THE POINT OF AN ECONOMY IS TO GENERATE WEALTH:

The growing rift between business and a Trumpified GOP marinating in grievance and paranoia should be opening doors for Democrats. But they've got a business problem of their own, namely the high media profile of leftwing activists who are reflexively hostile to our largest and most successful companies.  

Listen to almost any speech by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) or members of the "Squad," and it quickly becomes apparent who the villains are in their anti-capitalist morality play: billionaires and big corporations. As they tell it, these sinister forces have rigged the economic game, crushed the working class, enfeebled unions, pushed inequality to record levels and corrupted our elected representatives with campaign cash.  

As with most conspiracy theories, there are shards of truth in this dark narrative. But much is left out. The same "Big Tech" and e-commerce companies that some Democrats threaten to break up helped Americans stay connected to family and friends, keep working and learning, and shop without leaving home during the pandemic shutdowns. They also generated the most robust job growth during the COVID recession. Major drug companies, ritually flayed by politicians for high prices, also have banked good karma by coming up with highly sophisticated and effective COVID vaccines in record time. 

No one thinks America's economy is working as it should, but there's scant evidence that voters are ready to trade free markets for democratic socialism. There's a strong public appetite for building a fairer society and a more inclusive prosperity, as President Biden's Build Back Better agenda aims to do. 

But Americans also want a more dynamic private sector that generates lots of new jobs and avenues for career advancement, as well as the new private wealth that enables more generous social investment and redistribution.

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