Book Review: Griftopia

This is probably one of the most difficult reviews I have had to write, mostly because Griftopia was quite a difficult book to read and understand. The book initially appeared to discuss the United States’ political culture and history, financial arrangements and, basically, how America’s banking system got it so wrong. However, it was clear, from about the second chapter, that Griftopia and author Matt Taibbi have a broader set of targets: the financial industry, the banking industry, the health industry, Goldman Sachs, indeed, anyone involved in the corporate sector.

The book opens with a chapter which very quickly demonstrates Taibbi’s outright contempt for the Tea Party and its supporters. This chapter describes his view of America’s pitiful political situation in 2010 — “yes we can” has been overtaken by an anachronistic movement which holds unrealistic economic and political ideologies. Specifically, they hold a “pure capitalistic ideal” which results in them “fighting a 1960s battle in a world run by twenty-first-century crooks,” a fight which is encouraged by the financial players (or fat-cats) whose dangerous gambling led to the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent bailouts. Against this background, Taibbi’s contempt for the Tea Party movement is tinged with some sympathy — ultimately, they are the victims of hypocrisy, “encouraged to militancy by the very people they should be aiming their pitchforks at.” From there, Griftopia goes on to talk about the rise and rise of the latter group of people — the grifters — at the expense of the rest of the world.

However, while Taibbi’s political stance is clear throughout the book, his aim is not (just) to bash right-wingers or the Republican Party. Reflective of Taibbi’s journalistic background, Griftopia is probably best seen as less of a continuous flowing story than a collection of chapters, each of which considers one or two individual or significant events. Together, the chapters accumulate to build an attack against the parties (Democratic, Republic or Tea) as well as politics in general and the influence of corporations. Taibbi’s argument is that the increasing deregulation of the finance industry has allowed that industry to abuse its powers which abuse led to the bubble and its burst.

The second chapter is titled “The Biggest Asshole in the World” — better known to the rest of us as Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve. The chapter attacks Greenspan’s achievements as having been accomplished with less actual merit than Greenspan’s alleged talent of being able to flatter and brownnose the right people. I am loath to accept all of the criticism aimed at Greenspan. He did in fact foresee the possibility of soaring housing price and a bursting housing bubble in his (often mentioned, less seen) doctoral thesis, obtained from New York University in 1977. Taibbi, however, does nail Greenspan for hypocrisy when he points out that most of Greenspan’s career was spent involved in or collaborating with government which is somewhat awry with the philosophy of his mentor Ayn Rand. Yet, Taibbi argues, even the aim and priority of Greenspan’s hypocrisy was faithful to capitalism and objectivism — to serve the rich and privileged few. Greenspan’s part in the GFC can almost be classified as gambling with public funds while brainwashing those in the industry to “mould themselves in the image of Randian superman, pursuing the mantra of personal profit with pure religious zeal” and blinding them to the “destructive social consequences of their actions and [rendering them] infuriatingly immune to self-doubt.”  [Editor’s note – I know some people like that].

Democrats are next in the firing line. No one better embodies the party and its current failures than President Barack Obama himself. Chapter 6 is titled “The Trillion Dollar Band-Aid” and of course alludes to Obama’s health care reforms. Taibbi expressly accuses Obama of taking office by telling lies — with a ‘before’ and ‘after’ comparison. Before he became President, Candidate Obama talked about health care and promised a health care plan. After the election, President Obama and the White House pandered to the pharmaceutical corporations and the health industry.

There are further accusations of hypocrisy — Candidate Obama laughed at the idea of use of mandates as a reform weapon. Yet, President Obama is “ramming a sweeping mandate to buy insurance down the throats of the entire US population.” While the chapter is an overall rant against the White House and the industry, I feel that Tabibi provides insufficient detail to make out his case against the President as a sell-out.

Indeed, in a recent Newsweek article,3 Harvard Professor James Kloppenberg refutes claims that the President’s reforms contradict his agenda — he points out that in The Audacity of Hope, Obama had written of the need for America to find a hybrid health-care system which would rely on existing insurance plans. In the overall context of the book, Taibbi’s attack on health care reforms is another attack on the corporations — in this case, the health care insurance industry. President Obama is merely a pawn in their evil plan to exercise control over the industry such that “companies compete not on price and quality but on political influence, and earn profits not by attracting customers with good service but by using the power of the state to protect markets and force customers into the fold.”

Taibbi’s casual writing style leads to an unsatisfactory form of argument. Strongly expressed emotions are more evident than carefully constructed arguments. I finished this book knowing that he really really hates hypocrites and really really hates corporations. It was also a mistake to read it on the bus. Taibbi’s approach of writing is so straightforward and to the point that it goes beyond offensive and is just really funny making laughter restraint a challenging occupation.

However, while his writing style is amusing, his topic is serious. The seriousness of this topic in fact warrants two things which are missing from this book — firstly, the other side of the story and, secondly, an alternative plan of action. The overall impression of the book is that Taibbi is implicitly blaming all politicians, all financial institutions and everyone else, liberal or conservative or tea-bagger. Use of terms such as “fat-cats”, “crooks”, “criminals” and “opportunistic lawyers” (query the accuracy of the last term) serve to reinforce the feeling that Taibbi sees the current America as two groups — the rich baddies who exploit the poor goodies.

I struggle with the idea that a country as complex as America can be so cleanly divided into black and white, right and wrong, poor and rich. Griftopia does not purport to provide alternatives or answers. It is, first and foremost, a rant. As a result, it leaves the reader with a sense of unfinished business. I now know how America got it so wrong (I think) but the next question is what can be done? In his Newsweek article, Professor Kloppenberg writes that both the left and the right are unhappy with Obama as he “does not share their self-righteous certainty.”

Wherever Taibbi stands politically, Griftopia seems to echo that self-righteous certainty without providing a self-reflective solution. Still, at a recommended retail price of $35, you will have a lot of laughs on the bus.

1.  Mr. Taibbi’s long journalistic career, including his regular columns for Rolling Stone, is set out by Wikipedia at this address.

2.  The publisher’s web page is here; The US publisher’s (Random House) web page for the book is here.

3.  James Kloppenberg, “True to his word” Newsweek, 29 November 2010, 28-29.