Ukraine’ s troubled state has long been dominated by its oligarchs. But across the emerging world the relationship between politics and business has become fraught. India’ s election in April and May will in part be a plebiscite on a decade of crony capitalism. Turkey’ s prime minister is engulfed by scandals involving construction firms-- millions of Turks have clicked on YouTube recordings that purport to incriminate him.

As in America at the turn of the 20th century, a new middle class is flexing its muscles, this time on a global scale. People want politicians who don’ t line their pockets, and tycoons who compete without favors. A revolution to save capitalism from the capitalists is under way.

“Rent -seeking” (寻租) is what economists call a special type of money-making: the sort made possible by political connections. This can range from outright graft to a lack of competition, poor regulation and the transfer of public assets to firms at bargain prices. Well-placed people have made their fortunes this way ever since rulers had enough power to issue profitable licenses, permits and contracts to their cronies. In America, this system reached its apogee in the late 19th century, and a long and partially successful struggle against robber barons ensued. Antitrust rules broke monopolies such as Rockefeller’ s Standard Oil (洛克菲勒的美孚石油公司) . The flow of bribes to senators shrank.

Capitalism based on rent-seeking is not just unfair, but also bad for long-term growth. As our briefing on India explains, resources are misallocated: crummy roads are often the work of crony firms. Competition is repressed: Mexicans pay too much for their phones. Dynamic new firms are stifled by better-connected incumbents. And if linked to the financing of politics, rent-heavy capitalism sets a tone at the top that can let petty graft flourish. When ministers are on the take, why shouldn’ t underpaid junior officials be?