Why did America’s Food and Drug Administration approve an expensive antibiotic that was no better than a cheap generic? Because the FDA is an example of ‘state capture’ by commercial companies.
This is a problem that concerns conservatives as well as left-wing ‘radicals’ who still believe they can fix capitalism by undoing ‘state capture’ and decoupling profit from human welfare.
But the state was always ‘captured’, in the sense that it was created and paid for by the rich to mediate their business affairs. It’s not there for your benefit. A 2015 study concluded that ‘economic elites and organized interest groups play a substantial part in affecting public policy, but the general public has little or no independent influence.’
If you’re under the impression that you pay for the state through your taxes, you might like to read this.