The Desktop Manufacturing Revolution: The end of the current production-manufacturing economic model may be on the horizon — but what if nothing's ready to replace it? More and more, "production" — that word economists have worked over for generations — has become interior to the human mind rather than set on a factory floor. Money for Nothing: Two new studies indicate that Wall Street's profits and bonuses are vastly disproportionate to the value the industry adds to the economy. Here are the sources of wealth from which the most wealth has been derived by members of the first annual to most recent Forbes 400s. The Aristocracy and its discontents: What does the court battle over Brooke Astor’s estate tell us about the American upper class? A review of Rich: The Rise and Fall of American Wealth Culture by Larry Samuel (and more). An interview with Will Samson, author of Enough: Contentment in an Age of Excess. A User’s Guide to Not Getting Ripped Off: Ben Popken and The Consumerist harness the social web to empower shoppers and embarrass corporate bullies. Combatting Idiocracy: An interview with Carrie McLaren, author of Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture. A review of Consuming Traditions: Modernity, Modernism, and the Commodified Authentic by Elizabeth Outka.
