Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich (Hardcover)

~ Kevin Phillips (Author) "The debate over the compatibility of wealth and democracy is as old as the republic..." (more)
Key Phrases: leading world economic powers, financial mercantilism, technology fortunes, United States, New York, Federal Reserve (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most American conservatives take it as an article of faith that the less governmental involvement in affairs of the market and pocketbook the better. The rich do not, whatever they might say--for much of their wealth comes from the "power and preferment of government." So writes Kevin Phillips, the accomplished historian and one-time Washington insider, in this extraordinary survey of plutocracy, excess, and reform. "Laissez-faire is a pretense," he argues; as the wealth of the rich has grown, so has its control over government, making politics a hostage of money. Examining cycles of economic growth and decline from the founding days of the republic to the recent collapse of technology stocks, Phillips dispels notions of trickle-down wealth creation, pricks holes in speculative bubbles, and decries the ever-increasing "financialization" of the economy--all of which, he argues, have served to reduce the well-being of ordinary Americans and government alike. Highly readable for all its charts and graphs, Phillips's book offers a refreshing--and, of course, controversial--blend of economic history and social criticism. His conclusions won't please all readers, but just about everyone who comes to his pages will feel hackles rising. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

The influence of money on government is now, more then ever, a hot political issue. With a grand historical sweep that covers more than three centuries, Phillips's astute analysis of the effects of wealth and capital upon democracy is both eye-opening and disturbing. While his main thrust is an examination of "the increasing reliance of the American economy on finance," Phillips weaves a far wider, nuanced tapestry. Carefully building his arguments with telling detail (the growth of investment capitalism in Elizabethan England was essentially the result of privateering and piracy) and statistical evidence, he charts a long, exceptionally complicated history of interplay between governance and the accumulation of wealth. Explicating late-20th-century U.S. capitalism, for instance, by drawing comparisons to the technological advances and ensuing changes in commerce in the Renaissance, he also discusses how 18th-century Spanish colonialism is relevant to how "lending power began to erode... broad prosperity" in 1960s and '70s America. Finding detailed correspondences between the giddy greediness of America's Gilded Age (complete with a surprising quote from Walt Whitman "my theory includes riches and the getting of riches") and the "great technology mania and bubble of the 1990s," Phillips (The Cousins' War, etc.), noted NPR political analyst, notes that "the imbalance of wealth and democracy in the United States is unsustainable," as it was in highly nationalistic mid-18th-century Holland and late-19th-century Britain both of which underwent major social and political upheaval from the middle and underclasses. Lucidly written, scrupulously argued and culturally wide-ranging, this is an important and deeply original analysis of U.S. history and economics.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 474 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Books; 1 edition (May 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767905334
• ISBN-13: 978-0767905336
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,632 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

329 of 335 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't attack W&D untill you have read it., June 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich (Paperback)

1 star reviewers, at least do Mr. Phllips the dignity of reading the book before you bash it. Keep in mind that Phillips is a republican and as an American, has the virtue of freedom of speech. Read the book and then come back and state your "opinions."Or----are your minds so frozen that you cannot accept any other viewpoints than whay you percieve to be true?Read it first!

346 of 354 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Moderately interesting - Ignore 1 star bashers, May 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wealth and Democracy: A Political History of the American Rich (Paperback)

Pay no heeed to those mindless 1 star reviewers who hastily write
negative reviews on this book. Phillips is shaking things up and working for democracy. He is moderate and a republican from the old school working for democracy.

This book should be read by anyone who truly loves this country.

312 of 319 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Phillips is shaking things up and attacking Greed, September 5, 2002

By A Customer

It's about time that somebody tells it like it is and goes after the greedy and impotent government officials. All concerned (and open minded) Americans should read this book.