The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World
Interview with Liaquat Ahamed about his book 1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World. Ahamed explores how the 1870s financial boom, fuelled by infrastructure projects like railways and the bond market’s democratisation, culminated in the Panic of 1873. He highlights the Rothschilds’ European dominance and J. Cook’s American entrepreneurialism, noting that the Franco-Prussian War’s massive indemnity and Germany’s subsequent demonetisation of silver exacerbated a profound global depression. This crisis had far-reaching consequences, including the rise of antisemitism and Jim Crow, offering crucial lessons for today’s AI-driven economy and monetary policy challenges.
See also the Meb Faber episode.