104 Chapter 5
eugenics.As ThomasC. Leonardis aware,a veritable“Who’s Whoof ProgressiveEra
politicaleconomyappealedto eugenics...to justifythe economicreformlegislationso
characteristicof the time.”^5 To the degreethatgovernment-mandatedeugenicscan be
calledsocialDarwinism,the earlytwentieth-century’s Progressiveswerenot opponents
of socialDarwinismbut its foremostpractitioners.
Andtwofamousprogressiveswhohavededicated themselvesto the compulsory
eugenicist cause were New-Jersey-governor-turned-U.S.-President Woodrow Wilson
(1856–1924)and attorneycumU.S.SupremeCourtJusticeLouisD. Brandeis(1856–1941).^6
Tellingly,despiteits in-depthstudyof government-regulatoryeugenics,SDATelicitsno
noteof eitherman’s contributionsto the eugenicistcause.InsteadSDATcelebratesbothof
themas staunchopponentsof socialDarwinism,againbecauseof theiraversionto the
nightwatchmanstate.RichardHofstadterwritesof the ProgressiveEra’s intellectuals
emergingin a “renaissance” of ideologywho,“in sympathywiththe newspiritof the
Progressive Era,” had “assailed” laissez-faire social Darwinism’s “old scheme of
thought.. .” Amongthe participantsin this Renaissancewere“CharlesA. Beard,... John
R. Commons,JohnDewey,... LouisD. Brandeis,and OliverWendellHolmes.” Remem-
ber the nameJohnR. Commons;we willreturnto himwithinthis chapter.Anyhow,for
the aforementionedreasons,the Columbiahistorianbeams,“Brandeisopenedup new
possibilitiesin law by draftingfor the firsttimea factualsociologicalbriefin defenseof a
statelaw regulatingconditionsof laborin privateenterprise.”^7
In thatsamespiritis ThomasK. McCraw—a PulitzerPrize-winningprofessorat Har-
vardBusinessSchool.McCrawveneratesBrandeisas “the progressive‘People’s Lawyer’
who... playeda significantpartin the birthof the FederalTradeCommission.”^8 R.
LaurenceMoore,too, commendsBrandeisfor having“arosebeforethe SupremeCourtto
arguethe constitutionalityof a ten-hourlawfor womenworkers” in 1908’sMullerv.
Oregon“withcartonsof datagatheredby experts.... He madehimselfmasterof material
thatthe massescouldneverunderstand,and,in so doing,becametheirservant.”^9 Echo-
ing Moore,A. A. Ekirchstates,“TheProgressiveattorneyLouisD. Brandeis,in a brief
repletewithsociologicalevidencedemonstratingthe adverseeffectsof longhours,played
a key role in convincingthe court,inMullerv. Oregon(1908),to rule in favorof maximum-
hourlaws.” He additionallyapplaudsBrandeisas “the liberalattorneyand foe of monop-
oly.. .”^10
AndGeorgeMowrysummarizesa philosophynot unlikehis ownwhenhe narrates,
“The UnitedStates,saidthe futurejusticeof the SupremeCourt,LouisD. Brandeis,was
rapidlybecominga nationin whichthe privilegedfew at the top had greatfreedomand
all the rest of the peoplewere‘moreand morea classof employees.’”^11
A similarverdictarrivesvia businessconsultantand governistideologueRobertA. G.
Monks.Monkswasprominentlyfeaturedin the 2003anti-capitalistpropagandadocu-
mentaryThe Corporation:The PathologicalPursuitof Profitand Power. In one of his books
Monksapprovinglydeliversthis statementfromBrandeisthatsolidifiesthe justice’s cre-
dentialsas a progressive:“Thereis no suchthingto my mind... as an innocentstock-
holder.He maybe innocentin fact,but sociallyhe cannotbe heldinnocent.He acceptsthe
benefitsof the [commercial]system.It is his businessand obligationto see that thosewho
representhim” in the privatecompanywhereinhe ownsshares“carryout a policywhich
is consistentwiththe publicwelfare.”^12 ThisitemexplainswhyBrandeiswassuchan
avidfan of HenryDemarestLloyd’s screedagainstthe StandardOil Company—Wealth
AgainstCommonwealth.^13 DaronAcemogluand JamesA. Robinsonalsocelebratethe man.
“AnotherkeymuckrakerwaslawyerandauthorLouisBrandeis,whowouldlaterbe
namedSupremeCourtjusticeby PresidentWilson.Brandeisoutlineda seriesof financial
scandalsin his bookOtherPeople’s Moneyand HowBankersUse It, and washighlyinfluen-
tial on the PujoCommittee.”^14