Good article. I agree that listed companies are perhaps relying too much on buybacks and are becoming gutless and listless. However, there is another angle - the unlisted startups which are truly going places where few listed companies dare to go. The rise of unicorns is well documented and is at a historic high. I believe there are multiple reasons for this but ZIRP is perhaps a key reason as well. If you take a holistic view then I would say the gutsy attitude has simply moved from listed to unlisted players. Whether this is good or bad or how it affects your portfolio is a different matter but I'd not go so far to say that capitalism itself is in danger of destruction.