Amid all the strange, alarming and exciting things that have happened lately, the fact that real long-term (30-year) interest rates have fallen to zero has been largely overlooked. Yet this is the end of capitalism, at least as it has traditionally been understood.

Interest is the pure form of return to capital, excluding any return to monopoly power, corporate control, managerial skills or compensation for risk. If there is no real return to capital, then then there is no capitalism.

Not just a result of the pandemic. A trend that goes back to the GFC.

Of course, there is no sign that the replacement for capitalism (let's call it plutocracy for now) will be an improvement.