Tomorrow night, C-SPAN2 will air a talk by Steve Simpson, ARI’s director of legal studies, titled “Cronyism, Corruption and Government Power.” Mr. Simpson gave the talk on October 4 for the Hungry Minds Speaker Series in Denver, Colorado. Steve’s talk is currently scheduled to be broadcast at 8 PM EST, although C-SPAN broadcast times are subject to change, so check the website the day of the broadcast for exact times. The talk will then be rebroadcast on other C-SPAN networks. It is now also available here.

Here’s a brief description of Steve’s talk:

Criticisms of “cronyism” emanate from all political quarters today, whether left, right or libertarian. Money and influence are corrupting our government, complain the critics. Special interests rule politics. Our system is rigged for the big guy and against the little guy. It’s not capitalism, goes the common refrain, but “crony capitalism.” There is some truth to these criticisms, but great confusion as well. Tragically, that confusion leads us to misunderstand the cause of cronyism, to treat many of its victims as perpetrators, and, to exacerbate the very problem the critics of cronyism are trying to solve. This talk will expose the true evil at the root of cronyism and explain what to do about it.