The article complained about the symptoms, but not the cause, which I think can be summed up as "prosperity allows for parasitism". In an economy where there are so many people with a huge proportion of the wealth, and where most basic needs are met, this gives those with less money the opportunity to use whatever means they can to get more, ranging from criminal activity to lawsuits. This also is an incentive for those who have money to try to keep it, from unethical financial practices to demands for tax cuts.
This is especially pronounced when growth has been too rapid for the culture to develop ways of dealing with this type of wealth. Conversely, it's this lack of rules and rigidity that allows such wealth to be created. That's why a very old culture like in Japan has some stability when it comes to balancing individual wealth with socialism (in the same way individual rights are balanced with responsibility).
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This is especially pronounced when growth has been too rapid for the culture to develop ways of dealing with this type of wealth. Conversely, it's this lack of rules and rigidity that allows such wealth to be created. That's why a very old culture like in Japan has some stability when it comes to balancing individual wealth with socialism (in the same way individual rights are balanced with responsibility).