Capitalism was in crisis around the world during the 1970s. The "Volcker Shock" of 1980, named after the chairman of America's Federal Reserve Bank Paul Volcker, sought to reboot the global economy by drastically raising interest rates in order to end inflation. The policy was declared a success. But the outcome was also an economy defined by instability and inequality whose legacy continues to this day.

Jonathan Levy is Professor in the Department of History and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on the history of economic life in the United States. He is the author of Freaks of Fortune: The Emerging World of Capitalism and Risk in American (2012) and the forthcoming Ages of American Capitalism. He holds an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago, as well as a BA from Yale University.