It is no longer necessary, nor is it wise, for an able ambitious man to be ruthless. He serves himself best by being of service to others. We no longer need coercive Governments to prevent our ambitious men from becoming predatory. We no longer need to tax their money away from them, for fear of a plutocracy. Our rich men now share their wealth.
-from "The New Individualism"

An idealistic work from a bygone era, this 1929 ode to unfettered capitalism is rather quaint today, but it remains an important work for understanding the ebbs and flows of not only the U.S. national economy, but also the national mood.

Singing with the unimpeded optimism of the Roaring 20s, business journalist Casson's valentine to the spirit of the Gilded Age can only be seen ironically, with our hindsight knowledge of the economic devastation about to descend upon the country, but it is engaging reading for those interesting in cultural history.

Also available from Cosimo Classics: Casson's Making Money Happily.

Canadian journalist HERBERT NEWTON CASSON (1869-1951) contributed to numerous New York and London publications, writing mostly about business and technology. He is also the author of The Romance of Steel: The Story of a Thousand Millionaires (1907) and The History of the Telephone (1910).