The Failure of Crony Capitalism (Henceforth Known as "CRAPitalism"): Q&A with Gene Epstein

"There's government failure and there's market failure," says Barron's economics writer Gene Epstein. "Government failure is far more prevalent." 

At FreedomFest 2011, Reason's Nick Gillespie sat down with Barron's columnist  Epstein to talk about his book Econospinning and the failure of what Epstein seens as widespread crony capitialism or "crapitalism." Characters such as former Countrywide Financial CEO Angelo Mozilo, says Epstein, don't really operate in a true profit-and-loss system. Rather, they make money through primarily through political connections and gaming a system they help to rig in the first place.

Held each July in Las Vegas, FreedomFest is attended by around 2,000 libertarians and advocates of limited government. Reason.tv spoke with over two dozen speakers and attendees and will be releasing interviews over the coming weeks. For an ever-growing playlist, go here now.

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About 6 minutes. Interview by Nick Gillespie. Camera by Jim Epstein and Zach Weissmueller. Edited by Alex Manning.