Merrimack Valley Library Consortium

Browse menu

Dark Money

The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right

Audiobook

Why is America living in an age of profound economic inequality? Why, despite the desperate need to address climate change, have even modest environmental efforts been defeated again and again? Why have protections for employees been decimated? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers?
     The conventional answer is that a popular uprising against “big government” led to the ascendancy of a broad-based conservative movement. But as Jane Mayer shows in this powerful, meticulously reported history, a network of exceedingly wealthy people with extreme libertarian views bankrolled a systematic, step-by-step plan to fundamentally alter the American political system.
     The network has brought together some of the richest people on the planet. Their core beliefs—that taxes are a form of tyranny; that government oversight of business is an assault on freedom—are sincerely held. But these beliefs also advance their personal and corporate interests: Many of their companies have run afoul of federal pollution, worker safety, securities, and tax laws.
     The chief figures in the network are Charles and David Koch, whose father made his fortune in part by building oil refineries in Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Germany. The patriarch later was a founding member of the John Birch Society, whose politics were so radical it believed Dwight Eisenhower was a communist. The brothers were schooled in a political philosophy that asserted the only role of government is to provide security and to enforce property rights.
     When libertarian ideas proved decidedly unpopular with voters, the Koch brothers and their allies chose another path. If they pooled their vast resources, they could fund an interlocking array of organizations that could work in tandem to influence and ultimately control academic institutions, think tanks, the courts, statehouses, Congress, and, they hoped, the presidency. Richard Mellon Scaife, the mercurial heir to banking and oil fortunes, had the brilliant insight that most of their political activities could be written off as tax-deductible “philanthropy.”
     These organizations were given innocuous names such as Americans for Prosperity. Funding sources were hidden whenever possible. This process reached its apotheosis with the allegedly populist Tea Party movement, abetted mightily by the Citizens United decision—a case conceived of by legal advocates funded by the network.
     The political operatives the network employs are disciplined, smart, and at times ruthless. Mayer documents instances in which people affiliated with these groups hired private detectives to impugn whistle-blowers, journalists, and even government investigators. And their efforts have been remarkably successful. Libertarian views on taxes and regulation, once far outside the mainstream and still rejected by most Americans, are ascendant in the majority of state governments, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Meaningful environmental, labor, finance, and tax reforms have been stymied.
     Jane Mayer spent five years conducting hundreds of interviews-including with several sources within the network-and scoured public records, private papers, and court proceedings in reporting this book. In a taut and utterly convincing narrative, she traces the byzantine trail of the billions of dollars spent by the network and provides vivid portraits of the colorful figures behind the new American oligarchy.
...

Formats

OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780307970688
- File size: 487172 KB
- Duration: 16:54:56

Reviews

AudioFile Magazine

Mayer takes aim at those whose goal is to dismantle the government, all the while often profiting from it. In doing so, she provides an in-depth analysis of the work of the Koch brothers and others who have infused billions of dollars into right-wing fringe groups (for example, the Tea Party) and libertarian causes. Kirsten Potter proves to be a strong narrator who deftly moves through the often complex and nuanced passages with the right amount of speed and emphasis. Overall, she enhances the listener's understanding of Mayer's message. Avoiding impressions, she delivers quotations in a neutral voice, which works well to keep listeners focused on the author's points. L.E. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from May 30, 2016
This sprawling narrative from New Yorker staff writer Mayer traces the origins of a well-funded libertarian brand of conservatism led by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and their network of deep-pocketed, like-minded allies. Voice actress Potter resists the temptation to present the provocative portions of Mayer’s extensive research with broad-brush caricatures. Rather, she lets Mayer’s complex historical and biographical story threads take shape gradually, allowing actual character development. The Koch brothers come alive, complete with their many eccentricities and rivalries. Other figures who—thanks to the compelling blend of Mayer’s prose and Potter’s narration—leave an especially memorable imprint include Art Pope, a North Carolina discount store magnate; and Richard Mellon Scaife, the late heir to banking and oil fortunes. Granted, the quotations from Pope—whose hundreds of stores are staffed by, and patronized by, low-wage workers—about poverty being mostly a matter of individual choice will inflame progressive readers, but Mayer and Potter work to develop a broader perspective beyond easy sound bites. A Doubleday hardcover.

Dark Money

Creators

Publisher

Awards

Release date

Formats

OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

Reviews

AudioFile Magazine

Publisher's Weekly

Formats

subjects

Languages