[AspenBeat] Understand that this former Argentine priest named Jorge Bergoglio was shaped by Argentinian economics and politics. In the early 1900’s, Argentina was wealthier on a per capita basis than Canada or Australia — it was about the tenth wealthiest country in the world.But political instability and recurrent bouts of socialism and oppressive regulations choked off the economy. Argentina has now deteriorated to the status of an undeveloped country. Inflation runs rampant, politics are unstable and corruption is everywhere.
This is what shaped Bergoglio’s views. The form of capitalism he saw was something we would describe as, at best, "cronyism."