Kansas Needs More Capitalism, Not Cronyism or Socialism

Originally published at the Kansas Policy Institute.

Gallup recently found that just 54% of Americans now view capitalism positively, the lowest share since they began asking the question in 2010. That’s down from 60% in 2021, which is about where it has been since at least 2010. Meanwhile, 39% still view socialism positively, a number that hasn’t changed much overall but masks troubling increases among Democrats, where two-thirds now rate socialism favorably.

This decline in confidence in capitalism should concern every Kansan. Not because capitalism is failing — but because it’s being misunderstood, deliberately misrepresented, and too often replaced with crony corporatism and creeping socialism.

What Capitalism Really Means

At its core, capitalism is just another word for free enterprise. Gallup shows that 81% of Americans view free enterprise positively, and 95% view small business favorably. That’s capitalism in action. It’s families starting businesses, farmers innovating to feed more people, and entrepreneurs creating value through voluntary exchange. It’s not government subsidies, bailouts, or backroom deals.

Capitalism is simply the freedom for people to make choices, take risks, and keep the rewards (or losses) that follow. And it has done more to lift people out of poverty than any system in human history. Globally, the spread of free markets has brought billions out of extreme poverty since the 1980s. That’s not a coincidence — it’s the power of voluntary exchange and open competition.

Kansas Isn’t Practicing Real Capitalism

The problem isn’t capitalism. The problem is that in Kansas, let alone Washington, DC, too often what we see is crony corporatism dressed up as capitalism.

Take the Panasonic battery plant deal in De Soto. The state promised $829 million in taxpayer incentives to lure a company that would deliver thousands of jobs. But EV demand has slipped, production is delayed, and Kansans are left holding the bag. That’s not free enterprise. That’s the government trying to pick winners and leaving taxpayers with the risks.

Meanwhile, ordinary Kansans face rising state and local taxes per person of $6,326, among the highest in the region. Property taxes have more than doubled in the last 25 years, even as many rural counties are losing population. That’s not capitalism either. That’s the government expanding its footprint while families and businesses get squeezed.

Cronyism vs. Socialism vs. Capitalism

Cronyism is when government and big business collude — handing out subsidies, tax breaks, or regulatory favors to the well-connected. Socialism is when the government itself takes over the commanding heights of the economy, directing resources by political decree. Both undermine freedom and prosperity.

Capitalism, by contrast, relies on profits and losses to guide progress. If a business succeeds in serving customers, it earns profits that allow it to grow, employ more people, pay higher wages, etc.. If it fails, it loses resources, freeing them up for better uses. When government steps in with subsidies or bailouts, it breaks that feedback loop, rewarding inefficiency and punishing the people who play by the rules.

That’s why Americans instinctively love small businesses but distrust “big business.” Gallup found that only 37% now view big business positively, down from 58% a decade ago. People don’t dislike the idea of markets; they dislike systems rigged against them.

Kansas’s Choice

Kansas is at a crossroads. It can double down on the tired game of corporate welfare, expanding government programs and hoping central planners in Topeka can steer the economy. That path leads to more deficits, higher taxes, and continued outmigration of nearly 100,000 residents in the last decade.

Or it can embrace real capitalism — the kind that trusts families, workers, and entrepreneurs to drive growth. That means creating a level playing field, cutting red tape, and letting voluntary exchange work its magic.

The Gallup poll is a warning sign: Americans’ faith in capitalism is slipping because too often they see cronyism or government expansion masquerading as free enterprise. Kansas has a chance to remind people what capitalism really is and why it works.

Because at the end of the day, capitalism is just another way of saying freedom — the freedom to create, to trade, to prosper, and yes, to fail. It’s the system that built America, lifted billions, and can still ensure Kansas remains a place where people choose to live, work, and thrive.