In a New York Times article about the resurging popularity of studying the history of capitalism, Stephen Mihm, an associate history professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, talks about the role the financial crisis had on building that interest. Mihm is the author of A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men and the Making of the United States, which examines the history of capitalism in the U.S.
“Earlier, a lot of these topics would’ve been greeted with a yawn,” Mihm said. “But then the crisis hit, and people started asking, ‘Oh my God, what has Wall Street been doing for the last 100 years?’