The Bookworm: The Man Who Sold the World

The Man Who Sold the World by William Kleinknecht. 317 pages. Nation Books. 2009.

And it is here that we find the most destructive element of the Reagan legacy: America’s utter loss of national purpose. National purpose cannot exist when the anarchy of laissez-faire has created a war of all against all. By discrediting government as a legitimate and meaningful presence in the lives of Americans, Reagan repudiated the very concept of national leadership. By exhorting Americans to place self-interest above all, he undermined the spirit of sacrifice and the possibility of a common effort to solve our most pressing national problems.

The Man Who Sold the World is the last of my Skylight haul from April. It was engrossing, infuriating, and, at the very end, somewhat of a letdown.

In the introduction, William Kleinknecht begins by saying his book “is borne of annoyance: a great bewilderment over the myth that continues to surround the presidency of Ronald Reagan.” What follows is an examination of the persona, policies, and lasting legacy of the Celluloid President, which Kleinknecht presents as complete contradictions to Dutch’s romanticized public perception.

Kleinknecht, a veteran newspaper reporter in the NYC/Newark area, offers a boatload of facts, figures, and historical analysis to show Reagan “was anything but a friend to Main Street America.” In the first chapter he visits Reagan’s hometown, Dixon, Illinois, and uses it as a showcase metaphor for how the Reagan Revolution eviscerated America’s manufacturing, family agriculture, labor unions, and public programs in an effort to empower and enrich a corporate plutocracy. The bustling business scene on Dixon’s Main Street has disappeared and residents now buy all their goods at a Wal-Mart on the edge of town. The laid off manufacturing workers and former farmers now rely on Manpower for temporary and low paying jobs with little security and no benefits. State and federal funding for Dixon’s schools dropped 23 percent, and now students make due without enough computers, adequate science labs, and a bare minimum of advanced courses. Only one in four Dixon High School students report plans to attend a four-year college.

Kleinknecht profiles Reagan’s past and friendships to paint a man who was gullible, simplistic, and easily swayed to support anything that benefited him. One surprising fact I learned was that Reagan, in his youth, was a staunch New Deal Democrat. On the brink of starvation during the Depression, Reagan’s family was “bailed out” by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration when his father and brother found employment with the agency. Reagan felt indebted to the type of Keynesian programs and thinking that proliferated before and after World War II. However, after becoming a wealthy Hollywood star he began to loath their price tag, especially when he needed to pay child support. After becoming a shill (which is a great word; see the shamefully long list of “New words I learned” for the description) for General Electric, he became good friends with businessmen and entrepreneurs who shared his grief and fostered his ideological swing to the right. Recognizing Reagan’s energy and skills as an entertainer and promoter, they urged him to go into politics. After parting with GE, Reagan continued his promotional campaigning, only this time extolling American entrepreneurialism, laissez-faire capitalism, and denouncing bloated government and its burden on taxpayers. The message, which Kleinknecht believes to be another commercial script handed to the actor, resonated with voters. After a stint as California’s governor, Reagan and his corporate cronies invaded Washington, DC, where they proceeded to dismantle financial, environmental, and employer regulations.

The Reagan administration, Kleinknecht tries to show, laid the foundation or initiated many of the major problems now confronting modern America. As a former journalist, I prefer to zoom out and look at everything as part of a bigger picture, and Kleinknecht does that when he points to Reaganism as the harbinger of the S&L crash, our current financial malaise, the incarceration and prison boom, the erosion of civil liberties, the rampant and unmitigated flow of corporate money and influence in campaigns and government, for-profit hospitals, the crumbling of public institutions, and the “effluvia” of commerce that has invaded very aspect of our lives. He explains how the Reagan administration’s cronyism and worship of the free market precipitated the merger mania of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the degradation of business ethics, and the conglomeration of the media industry.

The Man Who Sold the World is not just about Reagan. Kleinknecht delves into economic theory, outlining the basic philosophies of Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, and throws in a few thoughts from Friedrich Hayek. He provides history regarding the reform and progressive eras, the use of government funding for commercial ventures such as the transcontinental railroad, and the rise of Keynesianism as “the third way,” a combination of public stimulus and private enterprise. However, Kleinknecht explains that the well-greased and efficient Keynesian machinery of the ‘50s and early-‘60s began to break down with the escalation of the Vietnam War at the sacrifice of budget responsibility. A focus on short-term solutions during the Nixon and Carter administrations led to inflation and economic stagnation — “stagflation.” This paved the way for the tax cuts, public sector disembowelment, and deregulation prescribed by Reaganism.

