Pity The Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle And The Unlikely Comeback Of The Right (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Just finished reading this entire book in a single sitting. One of the finest, most comprehensive, readable books on the Crash of '08, and how the Right has successfully positioned itself (against all logical evidence) as the ideology best able to confront Wall St. and Big Business, despite their obvious economic, social and political connections to both. A fine read, though one that doesn't off up much hope that the modern Democratic Party has much of a clue as to how to win back its old blue collar / working class majority. Pity the Billionaire continues Frank's tradition of left-leaning (for real) sociopolitical analysis with his engagingly witty prose. He first analyzes how a financial meltdown that could credibly be attributed to three decade policy pivot to the right could lead to the emergence of a populist anti-status-quo movement even further from the right. Frank's generally sympathizes with the sentiments underlying the tea party movement while documenting the oftentimes considerably muddled thinking undergirding its rise. While there are moments of genuine insight in this analysis, Frank too often falls into the trap of poking fun at the expense of understanding and his approach is a little too narrative-based to feel like it is doing more than confirming his (and, admittedly, largely mine) biases. The last two sections of the book are the most insightful. Here, Frank explores the social trends that abetted the rise of the tea party. His argument that the cognitive capture of the democratic party by monied interests opened the field for the tea party by failing to mount a credible ideological alternative is particularly compelling, plausible and troubling.
What do You think about Pity The Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle And The Unlikely Comeback Of The Right (2012)?
A must read if you want to understand politics in 2012.
—jenn
