Invisible Hands: The Businessmen's Crusade Against the New Deal

Invisible Hands traces the origins and evolution of conservative opposition to the New Deal from the 1930s through the 1970s. The book follows a network of businessmen and intellectuals who worked to promote free-market principles and resist government regulation of the economy. Phillips-Fein documents the formation of influential organizations like the American Enterprise Association and the Foundation for Economic Education. Through archival research and historical analysis, she reveals the strategic efforts of corporate leaders to shape public opinion and policy debates. The narrative examines how these business activists built connections with economists, journalists, and politicians to advance their vision of unrestrained capitalism. Their campaign involved funding academic research, publishing newsletters and books, and cultivating relationships with rising conservative political figures. The book demonstrates how organized resistance to the New Deal welfare state helped lay the groundwork for modern conservative economic ideology. This history provides context for understanding ongoing debates about the role of government in American economic life.

Readers highlight the book's detailed research into how business leaders organized opposition to the New Deal, tracing direct connections to modern conservative movements. Many reviews note its readability despite dense subject matter. Liked: - Clear explanations of complex economic history - Previously unexplored perspective on New Deal opposition - Primary source documents and archival research - Connections to current political dynamics Disliked: - Some repetition in later chapters - Limited coverage of labor union perspectives - Focus mainly on Northeast/urban business figures - Could have expanded on international context Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (245 ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (38 ratings) Representative review: "Phillips-Fein uncovers the origins of organized business resistance to government regulation. The research is impressive but the narrative occasionally gets bogged down in details about individual businessmen." - Goodreads reviewer

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🗸 While many histories focus on pro-New Deal business figures like Gerard Swope, Phillips-Fein's book was one of the first to extensively document the organized conservative opposition to Roosevelt's policies from the business community. 🗸 The book traces how modern conservative think tanks and organizations grew directly from business leaders' opposition to the New Deal, revealing the origins of groups like the American Enterprise Institute. 🗸 Author Kim Phillips-Fein discovered that many prominent business figures privately supported fascist movements in Europe during the 1930s, viewing them as preferable to Roosevelt's economic reforms. 🗸 The term "Invisible Hands" in the title references both Adam Smith's economic theory and the behind-the-scenes nature of how business leaders worked to shape American politics and public opinion. 🗸 The research reveals how business leaders created and funded seemingly grassroots organizations to promote free-market ideas, pioneering techniques still used in modern political movements and corporate advocacy.