A brash, handsome whiz kid makes it big as an investment banker, appropriating embezzled taxpayer money to buy stocks. His corrupt deeds are uncovered when this house of cards scheme collapses after a stock market crash triggered by a natural disaster.
It could be today’s headlines, but this is basic U.S. finance history as told by Theodore Dreiser in his subversive 1912 novel “The Financier” set in Philadelphia in post Civil War years. Dreiser paints a very grim picture of capitalism run amok amidst a world of hypocritical corrupt government elected officials and an aggressive banker on the make. You could dismiss this as growing pains of a new country trying to find its way but it’s more than that. It’s the same old story -- only the names change in today’s headlines. Mortgage derivative schemes paid for Caribbean islands for several Wall Street sharks who left us with a mess as we try to dig our way out of a huge world recession.
The central character in this fictionalized drama is Frank Cowperwood. Born in humble circumstances, he rose to prominence in post Civil War Philadelphia with his force of will and a laisez faire attitude, The author’s narrative is thus: “Life is a dark inhuman, unkind, unsympathetic struggle Life was war, particularly financial life.” Furthermore “with strength he could protect himself”. Weaker characters in the book are described by their critics as lacking “force and brains; not morals.” And that was the “primary crime” of the Philadelphia city treasurer Stener who was complicit with Cowperwood in the embezzlement scheme.
The young banker Cowperwood was shunned and punished by a corrupt operative, Edward Butler, whom he befriended and then totally alienated. Although the misappropriation of the city funds was surely a factor, the brash Cowperwood, a married man, was having an affair with the young daughter of his mentor, Butler, a politician. Cowperwood was incredibly brash and stupid to think he could sustain his illicit love affair with Butler’s daughter, given Butler’s staunch Catholic beliefs on the sanctity of marriage and the sin of adultery. All this was quite hypocritical given the graft and corruption commonplace in Philadelphia where Butler was a central player.
Dreiser’s view of Cowperwood is: “A prince of a world of dreams whose reality was disillusion” and who makes a living by “great subtlety” --- “living a lie.” He compares Cowperwood to a black grouper with “remarkable ability to adapt to conditions.” Social Darwinism is the central theme here with the strong vanquishing the weak. These are the characters that make for enjoyable reading.
All things considered I am somewhat attracted to the Cowperwood character who cuts a romantic pirate-like figure; a swashbuckler with lots of swash who flaunts society’s behavior code and makes up the rules as he goes along. In more sober moments I am reminded that these self-centered egotists cause enormous damage that the rest of society must deal with while they enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
As my son Mike reminded me, we need capitalism to work so that more than just the upper one percent have buying power in this country and if that means spreading the wealth, then “so be it” as local banker Bill Cooper might say. And Mike adds that we can’t let banks fail.