On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer Gorton's Misunderstanding Financial Crises

Very clear and readable.   It's a wonderful book which lays out directly and in detail the problems embedded "Conservatism"'s relilgiostic pursuit of FINO marketism (Free In Name Only).

"Conservatives" invent magic, fantastical worlds of invisible hands racing around fixing things, invisibly of course - so that so-called Conservatives may abjure responsibility for contributing to the societal commonwealth to which they belong, and from which they withdraw so much.

Vitus Fils comments on chapter one:

We begin to see the “right versus everyone else” ideology coming to light in Groton’s work.  For one, the elimination of ‘note brokers’ and note brokering as a whole as a result of federal regulation (i.e. nationalization) is in direct conflict with the Glenn-Beckian/Mitt Romnian/Republican ideas of “free” market, or “guiding hand” or “freedom” in pursuing one’s livelihood (i.e. creating or developing a product or service that may or may not service society as a whole).  That there were substantial problems in “Free Banking” resulting in money not being traded at par precisely because of the rise of note brokers as a result of “Free Banking” directly illustrates the need for some federal regulation where it is required.  Of course, the likes of Bill O’Reilly will take this idea of ‘federal regulation’ and blow it up to a point where regular average Americans believe that a Marxist/Leninist conspiracy (a la our black president, which as we all know is the real problem) is taking over the U.S.