I wish people would stop citing BP as an example for "failed capitalism." BP was nearly from the onset a public corporation. Closer to home, same thing with Air Canada or any other former Crown corporation gone private. Over the years, I've known quite a few people - friends in fact - who haved worked and still work for AC.
One friend of mine, an engineer, took over a calcified division of AC on the aircraft maintainance side. Some of the characters he talks about remind me of those POWs or lost soldiers who still roam the jungles of Vietnam unaware the war is over. They were so conditioned under hopelessly inefficient management while being overpaid, they literally rebelled when he came in with a mandate to clean up the division.
As for Enron, that was an anomaly; an exception. Not the rule. Still. Be prepared. There will be others. Here in Canada too. Bre-X anyone? However, it's not a reason to go all nutty on the concept of capitalism. We can use it to discuss it's shortcomings, sure, but not as an example of its alleged evils.
Over 5 000 companies (if not more) across several indices in the United States and Canada are publicly listed. And still more not listed. The overwhelming majority are not Enron's in the making. Sure, some are unprofitable and backed by subsidies and others are propped up by government cronies but as a whole, the army of small-medium sized (and true free-standing large ones) businesses keep capitalism sane.
More often than not, companies (we forget oil companies are largely owned and backed by governments. None of the major ones could possibly exist abroad without government backing) that blow up are the ones that were merged with state interests thus leading to a monopoly or even an oligarchy.
The two shouldn't mingle.
Just a perception.
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