On Corruption in America: And What Is at StakeFrom the prizewinning journalist and internationally recognized expert on corruption in government networks throughout the world comes a major work that looks homeward to America, exploring the insidious, dangerous networks of corruption of our past, present, and precarious future. “If you want to save America, this might just be the most important book to read now." —Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains Sarah Chayes writes in her new book, that the United States is showing signs similar to some of the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption, she argues, is an operating system of sophisticated networks in which government officials, key private-sector interests, and out-and-out criminals interweave. Their main objective: not to serve the public but to maximize returns for network members. In this unflinching exploration of corruption in America, Chayes exposes how corruption has thrived within our borders, from the titans of America's Gilded Age (Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, et al.) to the collapse of the stock market in 1929, the Great Depression, and FDR's New Deal; from Joe Kennedy's years of banking, bootlegging, machine politics, and pursuit of infinite wealth to the deregulation of the Reagan Revolution--undermining this nation's proud middle class and union members. She then brings us up to the present as she shines a light on the Clinton policies of political favors and personal enrichment and documents Trump's hydra-headed network of corruption, which aimed to systematically undo the Constitution and our laws. Ultimately and most importantly, Chayes reveals how corrupt systems are organized, how they enable bad actors to bend the rules so their crimes are covered legally, how they overtly determine the shape of our government, and how they affect all levels of society, especially when the corruption is overlooked and downplayed by the rich and well-educated. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - rivkat - LibraryThingWhile others diagnose our key political problem as monopoly, Chayes thinks that it’s corruption—which both aids and is aided by monopoly. With fewer specifics than I might have hoped for, Chayes ... Read full review
On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake
User Review - Publishers WeeklyIn this sweeping and remarkably clear-eyed account, journalist Chayes (Thieves of State) explains how unethical behavior by high-ranking government officials and their associates has resulted in ... Read full review
Contents
| 3 | |
Midas | 21 |
Jesus | 34 |
Aristotle | 44 |
Europe | 59 |
The United States | 71 |
The LateBorn Baron | 82 |
Eight Mortal Heads | 95 |
Tactics and Countermoves | 171 |
Colluders | 187 |
The Cities | 201 |
The Countryside | 217 |
It Had Needed a War | 229 |
The Turning 1980s | 247 |
The Validation 1980s1990s | 258 |
Courting Calamity 1990s | 269 |
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Common terms and phrases
accounts American August bank Bill called campaign citizens Clinton companies Congress coronavirus corporate corruption crime criminal culture defense Democratic Department early economic election Epstein example executives federal former gained Gilded Age hands helped History House human hydra industry institutions interest International January July Justice keep Kennedy kleptocratic Koch labor land later lines lives loans majority March McDonnell means million names officials organizations Party political practices President Press Protection question Report Robert rules says Senate September shared side social society Street Strike Supreme Court tion took Trump turned United University vote Wall Washington wealth whole writes York
Bibliographic information
| Title | On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake |
| Author | Sarah Chayes |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2020 |
| ISBN | 0525654860, 9780525654865 |
| Length | 432 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / United States / General Political Science / Corruption & Misconduct Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |