The American Political Tradition

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…that their riches and power were the results of hard work and special talents. Hofstadter says that from the business of industry comes the business of politics. These industrialists, who accumulated wealth and lived so luxuriously, set the standard of living for others. This tendency to acquire and enjoy flowed into politics where it multiplied among the politicians and thus, the standards of success in politics changed. Now the object was money; that was success.