The Folklore of Capitalism

Written in 1937 when the Thurman W. Arnold was a law professor at Yale, the Folklore of Capitalism is a puckish but serious critique of what he saw as the myths of capitalism. Summing up his book in the Preface, the author said, "By the folklore of capitalism I mean those ideas about social organizations which are not regarded as folklore but accepted as fundamental principles of law and economics." The book, which satirizes many beliefs of American laissez-faire society, was a best-seller and brought Mr. Arnold national attention.

Thurman W. Arnold, the New Deal's chief trust buster and one of Washington's most eminent lawyers, was born in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1891. He entered Princeton at 16, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1911 and earning a law degree from Harvard in 1914. He led a colorful life. He was a field artillery officer in France in World War I, a homesteader, sheep rancher, Mayor of Laramie and a Yale law professor. He took time out at Yale to serve in Franklin D. Roosevelt's Administration. In 1943, Mr. Arnold was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He quit the bench after two years because "I'd rather speak to damn fools than listen to them." Subsequently, he established the firm of Arnold, Fortas, and Porter, which was reorganized into Arnold and Porter in 1965. He died in 1969