Why did America embrace right wing populism in the 2016 election? A look back at past moments of ... more Why did America embrace right wing populism in the 2016 election? A look back at past moments of economic transformation suggests that government policy of "producerism" mitigated the pain and fear among those losing jobs and opportunity in a changing economy. The abandonment of this policy after 1980 explains the resentment of the white working class toward established elites of both political parties and set the stage for the rise of a political outsider like Trump.
On September 12, 1957, audiences at a Fort Lee, New Jersey, drive-in movie theater became the unw... more On September 12, 1957, audiences at a Fort Lee, New Jersey, drive-in movie theater became the unwitting subjects of a psychological experiment. James Vicary, a forty-two-year-old marketing consultant, convinced the theater owners to flicker images across the screen at one-three-thousandth of a second, faster than the eye could see. As patrons watched Kim Novak and William Holden cavorting in the film Picnic, the words “eat popcorn” and “drink Coca Cola” infiltrated their subconscious. When Vicary revealed the test to the public a few days later, he bragged that his hidden messages had induced a surge in popcorn and soft drink sales of 50 and 18 percent, respectively. In little more than a year, Vicary predicted, cinemas across the nation would be using this new, unorthodox selling technique.1 Subliminal advertising, a term not found in the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature before 1957, rivaled reports of UFOs and communist spies for the top story of the year.2
Challenging assumptions about the history and performance of the business corporation in the Unit... more Challenging assumptions about the history and performance of the business corporation in the United States, this book seeks to explain more fully this crucial institution of capitalism. The authors draw on theoretical insights from economics, law, political science, and cultural studies to show the multiple ways in which corporations have shaped American society, culture, and politics over the past two centuries. They reject assertions that the corporation is dead and show that it in fact has survived, and even thrived by adapting to changes in its politics, social, and cultural environment. They call into question narrow economic theories of the firm, and show instead that the corporation must be treated as a more fully social institution, pointing the way to a new periodization of corporate history and a new set of questions for scholars to explore. Key issues engaged include the legal and political position of the corporations, ways in which the corporation has shaped and been sh...
By taking note of new developments in economic theory and cultural theory, business historians ha... more By taking note of new developments in economic theory and cultural theory, business historians have the opportunity to lead a reintegration of mentality and materiality in the study of history. This task will require rethinking the field’s traditional approach to strategy, structure, organization, and culture. An emerging literature of practice theory and the shift from a linguistic to a practice based model of culture offer to business historians, and to all interested in the economic past, a way to conduct this integration. The new approach will complement but go beyond the economics of information, institutions and behavior. Though the task will require some new methods and approaches, the result will bring the study of business and economic history to the forefront of history.
Why did America embrace right wing populism in the 2016 election? A look back at past moments of ... more Why did America embrace right wing populism in the 2016 election? A look back at past moments of economic transformation suggests that government policy of "producerism" mitigated the pain and fear among those losing jobs and opportunity in a changing economy. The abandonment of this policy after 1980 explains the resentment of the white working class toward established elites of both political parties and set the stage for the rise of a political outsider like Trump.
On September 12, 1957, audiences at a Fort Lee, New Jersey, drive-in movie theater became the unw... more On September 12, 1957, audiences at a Fort Lee, New Jersey, drive-in movie theater became the unwitting subjects of a psychological experiment. James Vicary, a forty-two-year-old marketing consultant, convinced the theater owners to flicker images across the screen at one-three-thousandth of a second, faster than the eye could see. As patrons watched Kim Novak and William Holden cavorting in the film Picnic, the words “eat popcorn” and “drink Coca Cola” infiltrated their subconscious. When Vicary revealed the test to the public a few days later, he bragged that his hidden messages had induced a surge in popcorn and soft drink sales of 50 and 18 percent, respectively. In little more than a year, Vicary predicted, cinemas across the nation would be using this new, unorthodox selling technique.1 Subliminal advertising, a term not found in the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature before 1957, rivaled reports of UFOs and communist spies for the top story of the year.2
Challenging assumptions about the history and performance of the business corporation in the Unit... more Challenging assumptions about the history and performance of the business corporation in the United States, this book seeks to explain more fully this crucial institution of capitalism. The authors draw on theoretical insights from economics, law, political science, and cultural studies to show the multiple ways in which corporations have shaped American society, culture, and politics over the past two centuries. They reject assertions that the corporation is dead and show that it in fact has survived, and even thrived by adapting to changes in its politics, social, and cultural environment. They call into question narrow economic theories of the firm, and show instead that the corporation must be treated as a more fully social institution, pointing the way to a new periodization of corporate history and a new set of questions for scholars to explore. Key issues engaged include the legal and political position of the corporations, ways in which the corporation has shaped and been sh...
By taking note of new developments in economic theory and cultural theory, business historians ha... more By taking note of new developments in economic theory and cultural theory, business historians have the opportunity to lead a reintegration of mentality and materiality in the study of history. This task will require rethinking the field’s traditional approach to strategy, structure, organization, and culture. An emerging literature of practice theory and the shift from a linguistic to a practice based model of culture offer to business historians, and to all interested in the economic past, a way to conduct this integration. The new approach will complement but go beyond the economics of information, institutions and behavior. Though the task will require some new methods and approaches, the result will bring the study of business and economic history to the forefront of history.
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Papers by Kenneth Lipartito