The author is one Steve Fraser. We have never met, but a few old friends know we share a small bit of history. His book is quite an accomplishment. It’s a cultural history of “Wall Street,” really of the U.S. empire of finance, but it’s also a business history. I’m more than half-way through but I’d rather post my reactions in closer to real time. Hence this post as a first installment.
Weren't the Populists pretty much right when they claimed that the gold standard, tariff policies, and rail and milling monopolies (all changeable) were what doomed them?
On the other hand, Michael Hudson seems to say that it was necessary to squeeze the farmers in order to industrialize instead of becoming a sort of agricultural colony.
"but like Trump you can be a slob and still get rich, and moreover, as Trump attests by word and deed, there is nothing wrong with that."
The anti-populist elites like those at the Atlantic miss this completely. There is no reason for the non-elites to prefer Jamie Dimon et. al to a slob like Trump. There are countless other, legitimate, reasons, of course, to oppose Trump but the "resistance" has too frequently conflated them.
I was repulsed, a couple of weeks ago to read Anne Applebaum complaining about Biden's "strange obsession" (to her) for factory workers, the UAW, etc. Didn't he understand they were the past?
Weren't the Populists pretty much right when they claimed that the gold standard, tariff policies, and rail and milling monopolies (all changeable) were what doomed them?
On the other hand, Michael Hudson seems to say that it was necessary to squeeze the farmers in order to industrialize instead of becoming a sort of agricultural colony.
"but like Trump you can be a slob and still get rich, and moreover, as Trump attests by word and deed, there is nothing wrong with that."
The anti-populist elites like those at the Atlantic miss this completely. There is no reason for the non-elites to prefer Jamie Dimon et. al to a slob like Trump. There are countless other, legitimate, reasons, of course, to oppose Trump but the "resistance" has too frequently conflated them.
I was repulsed, a couple of weeks ago to read Anne Applebaum complaining about Biden's "strange obsession" (to her) for factory workers, the UAW, etc. Didn't he understand they were the past?
Max, you are a joy to read. Thank you. Jane Birnbaum