I think people have a thirst for tyrants, tragically, but I think it's a real thing. If they think that tyrant will not kill them and will merely take a nice slice out of a growing economic pie, I think they'll put up with a lack of freedom. The long-run strategy there is a bit dangerous, right? It's not obvious. And if you're not lucky, you get no political freedom and you're poor, which is what a lot of times happens also.
Economist and author Branko Milanovic of the Graduate Center, CUNY, talks about his book, Capitalism, Alone, with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. They discuss inequality, the challenge of corruption in the Chinese system, and Milanovic's claim that in American capitalism, the texture of daily life is increasingly affected by the sharing economy and other opportunities.