20 October 2007
A Nation of Counterfeiters
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The United States is without doubt the spiritual home of entrepreneurial capitalism and all that goes with it -- good, bad and otherwise.
The origins of this freewheeling tradition can be traced to pre-civil war America -- an era where the pursuit of wealth dominated society and the economy was fuelled by myriad currencies, many of them counterfeit.
And the extent to which counterfeit currency ran through the veins of this fledgling powerhouse helps to reveal the very roots of the western capitalist system.
Guests
Stephen Mihm
Assistant Professor of History at the University of Georgia.
Publications
Title: A Nation of Counterfeiters
Author: Stephen Mihm
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Presenter
Geraldine Doogue
Story Researcher and Producer
Scott Wales
