America has wildcat capitalism, where the biggest companies can use their economic might to wipe out competition, and where the corporation has a mandate by law to do everything it can to increase shareholder profits, with predictable effects on employees, the environment, and customers. Europe has a softer brand of capitalism in which companies are regulated by government, competition is protected, and the corporate boards include representation from employees and from the community.
Quietly, gradually, Europe has transformed itself into a capitalist haven, a place where profits and prices are kept in check by fierce competition among businesses, and where anti-competitive schemes are policed by active, independent regulators.
Boston Globe article by Evan Horowitz
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