I agree with every point you make here. But, I think that you're conflating a defense of capitalism with a defense of what capitalism is building right now.

Henry Ford made a fortune by delivering automobiles to Americans -- especially those that could not have afforded them otherwise -- and in the process, he forever transformed American culture and landscape (whether for better or worse is perhaps another debate).

Elon Musk made a fortune by transforming payments online, and in the process, helped to create a new global marketplace. Paypal may not be my favorite company anymore, but I wouldn't argue that they haven't made a huge positive difference in the way that people buy things from each-other around the world.

And now he's making another fortune by advancing space technology, with no lesser vision than opening up an entirely new frontier in his lifetime.

So I think there's room for an argument that it would be nice to have more of that, and I usually find myself nodding my head in agreement every time it comes up. For example, I'd point out that investors are often quoted as "looking for the next Facebook"; shouldn't we also be "looking for the next SpaceX"?

And yet, I don't think I've ever read that.

But maybe I just hang out in the wrong places.