The Populist Temptation

Hugo Marcos-Marne, Democratization The Populist Temptation is strongly recommended for scholars interested in the economic roots and consequences of right wing populism, and, more broadly, those utilizing historical comparative narratives. Furthermore, the effort of the author to refer to the impacts of populism in the EU makes it also valuable for scholars of European public policies or interested in the future of the EU.

Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University Barry Eichengreen is the world leader in distilling the lessons of economic history for the policy makers of today. This important book is the best we yet have on populism and the antidotes it demands.

Adam S. Posen, President, Peterson Institute for International Economics No one makes economic history relevant to today while doing justice to the past like Barry Eichengreen. The Populist Temptation is the best of American and European perspectives on the worst of current EU and US politics. Sobering and sensible, this is a necessary interpretative guide to our times.

Dani Rodrik, Harvard University Finally, a superb book that places populism in its proper historical context. And who better to write it than Barry Eichengreen, a master at shedding light on our contemporary economic problems from a historical perspective? Eichengreen brilliantly describes the backlash unleashed by economic difficulties and dislocation periodically throughout history, and the varying success of political regimes to rise to the challenge. Historical treatments with their focus on deeply rooted processes can be fatalistic. Eichengreen nicely sidesteps that trap, with a hopeful, constructive message pointing the way forward.

Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago In The Populist Temptation, Barry Eichengreen, amongst the foremost international economists today, explains why we are seeing an outburst of populist movements across the industrial world, and how they mirror similar movements from history. He argues that while the populists have genuine grievances, the solutions their leaders propose are unlikely to work. Eichengreen is skeptical that populists' concerns can be addressed easily. However, his insightful analysis is an essential starting point for anyone who wants to understand one of the most important developments of our times.

The Financial Times Barry Eichengreen has written a characteristically lucid book on the contemporary threat of populism...

Paschal Donohoe, The Irish Times (referring to both The Populist Temptation and Ctrl Alt Delete, How Politics and the Media Crashed Our Democracy) The publication of these excellent books is therefore timely... Amid a surge in such publications on a changing world they stand out for their clarity of analysis and writing.

Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eli...

Barry Eichengreen is Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. His previous books include Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System and Golden Fetters: The Gold Standard and the Great Depression, 1919-1939.

PrefaceChapter 1. The Populist ArchetypeChapter 2. American PanoramaChapter 3. Luddites and LaborersChapter 4. Voyage of the BismarckChapter 5. The Associationalist WayChapter 6. Unemployment and ReactionChapter 7. The Age of ModerationChapter 8. Things Come ApartChapter 9. Trumped UpChapter 10. Breaking PointChapter 11. ContainmentChapter 12. Au Revoir Europe?Chapter 13. Prospects