Lemon socialism

"Lemon socialism" is a pejorative term for government support of private-sector companies whose imminent collapse is perceived to threaten broader economic stability. Some assert it is not a subcategory of socialism per se; rather, it points to a corruption of free market capitalist systems, which would normally allow defective companies ("lemons") to fail. The most common government interventions that earn the term involve infusions of government capital, as in bailouts, and may include some government control over company decision-making, as in nationalization. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in the United States has been cited as an example of lemon socialism.

Origin

Mark J. Green believes that he coined the phrase in a 1974 article discussing the utility company, Con Ed. However, the sentiment was expressed in the adage “Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor”, which was in use by the 1960s, and the notion of privatizing profits and socializing losses dates at least to 1834 and Andrew Jackson's closing of the Second Bank of the United States.

Other languages

In Icelandic, lemon socialism is known as "Sósíalismi andskotans", meaning "the devil's socialism", a term coined by Vilmundur Jónsson (1889–1971, Iceland's Surgeon General) in the 1930s to criticize alleged crony capitalism in Landsbanki, which term has gained renewed currency in the debate over the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis. Lemon socialism, or more precisely crony capitalism, is also referred to as Pilsfaldakapítalismi, meaning "skirt capitalism", pilsfaldur being the hemline of the skirt, and the term referring to children hiding behind their mothers' skirts after having done something wrong, to criticize the alleged lack of transparency in dealings and reluctance to deal with bad consequences by themselves.

See also

• Gresham's law
• "Too big to fail"