There’s definitely evidence that capitalism at its most ruthless rewards psychopathic behavior. When you look at the worst corners of the American health insurance industry or the sub-prime banking market, it really feels like the more psychopathically someone behaves, the more it’s rewarded.

Ronson argues that certain competitive, high-stakes sectors of capitalism can select for traits associated with psychopathy—callousness, lack of empathy, and willingness to harm others for personal gain—because such traits may confer an advantage when profit and performance are prioritized over human consequences. By pointing to health insurance and subprime banking, he evokes industries often criticized for exploiting vulnerability and externalizing risk. The quote’s force lies in its moral diagnosis: it suggests that “ruthless” market incentives can normalize or even celebrate behavior that would be condemned in ordinary social life, raising questions about regulation, accountability, and what kinds of character a society’s economic system encourages.