Bernie Madoff and the Crisis: The Public Trial of Capitalism

by Colleen P. Eren

Bernie Madoff's arrest could not have come at a more darkly poetic moment. Economic upheaval had plunged America into a horrid recession. Then, on December 11, 2008, Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme came to light. A father turned in by his sons; a son who took his own life; another son dying and estranged from his father; a woman at the center of a storm—Madoff's story was a media magnet, voraciously consumed by a justice-seeking public. Bernie Madoff and the Crisis goes beyond purely investigative accounts to examine how and why Madoff became the epicenter of public fury and titillation. Rooting her argument in critical sociology, Colleen P. Eren analyzes media coverage of this landmark case alongside original interviews with dozens of journalists and editors involved in the reportage, the SEC Director of Public Affairs, and Bernie Madoff himself. Turning the mirror back onto society, Eren locates Madoff within a broader reckoning about free market capitalism. She argues that our ideological and cultural tendencies to attribute blame to individuals—be they regulators, victims, or "monsters" like Madoff—distracts us from more systemic critiques. Bernie Madoff and the Crisis offers fresh insight into the 2008 crisis, whether we have come to terms with it, and what we have yet to gain from the case of the century.

220 pages, Paperback

Published July 4, 2017

Reviews

[William Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book! This is not just one of many run-of-the-mill books springing from analyses of the financial crisis. Instead, the author ably explains that while the announcement of the Madoff fraud occurred at roughly the same time as the height of the crisis, the fraud and the crisis had wholly different origins. Ms. Colleen also adeptly takes a unique sociological approach in exploring the reasons for the demonization of Madoff and the press and public reaction that occurred after his arrest. I highly recommend this book for its clear writing and fresh approach.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic depiction of the crisis, and the regulatory framework that failed to stop it! As the 10th anniversary of the great recession nears, this is a great book to get a strong sense of the origins of one of the most notorious financial crimes of all time, and the Wall Street risk taking culture that precipitates them!

[JUSTINE KINCH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what you would expect and an excellent commentary on society at large.

[Thomas Radigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being disappointed by a previous book on Bernie Madoff, I picked up this from the library. Also disappointing. But the subtitle should have been a dead giveaway.

This book covers how the 2008 financial crisis finally exposed and demolished Madoff's decades-long Ponzi scheme and gives a brief biography of Madoff. Unfortunately the book mentions various financial crises which had no effect on Madoff and is overall a very long critique of capitalism and how you can work and still be wiped out. The book also mentions how white collar crimes cost more financially than crimes by the lower classes. Technically so, but having a robber point a gun in your face or coming home to find everything ransacked is psychologically far more devastating, and you think the author would acknowledge that. Yes, there were other white collar criminals besides Madoff, just as there were other mobsters besides Al Capone. But the author seems to ridicule the public anger at Madoff despite the damage he had done to his victims, and seems to want to scapegoat evil capitalism rather than blame bad actors. Never mind that there has been no other economic system that has proven to be any better, or immune to fraud or economic dislocation.

One thing the author succeeded at doing: Bernie Madoff must be laughing in his grave.