I don't dismiss capitalism entirely, but I'm also not distracted by the classical economist's fantasy about an abstraction or an ideal of capitalism, a fantasy that's meant to make economics seem mathematical and scientific. Capitalism regulates itself well enough to be highly innovative. That's plain from history. But what's also plain is that capitalism corrodes democracy and leads to a kleptocratic plutocracy unless the government regulates this system by preserving a welfare state for the inevitable losers in ruthless capitalist competition.