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Thomas Frank

トーマス・フランク

Tomasu Furanku

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1965-03-21 （Kansas City, Missouri, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Career

Occupations
political analyst, columnist, historian, journalist
Active Years
1990-

Education

University of Virginia
College / History
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1984-1988
Year of Graduation: 1988
Country: United States
Transferred from University of Kansas in freshman year
University of Chicago
History
Degree: M.A., Ph.D.
Period: 1988-1994
Year of Graduation: 1994
Country: United States
Doctoral thesis on 1960s advertising culture; later published as The Conquest of Cool.

Awards

Eugene V. Debs Award
2005
Organization: Eugene V. Debs Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism

1997 non-fiction / cultural history

A historical study of how 1960s advertising and business culture absorbed counterculture and shaped consumerism.

advertising historycountercultureconsumerism

One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy

2000 political economy / critique

An essay on how market-centric ideology affects politics and democracy.

marketismcritique of democracy

What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America

2004 political commentary / non-fiction

Analyzes why voters in places like the Midwest vote conservative against their economic interests; one of Frank's best-known works.

cultural politicsvoter behaviorpopulism
Adaptations
  • [film (documentary)] What's the Matter with Kansas? (film) / Robert Greenwald (2009)

The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule

2008 political commentary

Examines how contemporary conservative politics have undermined institutions and policies, arguing about causes of poor governance.

critique of conservatismpublic policygovernance

Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?

2016 political commentary / non-fiction

Critiques how the modern Democratic Party moved away from working-class interests toward technocrats and global capital.

critique of the Democratic Partyclass and politicselitism

The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism

2020 history / political thought

Surveys the history of populism and anti-populism in the United States, discussing how opposition to populism formed.

populismpolitical historymass politics
Translations
  • People Without Power: The War on Populism and the Fight for Democracy (international title)

Bibliography

  • The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism
  • One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy
  • New Consensus for Old: Cultural Studies from Left to Right
  • Boob Jubilee: The Cultural Politics of the New Economy
  • What's the Matter with Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America
  • What's the Matter with America? The Resistible Rise of the American Right
  • The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule
  • Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right
  • Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?
  • Rendezvous with Oblivion: Reports from a Sinking Society
  • The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism

Adaptations

  • Appeared in the documentary film What's the Matter with Kansas?
  • Appeared in BBC documentary series The Trap (part 2)

Translations of Works

  • People Without Power: The War on Populism and the Fight for Democracy (international title of The People, No)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Combines sharp cultural criticism with historical analysisClear and persuasive argumentative prose
Recurring Motifs
populism and anti-populismculture warseconomics and class

Legacy

Thomas Frank is known as a commentator and historian who critically examines the relationship between culture and economics in modern American politics; his books such as What's the Matter with Kansas? and Listen, Liberal have influenced both general readers and scholars.

In Popular Culture

  • Appearance in the documentary film What's the Matter with Kansas?
  • Appearance in the BBC documentary series The Trap

Quotes

  • "Bad government is the natural product of rule by those who believe government is bad."
    Source: The Wrecking Crew (2008), thesis summary (2008)

Trivia

  • In college he was a member of the College Republicans but later became a critic of conservatism.
  • What's the Matter with Kansas? brought him national and international recognition.
  • Received the Eugene V. Debs Award in 2005 for work in social justice.