The speculation economy

the long version

Mitchell explains when, how, and why the stock market became the driving force of the American economy. Starting in the first decade of the 20th century, he tells the story of the legal, financial, economic, and social changes that allowed financiers to create large corporations for the main purpose of manufacturing stock and dumping it on the market. He shows how the federal government, wedded to an outdated economic model, failed to regulate finance and thus missed the chance to control corporations.