Is private equity what comes after capitalism?

Hettie O’Brien is the author of a book just published called -

‘The Asset Class - how private equity turned capitalism against itself’.

She gives an overview at -

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/07/capitalism-endgame-private-equity-captured-nurseries-care-homes

Her story seems a simple but disturbing one - private luxury with copious debt and public austerity without debt. She sees the absence of reporting structures in private equity as its key advantage, saying -

“As a style of ownership, private equity resembles the opposite of democracy. It concentrates power among a small group of exceptionally wealthy dealmakers who reap the benefits of society’s failure to hold them accountable.”.

She also says -

“For the last 80 years, capitalism’s principal claim to legitimacy was the idea that the economy would keep on growing, offering everyone a share in its spoils.” and -

“Instead, those on top have discovered an even easier formula for building wealth: buy up the basic tenets of our lives, heap them with debt, and push the consequences on to the little people.”.

She quotes Stefano Sgambati, an academic who has studied the behaviour of private equity firms - “The game is that you borrow, and try to have others pay for your debts.”.

Does this sound like taking a rigged game and rigging it further?

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