Goliath cover art

Goliath

The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

About this listen

 “Every thinking American must read” (The Washington Book Review) this startling and “insightful” (The New York Times) look at how concentrated financial power and consumerism has transformed American politics, and business.

Going back to our country’s founding, Americans once had a coherent and clear understanding of political tyranny, one crafted by Thomas Jefferson and updated for the industrial age by Louis Brandeis. A concentration of power—whether by government or banks—was understood as autocratic and dangerous to individual liberty and democracy. In the 1930s, people observed that the Great Depression was caused by financial concentration in the hands of a few whose misuse of their power induced a financial collapse. They drew on this tradition to craft the New Deal.

In Goliath, Matt Stoller explains how authoritarianism and populism have returned to American politics for the first time in eighty years, as the outcome of the 2016 election shook our faith in democratic institutions. It has brought to the fore dangerous forces that many modern Americans never even knew existed. Today’s bitter recriminations and panic represent more than just fear of the future, they reflect a basic confusion about what is happening and the historical backstory that brought us to this moment.

The true effects of populism, a shrinking middle class, and concentrated financial wealth are only just beginning to manifest themselves under the current administrations. The lessons of Stoller’s study will only grow more relevant as time passes. “An engaging call to arms,” (Kirkus Reviews) Stoller illustrates here in rich detail how we arrived at this tenuous moment, and the steps we must take to create a new democracy. Americas Political Science Politics & Government United States World Banking Capitalism Taxation Government Socialism Liberalism Soviet Union Business

Critic reviews

"Jonathan Davis delivers an admirable narration of this historical look at monopolies and political power."
All stars
Most relevant
A monumental work on the topic - arguably required reading for those interested in monopoly, corruption, and more broadly how the world works.

Important work

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It’s just a constant ying & yang between Banks, Corporations & Government…disagree on the last 10 mins..there’s no fixing anything..it’s like a drug addict..it all has to crash after reaching rock bottom..then it’s a total rebuild..FIAT fairy dust currency is the main problem..

Nothing changes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.