In India, big business has often been hands-in-glove with the socialists, such proximity to power giving them the capacity to block competition and get a range of tax exemptions. The same pattern is seen in USA and elsewhere, despite its alleged capitalism. Capitalism is for the smaller businesses, it would appear. Big businesses can easily get access to the taxpayers' pocket.

It is extremely rare for any big business to actively support liberty, even in the USA. I have never formed a positive opinion about most big businessmen in India. None after JRD Tata has supported liberty and prosperity for the common man, or integrity in public life in India.

This issue is now being researched by George Mason university.

George Mason University's Mercatus Center this week is kicking off a series of papers on cronyism and business-government collusion. "The Pathology of Privilege: The Economic Consequences of Government Favoritism," written by Mercatus senior research fellow Matt Mitchell, is the first installment. [Source]

The paper notes that:

the financial bailouts of 2008 were but one example in a long list of privileges that governments occasionally bestow upon particular firms or particular industries. At various times and places, these privileges have included (among other things) monopoly status, favorable regulations, subsidies, bailouts, loan guarantees, targeted tax breaks, protection from foreign competition, and noncompetitive contracts. Whatever its guise, government-granted privilege is an extraordinarily destructive force. It misdirects resources, impedes genuine economic progress, breeds corruption, and undermines the legitimacy of both the government and the private sector.