R&L: Why did you want to write this book? Tell us what crony capitalism means to you and give us a sense of its greatest threat.
Peter Schweizer: I wanted to write the book because for years I’ve been involved in policy and the philosophical debate in D.C. concerning the growth and size of government. I’ve come to the conclusion that while that debate is important and needs to continue to take place, the bottom line is that whether conservatives or liberals are in charge, the government continues to expand.
We’ve got to change the incentive structure that exists in Washington, and that incentive structure is driven by cronyism, where the state and private sector intersect. If I were to define crony-capitalism, I really use the term cronyism because I don’t think that it speaks of capitalism per se, but cronyism is essentially where economic decisions in terms of who accumulates wealth and who doesn’t, is not based on merit, it’s not based on economic prowess or success or meeting needs in the marketplace. It’s based on political connections and relationships whereby you are able to either manipulate the state to your advantage, and to the disadvantage of your competitors.