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Pocketbook Politics: Economic Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America
by
How much does it cost? We think of this question as one that preoccupies the nation's shoppers, not its statesmen. But, as Pocketbook Politics dramatically shows, the twentieth-century American polity in fact developed in response to that very consumer concern.
In this groundbreaking study, Meg Jacobs demonstrates how pocketbook politics provided the engine for American pol ...more
In this groundbreaking study, Meg Jacobs demonstrates how pocketbook politics provided the engine for American pol ...more
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Hardcover, 349 pages
Published
December 12th 2004
by Princeton University Press
(first published November 22nd 2004)
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Start your review of Pocketbook Politics: Economic Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America
A fairly dry recitation of the economic of the twentieth century.
Another of the few books I've been able to read cover to cover at grad school, and well worth it.
Jacobs traces the history of the "consumer movement" or "purchasing power progressives" through the first half of the 20th century, showing that debates about the high cost of living and inflation constituted a surprisingly large portion of US politics in that period. From the U.S. Food Administration under Hoover in World War I to the NRA in the Depression and the OPA in WWII, efforts to control pr ...more
Boiled down, Meg Jacobs argues that consumerism is political. And that the pocketbook politics of the twentieth century (1900-1960) instituted "radical reforms" and restructuring in the American capitalist system. What these radical reforms are, is left unanswered. However, by looking the the OPA and the collective fear of inflation, Jacobs makes a compelling case for the politicization of consumerism, thus countering common notions of consumer indifference. A worthwhile read.
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