In a dazzling—dare I say gripping!—historical narrative, Shaw reminds us of the surpassing importance of finance to the people it serves. Money, Power, and the People underscores how the greatest financial innovations came in the form of institutions that were demanded and designed through the will of the American people.
CHRISTOPHER W. SHAW
Historian
This is the history of how ordinary Americans struggled with skill and perseverance to create a banking system that truly served the people.
Banks and bankers are hardly the most beloved institutions and people in this country. With its corruptive influence on politics and stranglehold on the American economy, Wall Street is not held in high regard by many outside the financial sector. But the pitchforks raised against this behemoth have been largely rhetorical: we have rarely seen riots in the streets or public demands for an equitable and democratic banking system that have resulted in serious national changes.
Yet the situation was vastly different a century ago, as Christopher W. Shaw shows in Money, Power, and the People. His book upends the conventional thinking that financial policy in the early twentieth century was set primarily by the needs and demands of bankers. Shaw shows that banking and politics were directly shaped by the literal and symbolic investments of the grassroots. This engagement remade financial institutions and the national economy, through populist pressure and the establishment of federal regulatory programs and agencies like the Farm Credit System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Shaw reveals a surprising popular groundswell behind seemingly arcane legislation, as well as the power of the people to demand serious political repercussions for the banks that caused the Great Depression. One result of this sustained interest and pressure was legislation and regulation that brought on a long period of relative financial stability, with a reduced frequency of economic booms and busts. Ironically, though, this stability led to the current decline of the very banking politics that enabled it.
Giving voice to a broad swath of American figures, including workers, farmers, politicians, and bankers alike, Money, Power, and the People recasts our understanding of what might be possible in balancing the needs of the people with those of their financial institutions.
Money, Power, and the People is available from the University of Chicago Press now. Read an excerpt at Lapham's Quarterly, here.
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A remarkably timely—and genuinely timeless—account of one of the great struggles over the character of American capitalism. Money, Power, and the People will open your eyes about America’s financial and political past and open your mind about reforms that could create a more equitable future. You will enjoy and learn from this extraordinary book—that’s a promise you can take to the bank.
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An engaging and enlightening history of working people’s fight against big finance. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the evolution of banking and politics from the Gilded Age to Occupy Wall Street.
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Deeply researched and energetically written, Money, Power, and the People could not be timelier. Anyone concerned about how today’s giant banks have rigged the regulatory system to become too big to fail, fueling the crisis of income inequality, will find this book a revelation.
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Shaw’s book shows us that democratic battles to define the shape of the financial system—and ensure that it serves Main Street—are as American as apple pie. Principles of fairness, access and accountability were important one hundred years ago, just as they are today. Anyone interested in financial regulation today would benefit from reading this rich history.
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Available at the University of Chicago Press, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers and bookstores near you.
©2019 - Christopher W. Shaw