When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion —
when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing —
when you see money flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors —
when you see that men get richer by graft and pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you —
when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice —
you may know that your society is doomed.
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged