Coexisting with Capone

Around Chicago they called him “Uncle Al.” True, Al Capone had been forced to liquidate many of the kulaks on the South Side. But those who understood the broad picture realized that he was directing a great social experiment.

The history of this period really started before Al Capone was born. In the neighboring state of Missouri, the political philosopher and economist, Jesse James, had awakened the social planners of the nineteenth century with his monumental work Das Train Robbery. James argued that a redistribution of wealth was desirable, and his theory was widely accepted. Soon it was known as “Markism” in honor of its founder— who certainly had made his mark.

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Milada Horakova

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Around Chicago they called him “Uncle Al.” True, Al Capone had been forced to liquidate many of the kulaks on the South Side. But those who understood the broad picture realized that he was directing a great social experiment.

The history of this period really started before Al Capone was born. In the neighboring state of Missouri, the political philosopher and economist, Jesse James, had awakened the social planners of the nineteenth century with his monumental work Das Train Robbery. James argued that a redistribution of wealth was desirable, and his theory was widely accepted. Soon it was known as “Markism” in honor of its founder— who certainly had made his mark.