The only thing I know about Rainer Zitelmann is what I learned about his work while translating his 2023 book In Defense of Capitalism: Debunking the Myths (to Swedish: Myter om kapitalism).
It wasn't the greatest read of my life, but Zitelmann is a prolific writer with an incredible chip on his shoulder, so he won't stop working and won't stop producing material—largely, though, in the German-speaking world.
He apparently has a new book out (shocker...) called The Origins of Poverty and Wealth —and he does what any self-respecting intellectual does when that's the case: Write something for the Wall Street Journal!
So here he is, writing about the very lovely and (lovable!) character Ayn Rand, the "high priestess of reason"
In contrast to the economists and political philosophers she admired, she wrote novel. And novels, she thought, were "the most compelling kind of propaganda":
Still: this, as Zitelmann writes in the Opinion piece, is damn right:
"The historical evidence supporting capitalism is so convincing that it’s difficult to understand why some people view it so negatively"
...and he says that
Modern criticism of capitalism persists because emotions rather than facts and figures tend to sway public opinion.
Not sure that's the entire reason, but sure: ignorance + malice explains a LOT.
Whatcha think, Stackers?
non-paywalled here: https://archive.md/LiuCg