One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism and the End of Economic Democracy

(Paperback)

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Description

Combining popular intellectual history with a survey of recent business culture, Thomas Frank traces an idea he calls "market populism" - the notion that markets are, in some transcendent way, identifiable with democracy and the will of the people. The idea that any criticism of things as they are is elitist can be seen in management literature, where downsizing and ceaseless, chaotic change are celebrated as victories for democracy; in advertising, where an endless array of brands seek to position themselves as symbols of authenticity and rebellion; on Wall street, where the stock market is identified as the domain of the small investor and common man; and in the right-wing politics of the 1990s and the popular theories of Tom Peters, Charles Handy and Thomas Friedman. "One Market Under God" is Frank's counterattack against the onslaught of market propaganda. It is tinged with anger, betrayal and a certain hope for the future.

Reviews

A passionate, bracingly irreverent and always hugely readable lexicon of the political cant of the past decade * Independent *
A dazzling manifesto for the anticapitalist movement... A seductive mixture of wit and polemic * Observer *
A brilliant, bracing slice and dice job on the pop culture of the New Economy * New York Observer *

Author Bio

Thomas Frank is editor of The Baffler magazine. He lives in Chicago.