Are criticisms of private equity fair? Financial historian Edward Chancellor, author of a definitive history of past speculative excesses, from the South Sea Bubble onwards, and a brilliant new book about the folly of low interest rates, gives his verdict in his latest contribution. An earlier version of this article first appeared on the online financial website, Reuters Breakingviews.  

Private equity squeezed from all sides “Everybody knows that the dice are loaded…the poor stay poor, the rich get rich.” In the 35 years since Leonard Cohen wrote these words, the rich in the United States h...