since the 1980s and has skyrocketed to astronomical levels over the last decade.