The Folklore of Capitalism

The Folklore of Capitalism
By Thurman W. Arnold

2000/12 - Beard Books
1587980258 - Paperback - Reprint - 410 pp.
US$34.95

The basic premise of the book is that the thinking man, after learning the proper lessons of history, chooses wisely between Capitalism, Communism, and Fascism--provided he doesn't let emotion sway his reason or listen to the blandishments of demagogues.

Publisher Comments

Category: Banking & Finance

Of Interest:

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Written in 1937 when the Thurman W. Arnold was a law professor at Yale, the Folklore of Capitalism is a puckish but serious critique of what he saw as the myths of capitalism. Summing up his book in the Preface, the author said, "By the folklore of capitalism I mean those ideas about social organizations which are not regarded as folklore but accepted as fundamental principles of law and economics." The book, which satirizes many beliefs of American laissez-faire society, was a best-seller and brought Mr. Arnold national attention.

The basic premise of the book is that the thinking man, after learning the proper lessons of history, chooses wisely between Capitalism, Communism, and Fascism -- provided he doesn't let emotion sway his reason or listen to the blandishments of demagogues.

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Thurman W. Arnold, the New Deal’s chief trust buster and one of Washington’s most eminent lawyers, was born in Laramie, Wyoming in 1891. He entered Princeton at 16, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1911 and earning a law degree from Harvard in 1914. He lead a colorful life. He was a homesteader, sheep rancher, Mayor of Laramie and a Yale law professor. He took time out at Yale to serve in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Administration. In 1943, Mr. Arnold was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He quit the bench after two years because “I’d rather speak to damn fools than listen to them.” Subsequently, he established the prestigious law firm of Arnold, Fortas and Porter , which was reorganized in 1965. He died in 1969.

Other Beard Books by Thurman W. Arnold

The Bottlenecks of Business

I.	The Systems of Government and the Thinking Man	1
II.	The Psychology of Social Institutions	21
III.	The Folklore of 1937	46
IV.	The Place of Learning in the Distribution of Goods	83
V.	The Use of the Language of Private Property To Describe an Industrial Army	118
VI.	A Platform for an Observer of Government	136
VII.	The Traps Which Lie in Definitions and Polar Words	165
VIII.	The Personification of Corporation	185
IX.	The Effect of the Antitrust Laws in Encouraging Large Combinations	207
X.	The Ritual of Corporate Reorganization	230
XI.	The Benevolence of Taxation by Private Organization	263
XII.	The Malevolence of Taxation by the Government	311
XIII.	The Social Philosophy of Tomorrow	332
XIV.	Some Principles of Political Dynamics	347
	Index	395

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