Inheritors of wealth seem to be more likely to be socialist than the initial creator of wealth. My theory is that the heirs are less likely to be as smart and savvy as the founder, which creates a concern for their ability to compete. Meanwhile, over the years and generations, they've accumulated contacts and relationships with members of the political class, which creates a competitive advantage to the degree that government has power over the economy.
“Inheritors of wealth seem to be more likely to be socialist than the initial creator of wealth.”
Agree. We’ve seen this. There’s a piece of guilt over the unearned wealth as well.
An owner of a more mature business may or may not be as smart or savvy as the one who created the enterprise; A more mature business is arguably more vulnerable to competition just because it has been around for longer, naturally breeding imitators. The inheritor of same may be perfectly as savvy as the originator but applies that “wisdom” to preservation versus creation. And, one could argue that in an earlier era, it took less smarts to create a business than wangling one’s way through the current maze of regs that impinge upon the business.
And, I completely omitted mention of the “crony” type of capitalist who seeks to utilize the influence of government to protect their enterprise from competition. Others posted about this phenom.