Kleinknecht believes Reagan ushered in a new American era, one in which self-interest comes before country and community, ultimately abandoning a purpose of collective well-being for the benefit of the wealthy few whose banks we have accounts and loans with, big-box stores where we shop at, and television networks and radio stations we watch and listen to.

Basically, just read the book. However, do so with one or two grains of salt

Kleinknecht’s political leanings are obvious, and I think that sometimes he makes accusations with blinders on. Though I don’t refute the facts and reports he uses (he has a 24-page “Notes” section to legitimize his research), but I think he only scratches the surface when he lays the blame on Reagan. Reaganism would not have been possible without the help of Democratic-controlled Congresses. It was not as if Reaganites took control of both the executive and legislative branches, like new wave Nazis sweeping to power. Reagan’s election in 1980 seemed to coincide with the Democrats transformation from staunch advocates of the American working class into spineless and agendaless talking heads, eventually devolving into the same corporate-controlled marionettes the Republicans are. However, this seems consistent with Kleinknecht’s theory of the new “me-me-me” American era. Democrats recognized the energy and approval Reagan’s message was generating from the public and bent over accordingly. Even working class champion Tip O’Neill caved under pressure. In a telling anecdote told by O’Neill’s son, the Speaker of the House was confronted by a longtime friend and neighbor in his North Cambridge, Massachusetts district who said, “You know America elected the guy, you ought to listen to him.” Such was the spellbinding power of Reagan, and I suppose, technically, we happily fucked ourselves.

I think Kleinknecht could also have placed more blame on Nixon and, especially, Carter. Kleinknecht even paints the Carter administration as having dug out and leveled the ground for Reagan’s policies by embracing the system of “monetarism” and beginning the roll back of financial regulations in efforts to fight stagflation. Kleinknecht says the elder Bush and Clinton administrations put the finishing touches on the goals Reagan was not able to accomplish during his time, and I wished he would have pointed the blame there, too.

Overall, I felt The Man Who Sold the World was convincing and well presented. But the very end made me take it down two pegs. Kleinknecht does not include a conclusion, but offers a few final thoughts about the 2008 election to end the book. He speaks of Sarah Palin as an “ethically challenged Christian ideologue” who was “anointed a star,” which is not off base. But Kleinknecht goes on to say,

But with the historic victory of President Barack Obama, the star has fallen and the smirk has been wiped off her face. McCain, Sarah Palin, and their legions of follows in the cultural backwaters of America — the pandering and the shallowness and the contempt for progress that oozed forth from the convention stage — was the last hoarse utterance of Reaganism.

WHAT?! I wrote underneath, in the bottom margin, “please don’t end the book like that.” How could a man who spent the previous 268 pages denouncing a corporate shill, his cronies, and the cultural sea change they wrought say something so naïve? Kleinknecht still has a lot to learn.

New words I learned: Descriptions courtesy of my MacBook dictionary. Shill: “an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.” Apotheosis: In this context it meant “the elevation of someone to divine status; deification.” Avaricious: “having or showing an extreme greed for wealth or material gain.” Ensconce: “establish or settle (someone) in a comfortable, safe, or secret place.” COINTELPRO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO. Inculcate: “instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.” Effluvia (the plural form of “effluvium”): “an unpleasant or harmful odor, secretion, or discharge.” Folkways: “the traditional behavior or way of life of a particular community or group of people.” Axiomatic: “self-evident or unquestionable.” Perquisite (or “perk” for short): “a thing regarded as a special right or privilege enjoyed as a result of one's position.” Askance: “with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval.” Genuflect: “lower one's body briefly by bending one knee to the ground, typically in worship or as a sign of respect.” Hagiography: “the writing of the lives of saints.” Mien: “a person's look or manner, esp. one of a particular kind indicating their character or mood.” Imprimatur: “a person's acceptance or guarantee that something is of a good standard.” Ersatz: “(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.” Inchoate: “just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.” Stole: “a woman's long scarf or shawl, esp. fur or similar material, worn loosely over the shoulders.” Ostentation: “pretentious and vulgar display, esp. of wealth and luxury, intended to impress or attract notice.” Pernicious: “having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or subtle way.” Urtext: “an original or the earliest version of a text, to which later versions can be compared.” Détente: “the easing of hostility or strained relations, esp. between countries.” Fealty: “a feudal tenant's or vassal's sworn loyalty to a lord.” Fiduciary: “involving trust, esp. with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary.” The Teapot Dome scandal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teapot_Dome_scandal. Suzerain: “a sovereign or state having some control over another state that is internally autonomous.” Blandishment: “a flattering or pleasing statement or action used to persuade someone gently to do something.” Collegial: “relating to or involving shared responsibility, as among a group of colleagues.” Unctuous: “(of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily.” Animus: “hostility or ill feeling.”